Page 44 of Hot Route
MADS
No matterhow much I keep saying today is just another day, I’ve been remindedrepeatedlythat it’s my birthday. The surprises haven’t stopped coming since I opened my eyes this morning.
First, I woke up to Dia in our kitchen, making my traditional birthday breakfast of Mickey Mouse pancakes. I thought I was hallucinating until she squealed and tackled me to the ground, smothering my cheeks with kisses as Blaze laughed next to us. When he suggested we go to lunch on him while he hit the gym at the practice facility with Dalton, I was a little upset that he was leaving me on my birthday. But the fact that he arranged for Dia to be here with me after my little meltdown earlier this week made my heart skip a beat.
“Oh my God, these are so cute,” I say, looking at the reflection of the gorgeous studded red-bottom shoes Dia insisted I try on after she pulled me into a high-end department store neither of us can afford. I poke out my lip, not taking my eyes off the mirror. “Shame you can’t come home with me, babies. I would treat you so well.”
“Actually,” Dia says, her suspicious tone making me pinch my brows together while I wait for her to finish. She turns to the sales associate. “We’ll take them. Thank you for your help.”
I laugh at my best friend because, last I checked, neither of us has an extra fourteen hundred dollars just laying around. I walk over to the chair, take the shoes off, and hand them to the girl. “My friend is kidding. I wish I could buy them, but I can’t today.” I smile and slip my feet back into my red Converse.
Dia turns to her again. “These shoes as well as the black dress. It’ll go on the bill that was set up when Mr. Beckham called earlier.” She nods once and heads to the register as I sit there, slack jawed and sputtering. I want to say no. I shouldstop this, but I’m too shocked by the thought that Blaze must’ve put into this day.
I still struggle with what the future looks like for us. Doubt creeps into my head from time to time, reminding me that I’m not the kind of girl that’s worthy of Blaze Beckham. He may enjoy the sex now, but what happens when some tall, thin, beautiful supermodel comes along and shows him that he could do better? And who knows what my future holds? My internship will be ending soon. What if I don’t get the permanent position? I can’tnotuse the experience I’ve gained while being here. If Tailgate Media doesn’t want me, I’ll probably have to apply for jobs in other cities. Where would that leave me and Blaze? How could we nurture a new relationship from opposite ends of the country for half the year?
We can’t.
I’m brought back to the present when the sales associate returns with a garment bag. “Mr. Beckham requested that you change into this before you leave for your next stop. Dressing room one is open for you. I hope you have a wonderful birthday, Miss Rodgers,” she says with a smile before walking away.
I raise a brow at my best friend, who is doing too good of a job keeping secrets from me today. She shrugs. “Hey, I’m just doing what I’m told because, to be completely frank, he offered me a grand. And I love you a lot, but I love money even more.” She winks before shoving me toward the dressing room. “Now go squeeze that bitable ass into your new dress and let’s go.”
An hour later, we pull up Blaze’s driveway. Everything is eerily quiet, and all the lights are off. Dia pulls into the garage, and we leave the Audi that she insisted he let her drive on our adventure today. As we enter the house, she grabs my hand and leads me through the darkness to the back door, pulling it open. Before I can get a chance to ask her what the fuck is going on, the back yard lights up. I quickly notice the outdoor heaters and beautiful enclosed white tent that shields the yard from the chill in the air.
“Surprise!”
I go completely stiff, save for my eyes that dart around quickly to see every single person that means something to me standing there cheering in celebration. Tears fill my eyes and my hand darts over my mouth as my parents step forward and wrap me up in a family hug.
“Mom? Dad? I thought you were taking a road trip this weekend?” I say through tears. Sarah and Tyler stand beside them, drinks in hand.
“Oh honey,” my mom replies, pulling herself back slightly. “We lied to you. We’re quite good at it.”
“Had you believing that Santa Claus business until you were fourteen,” my dad chuckles.
They tell me all about how Blaze called them personally and arranged for them to fly out here. He offered for them to stay here at the house, but my dad has to be back to work tomorrow afternoon, so they’re staying at a hotel by the airport. I can’t believe he did all of this for me.
“Happy birthday, my beautiful girl,” my mom says before taking a sip of her drink. “Go say your hellos. We’ll be around.”
They step away just as Dalton rushes up and lifts me off the ground. “Happy birthday, Shorty!” he says enthusiastically before returning me to my feet. I giggle as he turns to Dia, who is still standing beside me. “Well, hi there. And who are you?” He seems to have forgotten I exist, and I smile as I get ready for her reply. But before she can say anything, he holds up one finger, shushing her as he pulls his phone out of his pocket and begins typing.
“Rude much?” Dia scoffs.
Dalton returns his phone to his pocket and smiles at her. “Sorry. Just had to shoot my mom a quick text to tell her I found the girl I’m going to marry,” he says, winking at her. I expect one of her signature witty comments, but all she does is raise her brows in surprise. She quickly pulls herself together, rolling her eyes.
“You’re cute,” she finally says. “But I would break you.”
“Can’t wait, Wifey,” he replies with a smirk, putting his hand on the small of her back and leading her toward the bar in the corner of the tent.
I laugh at them, then turn to see the culprit of these shenanigans walking toward me. Blaze looks delicious in a pair of dark jeans and a tight white dress shirt. His sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, showcasing the drool-worthy veins that wrap around his muscled forearms. Even though I want to be upset with him for wasting a night where he could be reviewing tape for next week’s prime-time game, his grin is contagious. Ican’t help but smile back at him as he walks up and wraps his arms tightly around my waist, burying his nose in my hair and inhaling.
“Blaze,” I say, softly. “You shouldn’t have done all this. It’s just a birthday.”
He looks up at me, eyes widening as he shakes his head. “It’s notjustanything, Mads. You do so much for everyone around you. You deserve a party like this every weekend. But since you’d rip my balls off and feed them to me if I did that, I figured I could get away with a small birthday celebration.”
Looking around at how not small this whole thing is, I’m overwhelmed with gratefulness for this man. Even though whatever this is, is complicated, Blaze Beckham has become a centering force in my world. He knows the real me and he still wants me around, which I can’t say about many of the people who have come in and out of my life.
This is just one more reason I should be doing everything I can to protect both of us by not letting it go any further. We said ‘one day at a time’, but I’m not sure how much longer we can keep doing that. I’ve been so careless with my feelings when it comes to Blaze, and now I’m afraid I’m in too deep if he decides he doesn’t want to take the next step, whatever that is. I couldn’t handle losing him. I wouldn’t survive it.
As if he can sense my inner turmoil, he releases me and grabs my hand in his, squeezing. He brings me around from table to table, so I can greet the people who decided to spend their evening celebrating me. Almost all of his teammates are here, including Tanner who smiles as he hands me a large orange box.
