Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One

DANE

M y alarm beeps from my phone, and it registers that we fell asleep while watching the movie. Lettie's head lies in my lap, and she stirs as I reach for my phone to turn it off.

I whisper, "Sorry, I forgot to turn off the alarm."

"What time is it?"

"Four thirty."

"Oh crap, I'm supposed to meet Jasper at five."

I let out a heavy sigh. "Don't you think you should have a shorter day since you compete tomorrow? All athletes have a walk through the day before but not a full-out practice."

"Dane, as much as I want to stay here with you, this is the next step in my future. My sponsors are paying him because he's the best. The person that can get me to the next level."

Damn, I thought maybe I was her future.

My head res ts on the back of the couch and can already feel soreness setting into my neck muscles. Slowly, she sits up, putting her bare feet on the floor. "I have to get ready," she says. "Let's go have a bagel in the coffee shop."

Within a minute, she is dressed for riding, and I'm still tying my tennis shoes. We sit for fifteen minutes, eating, and I show her the messages I received from my coach and all of the other people I'm ditching right now.

"You should go home. I want you to stay, but basketball is your job. They actually pay for you to play."

"Hey, I provide services for their money. I laugh at all their fucking jokes, and sign shit for their family members twice removed."

She chuckles with her spoon of yogurt in her mouth, and all I can see is her feeding our children. Two frizzy-headed girls who I have to braid their hair while Lettie plays with dinosaurs with our two boys.

"Elizabeth, I trust you got plenty of sleep," Jasper needles as he approaches our table.

He makes the bile in my stomach rise. I say, "Nope."

At the same time, Lettie says, "Yep."

I want that fucker to think we were having sex all night long even though we didn't. A grin tugs at his lips, and I want to smack it off.

The camera crew sneaks in behind Jasper. "Lettie, do you mind if we follow you while you're training today? This will be a fantastic local story that may go national. It ma y be what you need to get Olympic sponsors."

Jasper rolls his eyes.

"Great idea. If nothing else, Grans and Paps will love seeing the footage."

Her eyes look to him for approval "Sure. Wait, is it okay, Jasper?"

"Lettie, this your career," I say, frustrated that she's yielding to him. This is her chance and her fucking life.

"If it's what you want, Elizabeth, then they can follow us from afar. No spooking the horses," Jasper says, "Give us an hour, then come to the training facility on the far corner of the property."

Lettie stands and kisses me. "I'll head over after I finish my workout. I may be skipping practice, but I do need to keep working."

She whispers in my ear, "I'll need you to relax me tonight."

I want to say so much but not in front of Jasper. Placing a wet kiss on her lips, I say, "I can't wait to see you riding Diamond Mine again. Go be great."

"Bye."

Surprisingly, the gym is full at five in the morning. I stretch while waiting for the area by the free weights, using the time to send her a text, but am pleasantly surprised there's one from her waiting on me.

Lettie: Morning. I have the most thoughtful boyfriend. Thanks for being here. I wasn't sure if I needed to send this since we woke up together. Better safe than sorry.

Me: Morning, baby. Every day, you'll get a good morning text from me whether we wake up together or not. I'll be watching today.

Lifting fifty-pound weights, I do ten minutes on my arms, then two hundred sit-ups with a medicine ball, and still all the cardio equipment is in use.

I grab a towel and sanitizer, washing off everything I touched before heading into the locker room to wash my hands and face. I hop into a cab to the training facility. It's only six in the morning and cool enough to go for a run and not be suffocated by the Florida heat, so I decide to get my cardio in while exploring the amazing facilities.

This place is stunning, a lush green landscape surrounding the barns and arenas. I run past polo fields, but all of the activity is in the center of the property where the competition takes place tomorrow. Employees place the jumps and measure the distance between them. I stop to watch a woman with a clipboard stroll alongside the person with the measuring tape.

Thirty minutes later, the pavilion is ready. Unfortunately, I'm not, and I want to watch Lettie train today. I get in another mile before going back to the hotel, using the key Lettie gave me, so I could come and go today.

I shower and pull on some flat-front khakis, a polo, and my custom-made tennis shoes, and grab another cab. Then I head to one of the fifteen gift shops and buy a pair o f binoculars.

My phone dings nonstop in my pocket, so I flip the switch to silent mode. The notifications read:

Where are you?

Coach is pissed.

You better be at practice today.

Daisy came by asking for you.

Did you go home?

Is everything okay?

Still alive?

No one has heard from you.

Mac called to make sure you would be at the football game tomorrow.

Damn, dude. Even Nick is worried about you.

Called Brooke and Reed. They don't know where you are either.

Call one of us.

Half of the messages are from Devon, a few from other teammates, and two from the assistant coaches. Which means if I don't contact them today, they're going to call my dad.

I've been gone for less than twenty-fours, and they act like they can't function without me. For once in my life, I'm doing what I want to do. And if I want to be with Lett ie, I'll be with Lettie.

Me: Dev, I'm in Florida. Lettie competes tomorrow. I'll be back Sunday.

Devon: Damn, you need to tell Coach. He's pretty ticked that you're off the grid.

Me: I'll send him a message.

Devon: I don't envy you when you get back.

Me: She's worth any punishment I get.

Devon: She's a good one. Glad you finally got your head out of your ass. Tell her good luck for me and the team.

Devon's right, if I want to have it all then I need to communicate with my coach.

Me: Coach, sorry I missed practice but it's better now than later. Not sure you would understand my reasoning because Lettie isn't just some girl. She's my girlfriend, my best friend of sixteen years and she's supported me every step of the way. Now it's my turn to support her. I'll take my punishment when I get back.

Coach: Entitled is not what I expected from you. I thought you were different from your father.

His words roll around in my head like a marble roller coaster. I want to ask what happened between my father and him, but now isn't the time.

Me: I understand that you're angry, but I put up five-hundred shots a day at a minimum and work harder than most of the guys combined. I won't miss again.

My coach doesn't reply.

The stands are dotted with spectators, friends and family like me, watching as the horse and riders walk into the arena two at a time. Several pairs walk around the edges and then take a few trial runs before Lettie and Diamond Mine prance through the gate.

I don't need my binoculars to see the horse and gorgeous rider who grew up with me.

Wanting to see every facial expression she makes as she takes in the course, I pull the magnifying lenses up to my eyes, scanning until the focus lands on her. She intakes a deep breath and blows out those peachy pink lips. Ruining my moment, Jasper saunters beside her and squeezes her thigh, speaking to her.

Why is he touching my girl like that? That's my leg to squeeze.

She shakes her head in the affirmative, giving him a quick glance, and he retreats behind the wall to watch. Lettie walks Diamond Mine through the course two times, not doing any of the obstacles, talking to her horse the entire time.

I can read her lips. "Here's the combination jump. We're going to jump the vertical, then we'll only have two strides before the next one." She's always talked to herse lf aloud, and I always loved how I could get those small snippets into how her mind worked internally.

Jasper whistles, and Lettie advances to the wall to get last-minute coaching. I can't see his face. Hopefully, he's not saying, "Squeeze those legs like you're going to squeeze me tonight."

If anyone will be the recipient of her legs squeezing together, it will be as she screams my name. I've never truly felt threatened by anyone until Jasper. It's unreasonable. He's her coach and a good ten years her senior.

Diamond Mine and Lettie take their starting position. A sound blows, indicating her start. They move through the course. They get through the first three jumps, but Diamond Mine slows down after knocking over the top railing on the vertical obstacle.

At the end, Lettie pats her horse's neck and whispers something in his ear[JD1] . Finally, she notices me in the stands, and a grin spreads across her face. I nod, smiling like a fool in love. I decide at that moment, I'm telling her I love her, not as a best friend, but as a man lucky enough to be in love with his best friend. I knock my fist against my heart and utter, "You can do it."