Page 38 of Blade
She clucked her tongue, disappointed that a liquid protein drink awaited her and not crispy bacon. “Those things don’t work.”
“Don’t knock it ‘till you tried it. Look at me. My headache is gone, and the fog has vacated my brain.”
She had no idea what awful concoction he blended, but she was happy with her coffee. Sitting at the kitchen island with the cup at her lips, she watched him pour a thick green liquid into a glass, and her stomach turned queasy. “I don’t want that.”
“Yes. You do.”
“No. I don’t. I’m fine. No headache at all.” She spoke too loudly and involuntarily flinched at the sound of her own voice piercing her brain like an ice pick.
He pushed the glass toward her, his eyes encouraging her to take it.
“Fine.” It smelled awful. Like grass and coconut. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all. She was wrong. It was incredibly sweet, even for her. It was thick, and it had a horrible aftertaste. She grimaced and her shoulders shuddered. “What is that taste?”
“Kale.” He held up his hand. “I know. It’s bad. But it’s a superfood and will detox your system. Drink it.”
She could only handle half of it but had to admit that her head hurt less, and she felt more grounded. “I like your friends. They’re great. I had a blast.” She hadn’t partied like that since college. It was fun, but she couldn’t imagine doing that on a regular basis. “Do you party like that often?”
A broad smile spanned his cheeks. “No.”
She scrutinized his answer with narrowed eyes. “Why don’t I believe you?”
“It’s true,” he said, too defensively.
“Now, I really don’t believe you.”
He climbed onto the stool across from her, ready to confess. “I see Manny all the time, but when we get together with the rest of my college buddies, we drink. A lot.”
If she wasn’t afraid of her head exploding, she’d laugh. She had to fight to stay awake on the car ride home last night. The only thing keeping her conscious was the fear that both she and Robert would pass out and the driver would leave them for dead in a ditch.Thanks for putting that morbid thought in my head, late-night horror flicks.
“And that little concoction has been working since my Rutgers days,” Robert said, pointing to the glass.
She rounded the island and slipped her hands over Robert’s impressive shoulders from behind. Sometimes, she couldn’t believe that this man belonged to her. “And here I thought you were just a pretty face.”
“I knew it. You took one look at me and saw a bubble-headed jock.”
“More like, I took one look at you and my panties caught fire.”
He spun around, slipped his arms around her waist, and pulled her to within a fraction of an inch from his lips. His warm breath ghosted over hers. “Back atcha, beautiful.”
And then he kissed her breathless and made love to her until he had to leave for the airport.
Tampa turned out to be a bust. The Bucks lost 17-35. Everyone had an off day, and the game suffered because of stupid mistakes. Coach lost his mind and gave the team hell, ranting for almost 30 minutes in the locker room after the game while a vein threatened to burst in his forehead. The team took the loss hard and Coach’s disappointment even harder. But they rallied together, and it paid off because tonight they plowed through Los Angeles.
The game ended late, and they were on the red eye. Normally, Robert hated the back and forth between games and preferred when the team was on the road. He liked the bond it created with his teammates, although sometimes he could do without their annoying habits, like Villalobos’ constant gum chewing and Carter’s too-loud laugh. Going home disrupted the flow. But now that Robert had Amber, he couldn’t wait to get back home.
He should have been catching up on sleep since he had a full day ahead of him tomorrow—no “Victory Monday” for the Bucks—but thoughts of Amber were keeping him awake. These West Coast games were a bitch. On the six-hour flight home, all he thought about was seeing Amber. But she wasn’t going to be around tonight. Worry that he met her at the start of football season began to fester, because past experiences proved that time apart killed a new relationship.
After work, Amber had plans to attend a lecture about something Robert didn’t understand, but it related to sports medicine, and she was excited about it, so he wouldn’t dare ask her to miss it. He’d see her Tuesday, which was the team’s free day, if you could call any day “free” during the season.
The 747 landed at Newark just after 8:00 in the morning. Robert barely had time to catch a nap and a shower before he put in a full day that started with time in the whirlpool and a sports massage and ended with a grueling team meeting. By the time he got home, he was starving. Again, he wished he could enjoy a quiet meal at home with Amber, but tonight, he had the next best thing to take her place—Manny.
“Right on time,” Robert said, when he answered the door.
“Welcome back.” Manny gave Robert a bro-shake and a one-shoulder hug.
“Thanks. I’m glad to be home.” He shut the front door and followed Manny toward the kitchen where his friend placed two pizza pies on the kitchen island.
“I got one pepperoni and one extra cheese with sausage,” Manny said, while Robert grabbed two bottles of Poland Spring from the refrigerator.
