Page 48 of Go Deep (A Bad Boy Sports Romance)
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Cassidy
Talkingabout the Thanksgiving break and planning to spend time together was all sweet and romantic when the break was still a couple of weeks out. Making that happen, however, was a whole other story.
First, Miranda came home with me for the holiday. Her jet-setting parents had flown to Scotland on some business trip that sounded more like a little vacation, leaving Miranda to figure out her own plans. It helped that she knew about Slade and me getting closer, but that didn’t mean I could just ditch her at my parents’ house to sneak off with Slade every chance I got. I needed to entertain her, keep her company and make her feel welcome at my house.
Then there was Shawn. He was mad as hell. Slade and I agreed to play it cool while his brother was in town. We weren’t looking to start any drama with him, but it was inevitable. He was my best friend and he didn’t approve of me hooking up with his big brother. At the same time, Slade and I were just starting to feel like a couple, and that meant we couldn’t keep our hands off of each other. The last thing either of us wanted to do was go home and act like nothing was going on. Still, I knew I’d be walking on eggshells to avoid pissing off Shawn. I wasn’t sure why he was so upset with us getting together to begin with, unless there was something he wasn’t telling me. I had to confront him and get to the bottom of it, because I needed my best friend back.
We agreed to play it cool all around. Our parents didn’t need to know yet. I still had mixed emotions about following in my sister’s footsteps by hooking up with a football player who was likely to go pro, the way she had done with her husband. I still had a career I wanted to build. I didn’t want to let it go because my man was a big deal.
There was a lot on my mind, a lot to deal with when I walked back into the house with Miranda the night before Thanksgiving.
“Hi Mom,” I called out.
“Miranda! Come on in!” My mother said to her in her long, sweet tea Southern drawl. It was a bit embarrassing to hear, because it sounded just like all the exaggerated accents on bad TV movies. She gave Miranda a big hug, welcoming her into our home like she was family.
“Hey, Mrs. Greyson,” Miranda had said humbly. “Thanks for having me over.”
“Anytime, darling. How was your trip from the campus?”
“Mom, it was a thirty-minute drive over here. That distance doesn’t quite qualify it for a trip.”
“Okay, honey.”
“Where’s Dad? That reminds me, my car’s toast on campus. We got a ride up here with Slade. You think he’ll have time to take a look at it, maybe on Friday or Saturday?
“Of course, honey. We can’t have you all the way out there with no form of transportation. Your father’s upstairs. Cassidy, get Miranda settled then go spend some time with your sister. She’s in the sitting room. Miranda, you’ve met Caroline before, right?”
“Yes, ma’am. Two Christmases ago when I was here.”
“Right! That was a nice visit too. Okay girls, I’ve got lots to do to be ready. Come down for a drink anytime.”
Mom went back to the kitchen while I showed Miranda the guest room beside mine upstairs. We dropped our things and returned downstairs to check on Caroline. My gut told me Mom wanted us to cheer her up. I was sure it had something to do with her man.
Caroline was in the sitting room, playing on her phone. Alone.
“Hey. When did you get in?” I asked her.
“This morning. Hi Miranda. How’s things?”
“Good. You?”
“All right.”
I had to ask. “So where’s your husband?”
“Not here. His team’s in the Thanksgiving lineup,” she told me, and I could see in her eyes that she had to fight to maintain her composure. As awesome as it was to be married to an NFL player, there were times when she had to play second fiddle to the game itself. That was pretty much all the time, and there wasn’t a whole lot she could do about it.
I didn’t want that to be me, and more so now that Slade and I were on our way to becoming an item. If things went that far with him, I couldn’t spend my life in his shadow. As we settled in the first night of break, my phone vibrated with a text from Shawn.
‘Happy Thanksgiving,’it said.
‘Thanks. You too.’I sent back. This was going to be awkward no matter how hard I tried, so I had to make the best of seeing him face to face. I added,‘Can we talk?’
He replied with,‘Yes. After dinner tomorrow.’
Good. That gave us the weekend to iron things out.
