Page 43 of Beautiful Storm

No matter what.

I resist the urge to caress my belly and grab my tablet again to distract myself as Keeley drops into the seat beside me.

“Hi,” I rush out with a smile, trying to appear put together when I’m very much not. “How are you?”

“I’m good. Sorry, am I interrupting? I wanted to talk about the schedule, but if you’re busy…” She trails off, glancing down at my notes.

“No, you’re fine.” I shake my head and tuck a strand of loose hair behind my ear. “I was a little over note taking anyway.”

“I understand that.” Keeley giggles. “The guys are much more interesting in the locker rooms.” She waggles her eyebrows, making me laugh as I raise an brow in question.

“God, I didn’t mean it like that.” She grimaces comically. “I’m clearly overworked and not thinking about my word choices. I’m in desperate need of a tropical vacation and a good lay if I’m honest. I need to relieve some built-up tension.” I smile whenshe whispers the word “lay.” It’s not the word I would have used, but I like it. “You don’t know anyone, do you?” she asks, anticipation set in her features. “I don’t have the time to meet someone new.”

“I wish I did,” I say genuinely. Keeley’s lovely; I’d definitely help her if I could. But what do I know about decent guys? “I’m guessing you don’t want to go down the football player path?” I joke. Things could get awkward if she did.

Keeley scrunches her nose, giving me her answer before she speaks. “That’s too close to home. Plus, one of the guys is my brother. We just don't publicize it.”

“What?” I huff out a laugh. Not one person has let that slip.

“Oh, please don’t mention that in the show.”

I pretend to lock my mouth and throw away the key. “Your secret is safe with me. But can I know who it is?”

Keeley taps her fingers together as she lets out a giggle. “How about you guess? That would be more fun.”

“Oooh. Okay. Let me think.” I rub my chin as I study her features. She usually wears her long auburn hair straight, but today it’s pulled up into a messy bun and I can tell that it’s naturally curly. She has bronzed skin which makes me think she’s Californian, and she has bright blue eyes, though that doesn’t help considering I haven’t paid enough attention to any of the players’ eye colors. Except for Luke’s. His deep piercing eyes always get me. It’s been that way since we were kids. But I digress.Dammit.

I lift in my seat, pushing all thoughts of Luke out of my mind, and try to subtly scan the players on the field. My gaze finds Blake from special teams, his curly locks drawing my attention as they jut out from beneath his helmet.

“Blake?” I blurt in a rushed whisper but know I’m wrong when Keeley laughs. “Okay, what about…” I spot Nathan, remembering he’s one of the few guys I don’t know that alsogrew up in the Golden State. “Nathan! It’s Nathan, isn’t it?” Keeley doesn’t share many resembling features with any of the guys on the team, so these guesses are baseless, but it’s worth a shot.

She shakes her head, biting back a grin.

“Dammit. Okay. Wyatt, Dylan, Lawson, Miller.”

“Nope. Nope. Nope, still wrong.” Her smile lights up. She’s loving this.

“Ugh.” I pout. “I’ll get there. So… your brother’s the reason you avoid the team?”

“That and I’ve been burned by athletes before.”

“Haven’t we all?” A sigh escapes my lips before I can stop it and it draws Keeley’s attention.

“Ooh…it sounds like there's a story there. I didn’t mean to bring it up.”

“No, no. It’s okay. Mine’s a little different. He was a friend. One of those situations where he became too cool for me.”

“Ugh, that sucks. I hate those people.” She squeezes my arm, giving me a sympathetic smile, and guilt hits over my white lie. Luke definitely changed when he started playing on a new football team, but he wasn’t the one that walked out on our friendship. That was all me. He just led me to make that decision.

Keeley tells me about her experience with athletes, plural,—they are definitely her type— and we pass the time chatting, not once discussing the schedule like we were supposed to.

I can understand why she wants to avoid football players. She mentioned they’re the guys that hurt her the most, but if athletes are her thing, there are plenty of others out there. Hockey players for one. I wouldn’t say no to Jesse Hastings or—Oh God, I can’t think like that anymore. I’m going to be a mom.

“Are you okay?” Keeley asks, her voice dropping to a whisper again as she frowns. “You’re a little pale.”

“I’m okay. You just made me think of my own life and I fell into a hole. But I’m good now.” It’s going to take some time to really process the fact that I’m pregnant. I haven’t seen the baby or heard a heartbeat. So, while it feels real, it also doesn’t. “My story is long and for another time,” I add, already comfortable enough to one day talk about it.

“It’s a date.” She laughs. “For now…it looks like they’re done.”

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