Isaac slapped me on the back. “Ready?”
We reached for our helmets. The equipment crew had polished them for the game.
“Hell yeah.”
“They are insane out there.” He motioned toward the tunnel. The stadium was filled.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard them this loud before.”
We both knew what it meant to Vanessa to have the tickets sold. To have this kind of turn out for the home opener. Now it was our turn to do our part for her. We had to win this damn game. Put the W on the scoreboard. Thrill the crowd. End the speculation that the Warriors were too distracted in the pre-season. This was our chance.
Running through the tunnel, my adrenaline pumped through my veins. I jogged through a cloud of smoke, surrounded by fireworks. The music was deafening as we took the field, crossing in front of the fans.
My eyes traveled up the massive rows until I found the ownership box. I couldn’t see her from here, but I knew she was there. I knew Vanessa was watching. I strapped my helmet on and lined up with the rest of the team.
We all knew it was coming. The tribute to the man who had built this team. But it was hard to stomach the photo montage that played after the national anthem. There were pictures of Vanessa as a child with her grandparents. Pictures of McCade with players through the years. If we didn’t know better, you’d think the league’s favorite owner had died. The slide show was a tribute to a man we had never liked. But we stood in solidarity, wearing our Mac patches and respected the video until the last shot played.
Applewhite shouted at us to huddle around him.
Isaac was next to me. “That was fucked up, wasn’t it?”
“No shit,” I answered. I didn’t want memorials. I wanted to play football. I’d be happy as soon as the whistle blew.
Thirty-Two
Vanessa
It was hard to believe we were two months into the season. Out of seven games we had lost two. I knew Dylan and Isaac were pissed about those two losses, but I couldn’t believe the season was going as well as it was.
Team moral was up. It might have had something to do with the contract I signed to break ground on the new indoor training facility. I was embarrassed it hadn’t been built before now.
The press followed me wherever I went. It seemed as if there should have been more news to cover in Austin other than how I was planning my wedding, or expanding the franchise’s structures, but I was in some kind of new romance with the press.
Charlie assured me it was better this way. It was the good kind of attention. The kind the Warriors needed.
It was Sunday. Game day. Game eight.
I loved waking up in Isaac’s king bed.
“Good morning, baby.” He kissed the back of my neck. I was wearing a Warriors T-shirt and no panties.
“Good morning.” I smiled.
Dylan was in the shower. He liked to get to the stadium earlier than everyone else. It was the only time he seemed to be intensely focused. He was having an incredible season. They both were.
Isaac’s hands snaked up my stomach, pushing the T-shirt over my breasts. The fabric made my nipples tingle as it edged over them.
“Mmm,” I moaned.
He tucked me under him, pinning my arms over my head as he nudged my knees wide and nestled between my legs.
He kissed my throat, making my body wake up with each of his kisses.
“So fucking sexy in the morning,” he groaned.
“So are you.” I looked in his eyes.
He laughed. “And you’re cute.”