It would be excruciating.
And I didn’t know if I could do it …
“Don’t fucking remind me,” I barked.
“Walker’s calling. I’m going to merge us together instead of telling him I’ll call him back. One sec.” There were a few moments of silence before Eden said, “Walker, hi.”
“Walker, my man,” I voiced.
“What the fuck is happening?” Walker said. “I called Eden and got you too?”
“I was already on the phone with Beck, so I decided to stick us all together,” Eden explained.
“While I have you, Beck, your season opener is next week,” Walker said. “The whole family will be at the game. We need totalk about what we’re going to do after. Should we celebrate at Musik? Or go somewhere else?”
When Walker said all, he meant my siblings.
But that didn’t mean all of them would go out after.
“Musik is easy,” I told him. “We’ll get the privacy we need. We can get Charred to deliver whatever we want food-wise. And we can reserve the whole VIP area if we need to, given that I’ll be inviting the entire team and staff.” I paused. “Eden, you’re going to come too, aren’t you?”
She quickly replied, “To the game, yes. Out, no.”
I expected her answer, but I still wanted to ask.
“Give me an estimated number of people who will be going to Musik,” Eden said. “I’ll make sure the rest is taken care of.”
“I’ll talk to the team today at practice.” I pulled into the private lot directly behind Jolie. “Speaking of which, I just arrived, so I’ve got to go.”
“Get me that number, Beck.”
I groaned, “I’m on it,” and I disconnected the call.
I pulled into the security gate, showed the guard my credentials, and headed toward the back side of the covered lot, closest to the elevator. Practice didn’t start for another thirty minutes, so there were plenty of spots available.
It was no coincidence that I chose one close to where Jolie had parked. She was in the row directly in front of me, and she was standing outside her back seat, reaching in to grab something, wearing a long dress that wasn’t nearly tight enough. She still looked achingly beautiful in green.
I got out, locked my car, and walked across the row toward hers. I was about halfway there when I saw she was struggling with whatever she was trying to take out of her back seat.
“Let me help.” Those words were my warning before I appeared at her side, moving right in, lifting the box off the seat and hauling it out.
“You … didn’t have to do that.”
“But I did.”
Her slow speech, I assumed, was because she had just realized how close we were standing. The box was tall and wide, like a piece of artwork, and it was the only thing between us. Which meant several inches of cardboard were all that separated us.
That also meant I was getting blasted by her scent, my vision overwhelmed with the sight of her face, my imagination exploding from everything I wanted to do to those goddamn lips.
Why is she so fucking beautiful?
The silence was building between us. Her stare was moving from my eyes to my lips, and with each dip, she seemed to breathe a little harder, her chest rising faster.
What are you thinking about, Jolie?
“Beck …”
“Yes.”