Chapter Thirty-One

Blake

I 've never been the type of guy to get too fucked up over the women I'm dating. They have their lives, and I have mine, but with Willa, I want to be a part of everything she's doing. There's something about her that fires up the protective part of my personality. So many people have done her wrong, from professionals, to people she trusted, to others who called themselves her fans. As we enter the downtown restaurant, I walk in front of her, our hands together, our fingers entwined.

"Blake, congratulations on an amazing season. Will you sign my ball? Willa, I have tickets to your show."A fellow diner says, holding out a ball.

There are so many people talking to us, I don't even know where to look, and I don't think she does either. We do the best we can, as we walk further into the room, everything goes darker since we're inside a private establishment with the lights turned low. There are teammates around, but what Willa doesn't know is that I want tonight with her alone.

"Aren't we going to join everyone else?" She points over to where a group of my teammates are sitting at a large banquet-sized table.

"No, I want you to myself for the night. We have our own private table. It's not that I want to keep our relationship a secret. It's that I just want to be able to talk to you without anyone interrupting. Is that okay with you?" I grip her hand in mine.

"That's good."

Relief flows through my body. "Right this way." I direct her toward the room I've reserved.

"Oh my gosh." She gasps as she walks in.

I've requested that certain things be done to this room to knock her socks off, and it looks like the plan is working. There are glittering balls hanging everywhere. "Do you like it?"

She nods, looking around like she can't believe it. The fact that I've been able to surprise her gives me a giddy feeling, the same kind as I used to have when I would ask a girl out in high school. I hope she knows how much I've paid attention to what she likes.

"It's sparkling like a disco ball." Her voice squeaks, her mouth agape in surprise. "This is amazing. How long did this take to plan and implement?"

"At least a week." I put my arm around her neck. She reaches up and grasps my fingers that are hanging over her shoulder.

"Thank you," she whispers. "I'm excited to spend tonight with you, and just you."

After we've ordered our appetizer and drinks, I turn to her. "So, tell me what all your plans are for the next few months while you're off tour."

She sips her wine before smiling widely, her lips painted a showstopper red and showing off her impossibly white teeth. "Spending as much time going to football games as I can, and hanging out with everyone who brings me joy."

"I hope that's me." I lean in, stealing a piece of bread off the table.

"You've brought me more joy in this small amount of time than my last three long-term relationships have. I appreciate you so much, Blake."

My stomach warms with those words. I did plenty of wrong things in my last relationships, and I decided that once I got into another one, and it was serious, I'd do all those things right. Maybe that is why everything I have with her means so much. "The next game is in New York—are you good with that? I'd love for you to come."

"I have an apartment in New York. You may have known that?"

I've learned a lot about her over the past few months. "I did, but I didn't want to make an assumption that it was really your apartment. That's what the media says, not what you've told me. The Blake who took things for granted with his previous girlfriends made those assumptions. This Blake is new and improved. I'm not ever going to be perfect, but I'm trying not to be so fuckin' selfish."

"That's a good toast, I think, for both of us to make." She holds up her wineglass, and we toast to the sentiment. "I'm more than happy to go to your game in New York. Do you think CeCe would like to hang out with me and a few of my friends in New York for a few days before?"

"I think CeCe would shit her pants if you ask her that."

She giggles loudly. "Then she'll be my first text when we leave here."

To know that Willa wants to spend time with the woman my brother loves, a woman I look up to, causes a smile to spread across my face. My old girlfriend? She didn't always love hanging out with CeCe. CeCe is quiet, unassuming, and a tad quirky—everything I love about her, but she can come off as a bit stand-offish to people who don't know her. Unfortunately, my ex never took the opportunity to get to know her, so Willa being so open to that concept reinforces everything I'm growing to love about her. "Thank you. She'll love that."

"No need to thank me—I enjoy hanging out with your family. They don't make anything difficult or awkward. I appreciate that." She laughs, taking another sip of her wine. "I almost always make it awkward."

"I'll always be awkward with you."

Our food comes, and in between bites of the appetizer and drinks of our alcohol, we're smiling at each other in a way I haven't done in years.

"You make me happy, Blake." She sighs, folding her arms on the table and tilting her head to the side.

"I'm glad. You make it easy. I've never not had to try so hard at anything in my life. It's like we fit together." I reach across the table and take her hand in mine. Warmth spreads across my face, and I duck my chin into my chest. "So many people have told me that when you know, you know."

"Yeah. I'm starting to understand what that means too. It's terrifying though. So many could also say I told you so."

"They could," I agree. "But I think I'd rather just live."

A wide smile spreads across her face, and her blue eyes light up. "I think I'd rather just live too. Thanks for making me realize that."

"You make me realize it every single day."