We head back to the house and I remove her leash. Immediately, she runs over to the green tin labeled TREATS and sits, wagging her tail.
“You want a treat?” I ask with a laugh.
She wags her tail harder and it looks like she nods. I remove the lid and give her one.
I head into the kitchen, pour her food into a bowl, and grab a bottle of water.
Heading back upstairs, I change into a pair of gym shorts and shirt—I’ll have to change into my gear when I get to the field, but this way, if anyone sees me and asks, I can lie and say I’m going to the gym and it looks legit—and pack my bag with my work clothes.
I still can’t believe Thea knew and didn’t say anything. She surprises me at every turn. It’s a relief to have her know, though, and I know I’ll feel even better once I tell everyone else. Which will have to be soon. I can’t keep doing double-duty. I’m running myself into the ground.
When I have everything I need, I head down to the garage and since it’s a nice day, I opt to take my bike instead of the truck.
I get to the field and head into the locker room. Most of my team members are already here—a lot of them live nearby, whereas I’m about an hour away.
I change into my practice gear and head out onto the field.
Coach has us running up and down the field and I quickly lose myself in the steady rhythm.
We move on to working on actual plays and my excitement grows. I love this. I love the strategy and working together with one common goal. To win.
Hours later when I come off the field, the sun is high in the sky and I’m drenched in sweat. I know I’m going to be late for work—like really late, and I hope Thea was able to hold down the fort in my absence.
I shower and change into my work clothes—some of the guys look at me with raised brows but say nothing. I’m a newbie and the older guys tend to ignore me. I get it. I have to earn their trust before I can become a part of their inner circle.
Kincaid Architecture isn’t too far from practice, but the traffic makes it take twice as long as it should. It’s nearing lunchtime, so I say fuck it and stop off at a restaurant and pick up food for Thea and myself.
When I finally walk through the office doors, Thea sighs in relief. “Thank God you’re here—answering phones is so not my forte. I’m pretty sure I accidentally told your dad to go fuck himself because I got so flustered. He kept asking for these papers and I don’t know where they are and he kept asking for you so I told him you had explosive diarrhea.”
I look at her in disbelief as I set the to-go boxes on my desk. “You’re kidding, right?”
She frowns and mumbles, “No.”
I sigh and shake my head. Then I laugh, because it’s pretty fucking funny. “I can’t believe you told my dad to go fuck himself.”
She shrugs. “Might not have been him. He hasn’t stormed in here to fire me yet.”
“My dad would never fire you,” I tell her. “And explosive diarrhea? Really, Thea?”
She shrugs her shoulders innocently. “I was under pressure and I blurted the first thing that came to mind. Nobody questions diarrhea.”
I shake my head. “You’re probably right about that.” I reach for one of the to-go boxes and hand it to her. “Lunch.”
“You da best,” she chirps, opening the box. “Oh,” she moans, “that smells good.” She stares lovingly at the seared salmon and vegetables. She grabs the plastic fork and digs in. “Tastes even better. All the blowjobs for you, lover boy.”
I snort and am about to retort when Cade pokes his head in. “Something smells good.”
Thea squeaks and falls out of her chair, smack dab on her ass.
“Thea?” I ask worriedly. “Are you okay?” I dart over and offer her my hand.
Cade cackles from the doorway. “Didn’t mean to scare you, sis.”
Thea rolls her eyes and looks at me, shaking her head in disbelief. She places her hand in mine and I help her up. She promptly sits back down and digs into her food.
“Don’t even think about trying to steal a bite after that,” she tells Cade, pointing her fork at him.
He raises his hands innocently. “Wouldn’t dream of it. I was just swinging by to ask you guys if you wanted lunch, but it looks like you beat me to it.”