14. Welcome to the Cowgirls

Hayes Kingman unlocked something inside of me, and I didn"t just mean a new kink. While that part was fun, it wasn"t what lit a fire under something inside that I hadn"t even realized had been banked for a very long time. I wasn"t a hundred percent sure I understood what had happened or what it meant, and I was going to need some time to think about it.

Snuggling in his arms while he occasionally snored but held me so tight against his chest that I couldn"t smother him with a pillow was more comfortable than I imagined it would be. And instead of getting all up in my head about it, I leaned into it, this feeling of being... content.

It wasn"t about the sex either. Technically we didn"t even have sex. The way he so blatantly wanted me and shared himself with me so unabashedly was not something I"d ever experienced before. It was so much more about intimacy, and I wondered if he even knew that"s what he did so naturally.

Although, to be fair, it was a little bit about the sex. In the morning, I was definitely making him demonstrate exactly what it looked like when he thought about me in the shower. That"s what I hoped to dream about as I fell asleep.

The next day"s reality of being the almost-girlfriend of a professional football player was crazeballs.

Jules led me into the VIP suite that the Kingmans and freaking Kelsey Best had reserved for the game. There was a whole-ass buffet with hot foods in silver serving trays and was that an ice cream bar? Wait, wait, and an actual bar with a bartender? This did not feel real, but if I had to watch a football game, this was definitely the way to do it.

"Willa," the other women all called my name in unison, and I instantly got a warm feeling in my chest, like we were all old friends meeting up for a beer. Then they introduced me to a few other people who were joining us for the game including the freaking Manniways and plus-size supermodel Sara Jayne Jerry.

Every single one of them acted like I was cooler than the other side of the pillow. Marie Manniway even handed me her card and acted like we were already best buds. "I hear you have a coffee shop. Perhaps we could talk about you hosting some of the Cowgirls and Cowpals get-togethers, which I have a feeling we"ll be inviting you to very soon."

What was a Cowpal? "Oh, yes, that would be amazing. We"re up in Thornminster, if that works for you."

She nodded like it was no big deal to come to my hole in the wall coffee shop in the suburbs from her fancy-ass mansion in Peachy Creek. "Anywhere the Kingmans and their partners and lovers hang out works for us."

Aha. I bet pal was short for partners and lovers. But why Cowgirls and Cowpals and not Mustang Girls and Pals? Oh. Oh wait, I got it. Because cowgirls ride mustangs, and she was being inclusive knowing that not all Mustangs were into women. I was going to like Marie.

"Want to try the alcoholic root beer float with me, Willa?" Sara Jayne Jerry held out a frosty mug to me.

"Like I"d say no to that." Or say no to anything she offered me. I took it, took a long sip through the straw, and gave myself a brain freeze.

"Good, right?" She ordered two more and held all three in one hand. When I raised my eyebrows at her skill, she smiled and said, "I used to work the beer tents at Oktoberfest back in the day, before all of this." She waved her hand around to indicate the suite and its utter decadence. "I thought I had to have it all figured out back then. I"m sure glad I didn"t."

She walked away and foisted the two other mugs off on Mr. Kingman and the man sitting next to him. Then gave that guy a kiss on the cheek, which he returned with a pinch to her butt. Cute.

Here I was, surrounded by football royalty, the unrivaled queen of pop, and a goddess of a supermodel, and they were all treating me like I was one of them.

We grabbed plates for the snacks, and normally, I"d just grab one or two things, having been trained under the watchful judgment of my mother about my eyes being bigger than my stomach. But Jules, Pen, Trixie, and Kelsey all loaded their plates, and no one looked at them funny. If they could, I could too.Those nachos looked bomb.

I sat right in front near the windows next to Jules, who nudged me with her elbow, her grin wide and knowing. "Badass, right?"

I huffed out one awed laugh. "Very. I"ve never experienced anything like this."

Trixie leaned over, her smile warm and reassuring. "You"ll get used to it. Trust me, the Kingmans have a way of making you feel like family in no time."

They already had.Except my family had never made me feel so comfortable, like I belonged. Not like this.

I glanced at Hayes"s dad, who was deep in conversation with Sara Jayne Jerry"s guy, who I think I"d heard was somebody"s agent. Mr. Kingman caught me looking and gave me one of those sports guy head nods, with a wink and a smile. I hadn"t even talked to him and felt a rush of gratitude for the easy acceptance he"d shown me. It meant more than I could say.

The game finally kicked off, and where I"d normally be pulling out my Kindle, my eyes were glued to the field, searching for that familiar figure in his away-game white, blue, and orange. The Mustangs had the ball first, and after the kickoff return, they were right at the fifty-yard line. The first couple of plays only got them a few yards, but at third and six, Chris threw a pass right to Hayes.

I watched, transfixed, as he spun away from a defender and leaped, snagging the ball out of the air like it was the easiest thing in the world. Before I knew what I was doing, I was on my feet, screaming and pounding on the glass with both hands. "Run, you beautiful butthead, run."

He raced down the sideline, his movements fluid and powerful, and I couldn"t stop screaming or jumping. Football had never been this exciting before. Who fucking knew?

"Touchdown, Mustangs!"

The suite erupted in cheers, everyone jumping to their feet in celebration. In one of the craziest moments of my life, I found myself chest-bumping Kelsey, her joy and laughter infectious as all of us ladies danced in happy circles.

Jules gave me a high five too, but with an added smirk and some teenage snark. "Beautiful butthead, huh?"

"I mean," I shrugged, "am I wrong?"

She laughed. "No, you are not."

The stadium"s Jumbotron replayed the touchdown, but then it showed another view, and the cameras were trained on our box. Of course, with Kelsey here, they"d want to capture every reaction. But as I caught sight of my own face splashed across the hundred foot wide screen, my stomach dropped right down through the floor, making its way to the basement of the stadium.

Xander. What if he was watching? What if he saw me, here at the game, celebrating with the Kingmans?

I tried to push the thought aside and pretend it wasn"t a big deal. If we"d been on TV, it would have been for all of, like, four seconds. Unless we ended up on replays, InstaSnap, FlipFlop, and a whole variety of other media outlets that liked to show international popstars at their fiancé's football games.

Crappity crap. I checked my phone quickly, and so far, no angry face emoji from Xan. Okay, good. Maybe he wasn"t watching. I decided to focus on the game and the incredible display of athleticism happening below and worry about Xan finding out I was betraying him later. Much, much later. Like never, if possible.

But every time the Mustangs scored, every time the cameras panned our way, the worry gnawed at me, a constant undercurrent to the excitement of the day.By the fourth quarter, I was hiding by the buffet, my nerves were frayed, my bottom lip raw from worrying it between my teeth, even though the Mustangs were absolutely dominating the Sharks.

Thank goodness for that ice cream bar. I gave alcoholic root beer floats an A plus for drowning one"s anxiety. Jules caught me staring at the remaining food, sucking on said drink. Except I hadn"t noticed I was just standing there spacing out until she threw a chicken nugget at me.

"Willa? We haven"t scared you off already, have we?"

I forced a smile, shaking my head. "No, no, of course not. This has been more fun than I expected. I think I"m just all worn out."

Penelope joined us and gave me an all too knowing look. "Wouldn"t have anything to do with why you didn"t rejoin the pajama party last night, would it?"

"Shh. I don"t want to get Hayes in trouble." I glanced over to Mr. Kingman, who, of course, was definitely eavesdropping on us. Thankfully he laughed and went back to watching the game.

Jules saw that exchange and shook her head. "Don"t worry about my dad. Not that I want to talk about my brothers" sex lives, but everyone knows the Kingmans play better ball when they"re getting laid."

Trixie and Kelsey came over to join in the gossip too, because why not? Apparently, there were no secrets among the Kingman queens. Trixie loaded up her plate again, grabbing a slice of red pepper and shaking it at Ms. Know-It-All with a giggle. "Jules."

"What?" Jules gave her a smug look. "I noticed Chris"s game is on fire today too. Enjoy your visit to the locker room?"

Trixie turned the color of her snack. "If you must know, I did. You don"t think I"d mess with the quarterback"s pre-game routine. They are superstitious as it comes."

Kelsey snickered. "I think you were the one coming."

Trixie took a bite of her pepper and nodded with a dreamy smile on her face. "Hmm. Yeah. Twice."

"If I wasn"t so happy to be getting more girls in this family, I"d be retching right now." Jules stuck her tongue out at the three of us.

Wait, she thought I was joining the family? Hayes and I weren"t even actually dating. And we weren"t going to. I needed to remember that the next time he made eyes at me that made me go all weak in the knees. I was leaving in a few more months. The last thing I should be doing is making friends with his sister and his soon to be sisters-in-law.

This day had to be a one-time thing. Or did it? I didn"t have to know everything about how our future was going to play out, and it was probably better if I didn"t.

"And I couldn"t help but notice that Everett was not at the top of his game today," Jules continued, "Who are we going to find to make the love guru, a.k.a. man whore, fall in love?"

Penelope made an abrupt turn toward the bar. "One margarita, please. Extra shot of Patrón."

Our girl gossip got diverted by the crowd outside suddenly going wild. We rushed back to the windows to catch a particularly spectacular play happening on the field. Hayes was racing down the sideline, the ball tucked securely against his chest, two defenders hot on his heels.

Time slowed as one defender dove to catch him, and he danced away as the guy hit the ground. Hayes was approaching the end zone, but the second man was gaining on him. Then Everett smashed into the other guy, sending them both onto the sidelines. Hayes put on another burst of speed, and the roar of the crowd doubled. But for me, it faded to a dull hum in my ears. I held my breath, my heart in my throat, as he crossed the goal line, the ball raised triumphantly over his head.

The suite exploded, everyone screaming and hugging, but I couldn"t tear my eyes away from Hayes. He was pointing up at us, at me. The stadium of people disappeared, the sound of a suite filled with family and friends celebrating dissolved, and there was only the two of us. Even as his teammates lifted him up on their shoulders and he ripped off his helmet, he stared up at me. I pressed one hand to the glass, wishing I could touch him, be with him, right now.

The worry, the fear, the uncertainty of how I was going to make this work, none of it mattered. All that mattered was this man, this incredible, talented, kindhearted man, and the way he made me feel seen, cherished, wanted.

If I was going to get attached to someone in this world, it was Hayes Kingman.

The final seconds ticked down and the Mustangs secured their victory. I knew I should have been celebrating with the others. But all I could think about was getting to Hayes, of throwing myself into his arms and never letting go.

I barely registered the trip down to the family meet-up room, my feet just moved on autopilot, following the other girls. And then he was there, his eyes finding mine across the crowded space, and everything else faded away.

There were reporters everywhere, and of course they were all surrounding Hayes. He said something to the one he was talking to, patted her on the shoulder, and then pushed by all the rest of them, coming toward me. I ran to him, leaping into his arms with a laugh that was half sob. He caught me easily, his arms banding around me like he never wanted to let go.

"You were incredible," I murmured into his neck, my fingers tangling in his damp hair. "I couldn"t take my eyes off you."

He pulled back just enough to look at me, his gaze soft and wondering. "I was playing for you, Willa. Every moment, every play. All I could think about was making you proud."

Tears pricked at the back of my eyes, my heart so full it felt ready to burst open and spew out rainbows and unicorns and cotton candy and kittens. I had no words for how that made me feel, so I kissed him, pouring everything I felt, everything I couldn"t quite say, into the press of my lips.

Here, in this moment, wrapped in the arms of the man I was falling in love with, nothing else mattered.

Let the cameras capture that.