Chapter Thirteen

Rowan

I sit down with a sigh at Serendipity's, the café busy with people coming in to get their caffeine and sugar fix, and I’m no exception.

An email comes through from Charles. I already know what he wants.

Rowan, I need an update on the Bex story, ASAP! Or do you need me to take you off this story and put someone else who can do it?

Best regards,

Charles Albright

His email threatens to ruin my appetite for lunch with the girls. If Charles take me off this story, kissing the promotion goodbye will be the least of my worries. I’ll be looking at a demotion, or even worse, looking for a new job. And with Charles being a big fish in the media pond around here, it could hurt my chances at getting another job in sports journalism—or any reporting job, for that matter.

It’s the perfect place to unwind with the girls, a little pocket of warmth where laughter and friendship thrive. It’s been two weeks since that gala night with Bex, a whirlwind of a night that’s left me with enough moments to replay in my mind. But after a few lingering glances from my spot on the stadium seating behind him for the last couple of weeks, there hasn’t been a single word uttered about the night in the limo. Even during last week's out of town games, Bex has been polite but distant in a different way than usual.

As I settle in with my coffee, Keely, Autumn, Cammy and Penelope slide into the booth, all smiles and chatter. Autumn’s the first to notice my distracted expression, her brows knitting together. “What’s up with you, Ro? You look like you’re a thousand miles away.”

I force a smile, not wanting to dampen the mood. “Just thinking,” I reply, taking a sip of my latte. “It’s been a busy couple of weeks.”

Keely nods, shaking out a hand. “Tell me about it. The guys are all coming in more regularly for therapy. My hands are killing me.”

Penelope nods in understanding, her eyes sympathetic. “Speaking of injured players, how are things going with you and Reeve?” she asks gently.

Keely bites her lip, hesitating for a moment before she speaks. “Better since I opened up to him about my dad contacting me. He’s been so worried that I’m going to break things off because I’m worried about his career,” she admits, her voice soft. “He wants me to come clean with Sam and Phil and find a way to put this behind us. And he wants to do it this week.”

A hush falls over our table as we take in her words. I reach across, my hand finding hers, giving it a supportive squeeze. “That’s a big step, Keely,” I say gently. “And a brave one.”

Autumn sitting next to her, reaches over, taking her other hand. “We’re here for you and we’ll go with you to talk to Sam if you want. I think you’re going to feel relieved to get this out in the open and move on.”

Keely looks up at Autumn and then to me, her eyes grateful, but there’s a flicker of uncertainty. “I just… I don’t want it to blow up in his face. He’s worked so hard, and this feels like it could undo everything.”

Autumn leans forward, her expression fierce. “Whatever happens, we’ll be there. I met someone at the gala that I think can help. I’ll make a call, okay? I promise I’ll be discreet about it.”

The word ‘gala’ sends a flutter through me, thinking of Bex and the limo again.

Keely’s shoulders relax, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Thank you. That means the world to me. Really. Can we talk about something fun now? The “dad went to prison thing” is a total buzz kill.”

We all smile and nod.

“I think we should talk about how Rowan hasn’t gone through her Hawkeyes girls initiation yet,” Autumn says. “What's the hold up?”

“I’m not dating a player on the team. It’s part of the requirement. But it’s fine, I already feel like part of the group.”

“You mean you’re not dating a player yet,” Penelope smiles and winks at Cammy.

I glance between them both. “Hey! What was that? Hidden winks and such. If this has to do with me I think I should be notified of the scheming.”

Penelope takes a sip of her and then sets it down. “You and Coach Bex seemed awfully cozy at the gala two weeks ago and Cammy spotted you two leaving together, which you failed to mention at our last girls brunch.”

“Cammy! Girl code,” I demand.

Cammy covers her mouth and giggles. “I’m sorry. Penelope should have been a CIA lie detector operative. She got it out of me. And don’t blame me, anyone in the gala could have seen you two leaving together. You two were holding hands as he guided you out of the party, and the man looked like he was about to burn down the whole world for you. It was hot as hell. Please tell me you broke off a piece of that.”

I watch as all three of my friends turn and stare straight at me. I broke the one cardinal rule in our group.

Rule #1 - Thou shalt always tell the group when you’re having hot sex.

Damn it!

“Oh.My.GOD!” Autumn starts. “You slept with Coach Bex?”

Penelope’s grin widens and a few older ladies from a table over start to lean closer to our table.

“Shush it!” I say, waving them to be quieter. “The whole city block doesn’t need to hear you. And we didn't sleep together. It was once in the back of the limo.”

Autumn shakes her head and stirs in a sugar packet into her tea. “Well at least I can tell Juliet why we got charged an extra large cleaning fee. She’s been hounding them about dropping the charge for two weeks. What the hell did you guys do back there anyway? They said it took hours to clean up.”

I cock a brow at her, Bex said he was going to pay off the limo driver so no one would know. “Hours to clean up? That seems dramatic. It was a beaded dress, not a jello fight.”

Keely laughs. “He ripped your dress in the act! You’re in so much trouble. Just wait until Tessa and Isla find out what juicy secret you've been keeping, you naughty girl.”

“It didn’t mean anything and it was only one time. We haven’t spoken about it since and we never will.” I tell them.

Cammy rolls her eyes. “If you think it’s over, then you don’t see the way Bex looks at you when you’re not watching. Or how he can’t stop glancing over during practice at the seat you usually sit in when you aren't there.”

Penelope nods, “I agree. You’ll be an honorary Hawkeyes WAG by the end of the season, mark my words. Whatever's going on between you two, that was just a warmup.”

Oh God, I hope she’s wrong. I don’t think I can handle any more if that was Bex’s “warm up”.

I roll my eyes, trying to play it off, but I know there’s truth to her words. “Alright, alright. So, maybe there’s… something there. But whatever it is, it’s complicated.”

Keely squeezes my hand. “Complicated or not, we’re here for you. Whether it’s just a fling or something more, you deserve happiness, Ro.”

I smile, feeling a bit of the tension ease as the girls dive back into their usual banter, swapping stories, and making plans for who’s apartment they’ll watch all of the out-of-town games at, and who’s bringing what snacks. But in the back of my mind, I can’t shake the image of Bex in that limo—the warmth of his hands, the steady, unflinching look in his eyes as he took care of me.

Tomorrow, I’ll go down to his office and clear the air. If there’s something between us, I need to know.