CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR
RHODES
Now
It’sthe day before our game, and I’m about to take off for the hotel when I hear Elle on the phone.
“I appreciate your call, but…no, thank you. You don't need to change the rules for me. I broke the rules and I deserve to live with the consequences. It would have been fun to be with everyone in this last home game, but I will be on the sidelines cheering my man on, front and center. No more hiding for me,” she says and laughs.
My man, she said.
Damn, am I ever glad I didn’t give up on us after that crazy night we first kissed. She almost had me convinced we’d never be together like that again, but here we are.
When she hangs up a few minutes later, I come up behind her and kiss her on the cheek.
“Cheering your man on, huh? Is that me?”
“No, it’s Bowie. He’s hot and isn’t always demanding attention.” She jumps when I tickle her side. “Of course, it’s you,” she yelps. “It’s always been you, remember? There’s no one else for me.”
“That’s more like it,” I say, dipping her back and kissing her.
I’m so grateful I didn’t stop hoping for this with her one day. It’s better than I could’ve imagined.
When I lift her back up, she pokes my side and laughs when I jerk to the side.
“That was Lisa. She called and said I could dance with the team tomorrow. She didn'trealizeI already had such a big career going on the side and that they were lucky to have me on the team. She hoped there were no hard feelings and said an exception could be made for this game. She also said she hoped I’d do a charity event as Zoey Archer with them in the future. I said I’d be happy to consider any charity events when the time comes.”
“Look at that, her groveling with you and you turning her down.”
“Yeah, it just felt manipulative after all was said and done. I'm tired of doing my own part in the manipulatingand tired of putting up with it from anyone else. I'm ready for things to just be out in the open.”
“You won't get any complaints from me there,” I tell her, kissing her.
The game goes well.We win. One more game unless we make the playoffs as a wild card. But when I see Elle after we win, not too far from the field, I run over and motion for her to come down the rest of the way. She does, jogging down the steps until she’s at the bar separating us. I lift her over the bar and she laughs, wrapping her legs around my waist as I kiss her lips off. It’s everything.
“You look so fucking good in my jersey.”
“Way better than my cheer uniform any day.”
“Mmm. I will miss that uniform.”
When we pull away, we realize we’re on the jumbotron and that the crowd is going nuts for us.
She leans her forehead on mine and laughs. “Guess the secret’s fully out now.”
“Thank. God.”
The next fewdays are spent around the house, hanging out with the family. We have a great time with my parents and when Elle is out of the room, they help me work on a plan for New Year’s Eve.
Bogey is getting better each day. So far, the little guy is a pro with potty training and he's only chewed one thing but stopped once we gave him toys he was interested in. The only complaint I have about the little dude is that now,when Elle and I start to fool around, he whines at the bed like he should be able to come up and be part of things. Thankfully he’s still too short to try to watch us.
No sir, I don't think so. I'm not into sharing.
Elle thinks it's hilarious. The poor guy’s in love with her about as much as I am and follows her around like she's his favorite person. I get it, I really do.
Carrie apologized for how atrocious she acted the other night. I told her she needed to apologize to Elle too, but she hasn’t, so I don’t buy into her apology. I wanted to call the sheriff about the pictures, but Elle said not to because she wanted to just forget about everything Carrie had done and move on. I had a call with my lawyers just in case Carrie does anything else to jeopardize our custody arrangement. I’ve remained firm on the drop-offs and pickups happening elsewhere, and so far, she hasn’t fought it. I hope she won’t stir up any more trouble, but I’m not counting on it.
