Page 85 of Striking Heat
The Blaze won, and I was really hoping I would get to celebrate with the striker. She had a great night—one goal and two assists in their 3-2 victory over the Racing Louisville. It was touch and go for a while. I wasn’t sure that they were going to pull it out, but they did. And Mac had the winning goal. I could tell she was getting a little frustrated because she was firing like crazy at the net. She was really hungry for a goal.
“Your girl was on fire tonight,” Nick tells me. We’re sitting at The Backwoods, enjoying a round of drinks. Jase and August are supposed to join us at some point.
Mac bailed on me; she’s hanging out with Cassie. She told me quickly after the game that she ended up telling Cassie about us. I’m kind of relieved that she told her. It makes me think that Mac is accepting that it’s actually real and actually happening. Consequences be damned, I want this woman.
“Please don’t call her my girl.” I look around to see if anyone heard him.
“Relax. We’re far enough away from the team that no one can hear us,” he explains. “Do you think it’s weird that she doesn’t goout with the team much? I mean, it might cause them to realize something is happening.”
“I don’t know. I know she hangs out with them quite a bit when they’re away,” I try to reason. “Maybe they think that’s okay. Cassie isn’t here either, so maybe no one thinks anything of it.”
“Maybe.” Nick shoots me a shit-eating grin. “Either way, I hope no one figures it out.”
“Gee, me too,” I say, rolling my eyes at him.
“Oh, come on. I’m just giving you shit. It’s fun.”
“I’m so glad I can humor you.” I take a swig of my beer and change the subject. “Did you get everything you need for the article? I’m hoping to have it over to Cromwell within the next day or so.”
He nods. “I did. Did Martin not tell you that he was hoping to have a meeting with the Cromwell’s to show them the article? He wants to be involved in the decision about what gets published and all that shit, it being his paper and all.” Nick huffs. He’s not the biggest fan of Martin, but I’m not really either. He’s kind of weasel-like.
“For what the old man is paying him, I would think he would just happily take whatever it is we’re offering.”
“Apparently he doesn’t see it that way.” Nick finishes his beer and pours another one from the pitcher before topping off mine. “Are you finally ready to share that draft you sent me the other day?”
“Yeah, I think so. What did you think of it?” I ask him. I’m hoping it was okay. It took me a long time to even get that draft out.
“I thought it was good, man. You wrote about her very honestly. I was actually kind of surprised because it wasn’t overly glowing about her. But it was positive.” Nick sips on his beer.
“So, you thought I did a good job hiding the fact that I’m banging her?”
He snorts. “Yeah, I thought you did a good job of hiding that information. But you know I figured out you were banging her, so…”
“I hate you sometimes. You know that, right?” I say, shaking my head.
“You did good, Danny. You did right by her and the team. I think Cromwell and Martin will be happy with it,” he says, trying to reassure me. “When does she get to read it?”
I sigh. “I’m not sure. I haven’t asked that question yet. I want to show her an advanced copy, but I’m not sure that I should. I want to get the okay before I do.”
He nods. “Yeah, I get it. You wouldn’t let anyone else read an article you wrote about them, so why would you do it with her?”
“To put her at ease,” I explain.
“Do you still think she’s jumpy about having you write this article?”
I haven’t asked her that question in a while. “I don’t think so. I think we’re on better ground now.”
“Sexy ground,” he replies with a laugh.
“Uh-huh” is all I say.
“What are you gonna do when this article is done? Are you going to go public with the fact that you’re dating her? Say you fell in love with her while you were writing about her or some bullshit like that?”
I shrug. “I actually hadn’t thought about it. I guess I need to start, though. We can’t hide this for much longer. Someone is going to wise up to it.”
“Yep, the truth always has a way of coming out.”
“Thank you, Batman.”
