Chapter Fifteen

Blake

T he Nashville sun is beating down as the team practices in full pads and helmets, getting ready for our game this weekend at home against New England. Although we're used to the humidity and heat, we always make it a point to work out in full pads a few days before each game. We're already in better shape than most of our opponents; this just increases our conditioning.

Bret jogs over to me and comes to a stop, standing in front of me. "Where were you last night? CeCe wanted to invite you over for dinner, but you didn't answer any of my texts."

The worst part of being on the same team as your older brother is that he's always up in your fuckin' business. "I had other plans."

"Willa arrived in Nashville last night. Did she have anything to do with your plans?"

I sigh, tilting my head. "Maybe she did."

"Why are you trying to not say anything about this, Blake? It's not like you. I'm not trying to be nosy—I'm literally making conversation."

I don't know why I'm holding all of this so close to the vest. I usually share everything with him, even if it's not shit he wants to know. Maybe I'm trying to protect her and her privacy as well as mine. But this is my brother—what I tell him shouldn't matter. "We spent the evening together."

"So that's where you got that hickey on your neck?" He smirks.

"Shit." I wish I had a mirror so I could see it.

"Relax, no one knows the two of you are hanging out right now other than the team and the people who guessed from the podcast. No one is going to blow your cover. We love you too much for that."

"Sorry." I scratch my neck self-consciously. "It's not even about the cover. It's just she's got so many eyes looking at her, and I know they're going to be on me too. I'm trying to get ahead of it, and part of that is learning not to tell everything about my life to people."

He rolls his eyes. "I'm not people. I'm your brother."

"I know." I laugh. "But if I can keep from spilling my guts to you, then that means I might be able hold strong."

"You do know what you're getting into with her, right?" Bret asks. "There will be cameras everywhere. There will be people criticizing everything you do. If we lose, we'll be losing because she's a distraction. If we win, we'll be winning because she's a distraction to the other team. Will you be able to ignore it when players start talking shit to you out on the field? It's a lot to deal with. When CeCe was pregnant with Jovi? Guys would say shit all the time when they sacked me—mostly about how they hoped I'd be hurt so bad that I wouldn't be able to take care of my kid. They're going to say worse to you. We both know it."

I inhale deeply, l understand what he's trying to say, and for the moment I take my attitude down. "No, I get it. I appreciate you, and I appreciate that you're always trying to look out for me. You've done it since we were kids. You know I almost didn't make it here, and you know that if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be playing ball."

He rolls his eyes, tilting his head back. "You made a stupid mistake eating an edible gummy."

"It was more than one," I remind him, smirking. "It was way more than it should've been, but damn they were good. I just had no idea they were laced with anything. How was I to know that was going to be the next big thing? I should've fucking invested, think of where I'd be now."

"Look, it was college, and if you hadn't been an athlete it wouldn't have been a big deal. We both know that. It isn't like you were some sort of vagrant who was out there snorting coke and using it to help you run faster. You ate fucking gummies—by accident, which is the funniest thing about the whole situation. I'm never gonna leave you behind." He claps his hand on my shoulder. "And I'm always going to be here to support you. Which is why I just wanna know how it's going with the biggest pop star in the world."

The smile that spreads across my face isn't one I can stop or that I even want to. "Last night was amazing. It was one of the best nights I've ever had."

"Different than the last girl?" He raises an eyebrow.

I blow out a breath. "Christina and I were together off and on for nine years, Bret. If it had been a good relationship, it wouldn't have gone on that long without me proposing to her. There were a lot of problems with she and I. Neither one of us knew how to fix it, but now, being with Willa? I realize we just didn't match each other's energies. We weren't what each other needed." I stretch my arms above my head. "I mean, you've seen Christina's Instagram posts with her new man, Thompson. They are goddamn glowing. She texted me the other day," I offer. I hadn't planned on telling him this, but I've already started it now.

"Oh, did she?"

"Yeah. She's pregnant, and they're announcing it. They got engaged last week, and she wanted to give me a heads-up since we'll be playing his team in week ten. It was nice of her to do that, and I'm extremely happy for her. She deserves it, and she's gonna be a great mom." I mean every word I say, and although I'd thought I might feel sad when I thought about what could've been with her, I don't.

"That's a really mature take from you. I'm proud of you for realizing it." Bret folds his arms over his chest. "The you a year ago wouldn't have been able deal with that, even if you were the one who asked for it to end."

"All true. I just wasn't in a good place mentally. Not after losing the big game the way we did."

Bret nods but doesn't say anything for a few minutes. "Yeah, losing by a fuckin' field goal was a bitch. I'm not sure I'll ever get over it."

Coach whistles, motioning for all of us to come in and take a knee. It's hard, but I'm trying to forget the heartache from last year. I have to admit, though, Willa's helping more than I'd ever thought she would.