Page 40 of Bound and Blitzed

I dragthe towel over my head before tugging on the Henley shirt.

“What are you up to tonight?” Talon asks as he drops onto a bench in the locker room.

I glance at him over my shoulder. Most of my teammates have already left for the day. It was a grueling practice, and we needed it, knowing that tomorrow will be slightly easier before our game this weekend.

I shrug. “You want to grab a bite?” I offer, assuming that’s why he’s inquiring.

Talon furrows his eyebrows. “You’re not going to Valentina’s presentation?”

I rear back, surprised. What presentation? And how the hell does Talon know about it? “What are you talking about, man?”

Something I appreciate about Talon is there’s no judgement in his gaze. Instead, it’s almost as if he expected me not to know about Valentina’s presentation. I’m not sure if that makes me feel better or worse.

My head clears the collar of the shirt, and I drop onto the bench beside him.

“It’s hard to balance football and a relationship,” he admits quietly. “I can’t imagine what it’s like for a marriage.”

“It’s been a whirlwind,” I admit truthfully. “Things happened fast and now, I’m here and she’s busy with work, and it’s like we catch each other at random times when we’re coming or going.”

“Yeah. But you gotta put in the work and show up for her. This is new for both of you and ideally, you’ll both make some compromises. But one of you has to make the first move.”

I clear my throat and tug on the back of my neck, hating that I’m so unsure of my next steps. When I was with Mila, things were easy because there was no pressure. There weren’t real stakes other than the idea of marriage somewhere down the road in the distant future.

With Valentina, she’s my wife. And even though it’s not supposed to be for real, parts of it feel that way. And I miss her. I just don’t know how the hell to tell her that without ruining the agreement we came to.

“The week we spent together was…it was fun,” I say.

“Yeah. Because you were on vacation. You were wrapped up in each other with no distractions, no family, and no real-life commitments. Now, everything has changed, and you need to carve out time and space for her in your busy schedule.”

“Yeah. You’re right.”

“You should go to her presentation. We’re done for the day.”

“I don’t even know where it is.”

“At the university. She’s going to talk about something to do with Ijams,” Talon explains patiently.

“How the hell do you know this?” I wonder, frowning at him.

He smirks. “Leni and Nova ran into Valentina yesterday downtown. They had coffee together.”

“Valentina was downtown,” I mutter, realizing I have no clue how she spends her days. Other than being on campus, I don’t know what she does in her downtime.

Who has she been eating dinner with? Who are her colleagues and classmates? Did her proposal for Ijams get approved? Has she told her family anything else about me, about us, yet?

I know nothing and I’ve been too ashamed to own up to it that I buried myself in football. In the one thing that feels like it’s in my control in a landscape that’s changing too quickly for me to keep up.

“She was going to check with you about the Christmas party,” Talon talks on, his tone gentler than I’ve ever heard it.

Fuck. The fact that Talon is taking pity on me fills my gut with guilt. I’ve done a piss-poor job at honoring my vows. Of honoring my wife.

“We’ll be there,” I confirm.

“I know that. I’m not sure if Valentina does,” Talon says, standing from the bench. He reaches out and grips my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Go to her presentation. Take your wife out tonight. Have some fun, Cap, and then put in some goddamn work.”

I snort and nod, knowing he’s right. “Yeah, I’ll do that.” I shake my head at him. “I never thought I’d take relationship advice from you, Miller.”

Talon smirks. “You should take all the advice you give, Callaway.”

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