Page 86 of The Game Plan

Ethan doesn’t. He grazes the side of my neck with his teeth, his beard tickling. “Make an effort to stretch your legs.”

“Ethan.” I run my fingers through his silky hair. “It’s not that long of a plane ride.”

“It’s too long,” he grumps. And I know he isn’t talking about time but distance.

My breath hitches with a twinge of pain.

It breaks the spell between us. He takes a step back, his hands falling away as if holding me any longer hurts him.

He stares down at me with eyes suspiciously bright and glassy. “Safe flight, Fi.”

“See you soon, Ethan.”

His nod is a ghost of a movement.

It takes effort to move, to take the handle of my roll-on bag. I’m turning to go when he mutters an oath and grabs me. I’mengulfed by a wall of muscle and arms of steel. He hugs me tight, hunching over me, his nose buried in the crook of my neck.

My arms wrap around his waist, fingers digging into the loose fabric of his shirt.

He breathes in deep, then lets it go with a shaky gust. “I hate this. I hate it so much.” His grip makes my ribs protest, and his voice goes rough. “I feel like some essential organ is being ripped from me.”

My eyes burn, my throat locking up tight. I swallow hard. “Ethan...”

But he shakes his head and sets me away from him. His expression is almost angry, jaw set beneath the blanket of his beard.“Time to go, Cherry. Just... don’t look back, okay? Or I won’t be able to let you go.”

My vision blurs. Sniffling, I nod. “All right.” But I can’t move.

With a sad smile, he takes me by the shoulders and turns me toward the dreaded TSA line. “Go on now.” His big hand slaps mybutt. “Get.”

I jump a little, glaring over my shoulder. “You sounded awfully Southern just now, mister.”

That smile quirks. “Went to a Southern university. Guess I picked up a few things, ma’am.” The smile falls. “Go on, Cherry.Don’t look back.”

“I won’t.” I can’t. Or I’ll never leave.

My rolling bag weighs a thousand pounds as I drag it behind me, every step taking me farther away from Ethan. I don’t turnaround, but I feel him watching. I know he won’t go until I’m out of sight.

Tears threaten to fall, but I breathe through them. I can’t let him see me cry. When I’m through the line, my cell dings.Glancing down, I almost lose it again.

FearTheBeard:? <—mine goes with you. Always.

Thirty

Dex

Monday Night Football. The audience is not as rowdy as in college. Fans are more likely to shout “You suck” than give theirundying love. Because it’s about the win. Sure, we had that need to win in college. But school spirit trumped the team’s record.Here?

My job is on the line if I don’t perform.

The stadium isn’t as big. Doesn’t need to be. Cameras are everywhere, taking in every fucking move we make for an audiencethat grows year by year—a big, voracious mass of unseen fans. Damn if I haven’t begun to think if it not as a sport but theater.

We’re giving them a show, and it had better be good.

Right now, I’m facing off against a big bastard of a nose tackle. Emmet Sampson. We played against each other in college,and I know his ways well. He loves to talk shit. Excels at it. I’m pretty sure he makes a study of his opposition to findthe worst dirt he can on them.

Emmet can’t stand me because I’ve never once blinked in the face of his bullshit.

Not that he doesn’t keep trying.

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