Nothing Less Than Everything

Seth finished practicing running his routes, and we traded out. Coach had him on the sidelines, giving him feedback while Gideon and I ran through a few drills. It didn’t take long for us to get on the same wavelength. By the time we finished, I was covered in grass clippings, sweat-soaked, and exhausted. But I felt good. Better than I had in a long time. Coach was right. There was a certain magic that happened when Gideon and I were on the same side. With Theo on the line watching his blindside, it meant that the two of us could operate knowing our asses were covered.

I had just gotten out of the shower and was making sure my locker was set up for tomorrow when Gideon sided up to me. “You got dinner plans?”

I glanced at my phone. It was half-past seven.

“Nah, I’ll probably just order something and crash,” I said as I stuffed my headphones into my bag. I was tempted to call the bistro where Wren and I had dinner and get her off-menu chicken order to-go.

“That’s cool. Just a head’s up—Heidi will kill me if you don’t come over for dinner before we hit the road this season.”

The Reds’ second preseason game was away. That didn’t leave me much time to save Gideon from his wife.

“We’ll make it happen,” I grumbled. “Just not tonight. I need to get in the groove.”

“You seemed pretty comfortable out there today,” he said as he sat on the bench in front of his locker and rummaged through his things. “How’d it feel?”

“Good.”

“What happened in Seattle?”

I knew he was going to ask sooner rather than later, but it still stung. “Something shiny and new came along,” I grunted as I slid my street shoes on.

He gave me a sympathetic shrug. “That sucks.”

I scrolled through my phone, looking for a text from Sam. I had shot her a message earlier today, asking when Wren was going to be working at my place. As much as I wanted to see her again, I didn’t want to make things weird. I also wanted to be able to sleep without the ambiance of interior demolition. Not that Wren planned on a full-on overhaul. In all honesty, I didn’t know what she had up her sleeve for my place. She took notes and ran a few ideas by me. Other than that, she left me with reassurances that when she was done, it would be home.

Something I was looking forward to.

I smiled when I saw Sam’s text. Wren had been there earlier today but had already left for the evening.

“Alright,” Gideon said. “Spill it. I know that face. It hasn’t changed in thirteen years. “Who’s the girl?”

“Sam,” I said. “Who is taken, unfortunately. If she wasn’t, I’d marry her in a heartbeat. I think she’s the only woman who can live with me.”

“Nah.” Gid shook his head, droplets of water flinging off his brown hair. “That’s the face you make when you’re talking to a girl you actually like. Not your agent or the cleat chasers you tolerate.” He eyed me suspiciously. “You seriously gonna lie to my face on day one?”

I chucked a sweaty t-shirt at him. “I was just asking Sam if the interior designer was still at my place.”

“Because?”

I rolled my eyes. “Because she and I went to dinner last night and ended up hooking up.”

He raised his eyebrows in surprise but withheld any judgment. “And you don’t want to make things awkward by running into her, or you want to see her and have a repeat performance?”

I pulled up the internet browser on my phone and went to the Colette James Design webpage. I scrolled through the tabs until I found Wren’s headshot and biography. I turned my phone and showed Gideon her photo. It was professional—a classy shot of her, arms crossed and smiling, in a blazer and pencil skirt. There were a few accompanying shots—Wren poring over something she had referred to last night as a “mood board” and another of her in action, styling a bookcase.

“Damn,” Gideon said as he looked at the photos. “Nicely done, my friend.” I went to pull my arm back, but Gideon’s eyebrows drew in. “She looks familiar.”

I shrugged. “It’s a small state. There can’t be too many women who are that attractive in a state with only five counties.”

Whatever was running through his head, he dismissed it. “So, that’s why you didn’t want Heidi setting you up.” He cracked a shit-eating grin. “You’ve already got your eye on one.”

“Nope.” I shouldered my bag. Gideon followed me out, him enthusiastically and me reluctantly pounding the … cock. “It was a one-time thing. I don’t even have her number, and she didn’t seem too keen on offering it up.”

We kept our mouths shut as we exited the facilities, acutely aware of the few journalists still lingering around the perimeter of the parking lot, waiting for us to leave.

Gideon didn’t say anything until he was at his car. “She’s working in your house, man. Might not be a bad way to ease yourself into playing on this side of the country.”

“If I need a tour guide, I’ll call you.”

He shrugged. “I’m just saying.”

I thought about what he said as I walked across the empty lot to my car. I needed some calories and sleep.

It had been just that. A hookup. A one-time thing. Wren was coming off a breakup, and I had just made a huge move. Neither of us needed this… Right?