Page 93 of Reckless Love
I know she's enjoying what we're doing.
But I also see the moments of terror when she stops and thinks about it too much. And that's what I'm afraid will happen when I'm gone for a couple of days. I'll get back late tomorrow night and then we’ll be back to work on Monday before being off for a couple of days for the holiday.
Hopefully, the time away will only make her heart grow fonder.
I manage to set up some time with the guys for breakfast on Sunday morning. I saw them on the plane last night, but we weren’t able to talk much, and since the topic of Elle is off-limits in most places, we haven’t had a chance to fully debrief. Elle and I FaceTimed until late last night and I managed to sleep some, but it sure wasn't the same without her.
I walk up to the table where Bowie and Weston are waiting.
“There you are,” Weston says.
“Hey.” I look around. “Was Henley able to make it?”
“Yeah, he's coming. Coach flew him in separately and I don’t know why Penn isn’t here yet.”
“Great,” I say.
“There's something different about you,” Weston says, grinning. “It's like you just can't stop smiling. I also might have heard some things from my fiancée.”
“Oh, really.” I lean back in my chair, laughing. “Yeah, I ran into Sadie at the bookstore the other night and thought you might catch wind of a few things. I'm surprised my phone hasn't blown up.”
“Your phonewasblowing up. You've just chosen to ignore it,” Bowie grumbles.
“Oh yeah, that's right. I haven’t been watching my phone because I’ve been living in my bubble with Elle,” I say, grinning from ear to ear. “And it’s been so damn good.”
They pound me on the back and yell and cheer like we're out on the field. The few people in the hotel restaurant stare at us and I lean in.
“Keep it down, boys. You're gonna get us thrown out of here.” I pretend to be worried.
Penn saunters to the table and leans on it like he’s exhausted.
“I’m sorry I'm late. I've been on the phone with Sam all morning. He kissed a girl last night.”
“No way. The one he liked? What was her name?” Weston asks.
“No. A new girl. She sounds cute, feisty,” he says.
“Good Lord, I’m ready for this season to be over so we can get back to our regularly scheduled meetings. I didn’t even know Sam was liking someone new,” I gripe.
Sam is the kid Penn met through a tutoring program the Mustangs were part of and they’ve stayed close. Sam’s in the foster system and Penn watches out for him. We all feel invested in the boy’s life.
“Was it good? Did he do it right?” I ask. “Shit, he’s starting young. Isn’t he just freshly eleven?”
“Who am I to say if he did a good job or not?” Penn smirks. “He sure seems pleased about it though.”
We all laugh.
“I tried to tell him how to kiss before because you know he asks fucking everything, but who knows if he retained it?” He shakes his head. “I tried to only talk about littlepecks, but he was like, ‘But where does the tongue come in?’ I changed the subject so fast. Hopefully he didn't stick his tongue down the girl’s throat or anything.”
We all laugh.
“Speaking of tongues down throats,” Weston says. “Rhodes has some things he needs to share with the class.”
“I do have some things I need to share, but they are private and I will keep them to myself,” I say, taking a long drink of orange juice.
“Don't you fucking dare,” Bowie says, surprising us all. “We are way too invested in this for you to get all discreet on us now.”
“He's right,” Weston says. “I’m all for respecting Elle's privacy, but come on, give us a little something.”