Page 129 of Reckless
Me...I can’t see myself staying here once I hit the top. I don’t know what I’ll do, but it won’t be settling down as a lifer in the WBRF.
I’ll want to be at home. Close to Winter and Vivi.
“You going out tonight?”
“Nah.”
Rhett points at me like that question was a test for how focused I am right now. “Good answer.”
“Gonna head back to my room and see if Winter is still up.”
Rhett waggles his brows at me.
“Fuck off.”
“You’ve come a long way, you know.”
“Well, I’ve been told I have an excellent mentor.”
“No, I mean as a person. As a man. I know I was hard on you, and maybe that came off as hard on Winter. I just...I’ve seen you sow some wild oats over the years. I wasn’t sure you had it in you to be what she needed.”
I nod, not offended by what he’s saying—because it’s true. “I know you mean well, but you’re still a total prick.”
He scoffs at me and then my phone rings on the bench beside me, lighting up with a photo I snapped of Winter and Vivi snuggling together in a sunny bed surrounded by white linens.
It makes me smile.
“There she is.” I swipe a finger across to answer the phone. “Tink,” I say and take my first swig of beer.
“Hi. Congratulations! Pretty good tonight, huh? We watched you.” Her voice is soft, but there’s tension there too. A tightness like she’s holding something back.
“Yeah, felt good to shake the cobwebs off.”
“And beat Emmett!” Rhett calls out loud enough that she can hear.
“Summer shared that sentiment too.” Winter laughs, but it feels forced.
“Everything alright?” I ask, not wanting to ignore that troublesome tone in her voice any longer.
What I get back is a loud, tired sigh.
“What’s wrong?” Panic edges into my voice.
“Nothing, nothing. I’m good. Vivi is good. Where are you right now? I wasn’t sure where you’d be. Maybe call me when you get back to the hotel?”
“How about you tell me now so I don’t freak out? It’s just Rhett and me in the changing room, having a beer. There’s nothing going on.”
“Okay...” she whispers, and my heart thumps wildly against my ribcage. When I glance over at Rhett, his brows are drawn, body held taut.
“Okay, so I’m just going to come out and say it. Because you need to know. But you donotneed to freak out. I’ve got this. Okay?”
“I’m not going to promise not to freak out over something you haven’t told me yet.”
She doesn’t respond to that, she just forges ahead. “Tonight, my ex served me with papers requiring me to take Vivi for DNA testing.”
I feel like every noise in the stadium shuts off at once, replaced by a whoosh of shocked and confused white noise.
“What?”
