Page 25 of Learn the Play
“I should get back.”
“Please?” That single word stops her. Her big brown eyes, with diamonds in the center, find mine and hold. “We take this at your pace. Let’s exchange numbers. We’ll start there.”
“Reid.” She hangs her head, and on instinct, I pull her back into my chest, wrapping my arms around her. “You’re making this harder than it needs to be,” she says, her voice muffled against my chest, but I can still hear her.
“Because you’re my dream girl. Do you remember what I told you that night?”
“You said a lot of things.”
“You know what I’m asking,” I say, pressing my lips to the top of her head. Fuck, I can’t believe she’s here in my arms.
“You said if you ever found your dream girl, you’d make sure that she and your kids knew they were your everything,” she finally says.
“Give me the chance to show you. I know your father crushed your heart, but I promise you, I’m not him. I'll do whatever youneed to prove that to you. I don’t care how long it takes, or what kind of hoops you make me jump through, I can learn the play, Bellamy.”
“If I give you my number, will you let me go?”
“Today. I’ll let you go today,” I correct her, because I’m not giving this woman an inch for her to take a mile. I’m also going to have to learn to sleep with one eye open if I’m ever lucky enough to get her into my bed.
“Give me your phone.” I don’t bother to hide my smile as I hand it to her and rattle off my code. She freezes, and I smirk. “I have nothing to hide.” I shrug. She drops her head to enter her number and hands my phone back to me. Immediately, I search for her contact and hit dial. Her pocket rings, and I nod to her to answer. She rolls those beautiful brown eyes, but retrieves her phone from her pocket and answers.
“Hello?”
“I missed you,” I tell her, my eyes locked on hers.
“Is it possible to miss someone you barely know?”
“You tell me. Did you miss me, Bell?”
“You have my number,” she says instead. “I should get back to Amanda.”
She’s not worried about her dad, but about her best friend. “Okay, babe, let’s go.” I end the call, as does she, and lace her fingers through mine. She doesn’t pull away, which surprises me, but I’m taking the win all the same.
“Coach, take care of my girl for me.”
“Montgomery,” he says with a growl, and I chuckle.
“Bellamy, this is my family.” I take the time to introduce everyone, even though Coach already did, because these are my people, and she’s my girl. I needed to be the one to tell them, and her, the importance that each of them plays in my life. “This is my dream girl, Bellamy,” I finally say, after making my way through everyone.
“It’s so nice to meet you.” Corie, Rowan, and Sloane take turns pulling her into a hug.
“Oh, and this is her best friend, Amanda.”
The girls start chatting while I watch them, pretending that my coach isn’t staring daggers at me. That’s fine. I can take his wrath on or off the field. He might not have thought she was worth fighting for, but I sure as fuck do.
Chapter Eight
Bellamy
I’ve stepped into an alternate reality. A dream world, that has to be what this is. There’s no way that Reid is here and works for my father. The hottest night of my life was with a football player—one of my dad’s football players.
“We should exchange numbers,” one of the women suggests. I think her name is Corie, but honestly, the last thirty minutes have been a blur. Well, not all of it. I still remember his touch and his words, but who’s who is lost on me.
“Oh, um.” I don’t want to tell them no. They seem nice, but I’m spiraling.
“For sure,” Amanda says, jumping in to save me. She rattles off each of our numbers, and our phones beep three times each. I’m guessing they’ve texted us their numbers.
“You’ll have to join us for girls’ night. The more the merrier,” another says. “We’re constantly outnumbered.” She points at the group of guys behind them over her shoulder.
