Page 45 of Fall to Me
I lean back, closing my eyes.
“She didn’t do anything to me,” Sean says to Cal before addressing me, “Hey, Doc, I need some advice.”
My eyes peel back open, and I turn my head, but before I can get a word out, Aiden pops off, “Go to the mattresses.”
Sean turns to Aiden. “Did you really quoteThe Godfather?”
“Will someone tell me what the fuck is going on with my wife?” Cal hisses.
Sean looks around to make sure no one is listening, then whispers, “It’s not your wife. It’s Hannah. I knew if your wife was here, Hannah would be here with her. I was trying to be discreet.”
“What did you do, Sean?” I ask just as my cell buzzes again. “I swear to god, if you fucked around with Coach’s dau?—”
“Shhhh. Fuck!” he whisper shouts, glancing toward the front where Coach is sitting.
I lean across Cal, not giving Sean a chance to speak, and drop my voice where only Cal, Sean, and Aiden can hear me. “You want my advice? Stay the fuck away. I'm serious, Sean. Off. Limits. You see her coming, turn and run. Don’t even breathe in her direction.”
“No shit. Why do you think I’m keeping my distance? Hannah Jenkins is the last goddamn complication I need right now.”
My phone buzzes again, forcing my attention away from him. I unlock the screen.
River
Look up
I do as she says, and my eyes widen and breath catches. There she is, standing in the aisle with a smile tugging at her lips, then her sweet voice hits my ears. “Hi.”
Damn, she’s gorgeous. And the way those tight, black leather pants fit her is fucking sinful.
I jump out of my seat and wrap my arms around her, pulling her tight against me. “You didn’t tell me you were working this game.”
“I’m not.”
Wait! Is she here forme?
Cal stands and begins collecting his things when River stops him.
“It’s okay, Cal. Stay where you are. I’ll go sit with Aspen,” she says before directing her attention back to me. “Are you still going to see your family?”
Our game is in Phoenix, not too far from where my parents live. Every time we play in Arizona, I stay with my family instead of at the hotel with the team.
“We’regoing to seeourfamily,” I say.
Rising onto the tips of her toes, she pulls my head down and kisses my lips. The look in her eyesalmostconvinces me that she’s not putting on a show, but I know better.
“I missed you,” she whispers, knocking the air right out of my lungs, then she brushes past me before I can respond.
Cal claps me on the shoulder as I sink back into my seat. Before I even have time to wrap my mind around what’s going on between River and me, Cal pulls his iPod out of his backpack, causing a laugh to rip out of me.
“What?” he asks.
“I can’t believe you still use that thing. How long have you had it? Twenty years?”
He shrugs one shoulder and unwinds the cord to his earphones from around his iPod.
“A long time. All my music is on here, and I don’t want to change it over to my phone,” he says, stuffing the earphones into his ears and turning up the volume high enough for me to make out the words to “Awake” by Godsmack. He’s been very vocal about his annoyance at the progression of technology, so this is no surprise to me.
Dragging a hand down my face, I blow out a breath. Then, I let my head fall back against the seat and close my eyes again while the flight attendant goes over the preflight briefing we’ve all heard a million times.
