Page 107 of Breakaway Hearts
CALLIE: Great game out there, Sutton! So proud of you!
I smile as I scroll through her texts. I can picture her face with each message and know exactly which plays she’s talking about.
“What are you grinning at?” Theo smirks at me, throwing a towel at my head.
I snatch it out of the air and throw it back at him, then quickly scroll through the rest of Callie’s messages. The last one is short and simple, and not about the game at all.
CALLIE: I miss you.
Something spreads through my chest, an ache that’s somehow painful and soothing at the same time. Without thinking, I look up the next flight to Chicago from Denver, book a ticket, and send it to Callie.
ME: I bought you a ticket to Chicago. It’ll get you there and back to Denver in time so you won’t have to miss school on Monday.
ME: No pressure if you can’t get away. But I miss you too. A lot.
Her reply comes through almost immediately.
CALLIE: I’ll be there.
I beam, not even caring when Theo catches the look on my face and smirks at me.
* * *
Two days later, the team is in Chicago. We won’t play until tomorrow, so I call a car to take me to the airport so I can meet Callie there.
He pulls to a stop at the arrivals area, and I tell him to wait a second while I go find her. He nods, and I hop out of the car and glance around. I spot her almost immediately, her red curls drawing my gaze like a magnet.
I frown.
She’s waiting near one of the exit doors, and some guy is standing a little too close to her, smiling as he tries to make conversation. Nothing about her body language is inviting him in, but he’s clearly not letting that stop him from hitting on her.
Oh, hell no.
Callie doesn’t see me right away as I stride toward them. She’s nodding along politely to whatever this guy is saying, not being rude or overly interested, and even if he’s harmless enough, a protective and possessive instinct rises up inside me.
“Firefly!” I call as I get closer to her.
Her head shoots up, and a grin breaks out on her face.Fuck, she’s beautiful.Stopping right in front of the guy who was trying to make a move on her, I pull her into my arms and give her a long kiss on the lips.
“Thanks for coming, baby,” I murmur. “I missed you so much.”
“Uh…” The guy takes a step backward, and I look up as if I’ve just noticed he’s there.
“She’s not interested,” I tell him bluntly.
He swallows. “I wasn’t—”
“Yes, you were. And you shouldn’t have been.” I drape an arm around her shoulders, fixing him with a hard look. “Because not only was she clearly not interested in talking to you, she’s very fucking taken.”
“Oh. Uh… I’m—” He gives an awkward shake of his head before rushing away without another word.
Callie swats at my chest. “Reese! You didn’t have to do that.”
“Hell yes, I did.” I blow out a breath, turning to face her fully again. “I don’t think you see it, but men look at you all the time. You were too sweet to tell that asshole off for bothering you, but that’s what you’ve got me for. You’re mine, and I don’t share. Not even a little.”
She rolls her eyes, but her deep green irises are warm as she looks up at me. “Okay, fine. Until this thing is over, I’m yours, and you’re allowed to come to my rescue as often as you like.”
I chuckle, although something in my chest twinges at the reminder that this all has some arbitrary time limit placed on it. I don’t like thinking about that, so I kiss her again instead, then wrap my arms around her and bury my face in her hair.