Page 87 of Best Year Ever
I’m blissed out, legs spread again over the ends of the table, with Landon leaking out of me. He takes in the sight for a beat, a look of masculine satisfaction on his face.
“You look beautiful,” he says. A split second later, I feel his strong arms picking me up, cradling me while he moves us out of the dining room.
“Shower time,” he whispers, kissing me softly.
I lean into his embrace, ready to let him lead the way.
Shower sex leads to TV time which leads to goodnight sex. We call it a night early though, because of our obligations for the days ahead.
“Cannot have you exhausted before you even get to training camp,” I say as we snuggle in his bed.
The six o’clock alarm the next morning still comes too soon. I’ve got to get on the road early so I can make it back for my normal routine before practice. The fun is over, for now.
I roll over to turn off the alarm and start getting up to go to the bathroom. Landon makes a grumbling sound that I think translates to “I’ll make the coffee.”
He doesn’t have to be at camp for a few hours, but wants to say goodbye properly. So when I come out of the bathroom andhead to the kitchen, there he is, making a pot of my favorite coffee.
His eyes meet mine, shining with happiness despite their tired appearance. I feel the same way inside. Tired from the early wake-up, but full of bliss from the night before.
After we take some sips of coffee, we’re both more communicative. He shares his agenda for the first day of camp, and I go over the plan for my day at Pinnacle.
Way too soon, it’s six-thirty, the sunlight starting to peak through the windows. I need to get going to have enough time for my own tasks.
I stand up in the space that separates the two stools we’ve been sitting on. Throwing my arms around his shoulders, I dip my head on the one closest to me. “This sucks, but I’ve got to go now,” I say.
He smiles and nods, leaning in for a quick kiss. He then stands up himself and pulls me into a proper hug.
“Goodbye, babe. I’ll see you Sunday, for a few hours minimum,” he says while holding me.
“Goodbye, superstar. Start camp off right,” I reply, pulling my head back so our eyes meet.
With one last kiss, we separate, and I leave his house for the drive back to Tampa. Knowing that as we each chase our next big goal, we have something even more special developing together.
CHAPTER 31
Landon
WEEK 1 OF TRAINING CAMP
Iwalk into training camp, fully prepared for football life to take over. My breakthrough with Rori last weekend, followed by some incredible nights together, only helps my mood and optimism. I feel ready to take on the world. Or at least, take on camp.
We won’t start contact drills this week. Instead, the first three days are focused on meetings—yes, more meetings—along with increasingly intensive workouts and position drills.
For the experienced linebackers, the fundamentals of movement and tackling drills come back almost immediately—our muscle memory is wired in. But Manny and our second-year linebacker get to hear a lot of yapping from the rest of us on how to tweak what they’re doing.
At night, I FaceTime Rori from my hotel room. She’s still at the cottage this week, and I’m only ninety minutes away, but no visitors are allowed at camp. It’s basically like when she’s been on the road. Not ideal, but something we’ve gotten used to at least. Sort of. After being able to hold her in my arms almost every night the week before, I miss it.
“So wait, have you put on the new episode?” she asks while weFaceTime on the third night. “Christina and her dog, Buffy, are going out with Lawrence and his dog, Butch. Buffy and Butch, I’m dying. They definitely need to get together, if only for their bad dog names.”
“Um, I think Butch is an awesome dog name,” I say, acting like I’m offended.
“Okay, you officially don’t get to pick the dog's name if we ever get one together.” She laughs.
“Hmmm, I can live with that, as long as I have veto rights at least.”
“Deal,” she says.
Which gives me an idea. “In return, show me what you’re wearing to bed, so I can think about it when we hang up.”
