Page 31 of Fair Catch

“I did,” he says, reading me better than I expected. “It’s the home comment. I get it, but believe me when I say, we can take this as slow as you want. My time is limited because we’re in season, and there will be days when I can’t see you. When I say home, it’s either your place or mine because it’s easier than getting technical.”

Well shit.

“You’re right. You just took me off guard. I apologize.”

Alex kisses me. It’s slow, heated, and full of promise. “We won’t stay long,” he says against my lips. “Because believe me, I want to get youhome.” He steps back. “Come on, let’s get upstairs.”

Cue the freakout.

Alex holds my hand and walks us back to the elevator. Someone is getting off when he goes to press the button, making our wait time even less. Inside, he pushes in a code, much like the elevator to my place.

“I think this is the best security feature. I love that my building has it,” Kelsey says as the doors close.

“Me too,” he says. “I asked Barrett about it the other day. I wanted to make sure the codes were different each time otherwise it defeats the purpose.”

I lean my head onto his shoulder. He checked up on me. I think that’s sweet.

Alex is quiet for a couple of floors and then tells me to turn around. I do and my mouth drops open. “Holy . . .” When I stepped into the elevator I didn’t realize the walls were glass until now.

“Yeah,” he says as he stands behind me with his arms around me. “The city view from here is spectacular and it keeps getting better the higher we go.”

“New York is like this,” I tell him. “We have some amazing architecture there. Portland reminds me of it.”

“Do you miss it?”

I put my hands on his arms and shake my head. “No, I like Portland. A lot.”

The elevator dings and Alex turns us around. Once again, I find myself standing there with my mouth open as if I’m trying to catch a fly. “Come on,” he says in my ear and gives me a tiny push forward.

We step out into the foyer of the Westburys’ apartment. Only, it’s more like a penthouse. For some reason, I think it’s a good idea to count the people milling around but stop after ten. This isn’t some small get-together, it’s a full-blown party with music playing in the background. I rise up onto my tiptoes to get a better look. At what, I have no idea, but I need to see. Subconsciously I think I’m looking for Liam, Harrison, or Jimmy. I never bothered to ask Alex if Peyton’s parents were here. Probably because I’m hung up on knowing Noah’s are.

“Alex!” A voice shouts. I look around until Noah approaches. I met him briefly on the day I met Alex, but it wasn’t more than a handshake and he was off.

“Hey, man.” Alex and Noah clasp hands and hug. “Noah, this is Kelsey Sloane, the one I told you about.”

Noah shakes my hand and smiles. “It’s nice to meet you. Alex won’t shut up about you.”

“Is that so?” I look from Noah to Alex. He winks and puts his arm around my waist. “Did he tell you he’s writing a children’s book about football?”

Alex freezes beside me as Noah’s eyes go wide. He covers his mouth and points at his friend. “No freaking way.”

My man nods sheepishly. I didn’t mean to embarrass him, but it seems that I have. “I’m sorry.” I lean in and whisper. “I’m proud of you and thought you would’ve told them.”

“That’s super cool.” Noah says after he’s gathered himself. “Come on, let’s introduce Kelsey to Peyton.”

Alex takes my hand in his. He follows Noah, meandering through the people. After a handful of delays, where I’m introduced to other players and their wives or girlfriends, Noah finally reaches his wife. Without a care in the world, he kisses her in a way I would describe as something that should definitely happen behind closed doors.

“Did they just get married?” I ask Alex quietly. To me, it’s a newlywed kiss or the kind you see when two people can’t keep their hands off each other.

“No, they’ve been together for a while. I’ll tell you more later.”

“Babe, I don’t know if you met Kelsey earlier, but I’d like to introduce you.” Noah steps out of my line of sight and says to me, “Kelsey, this is my wife, Peyton.”

Her hand comes toward me, and we shake. She’s tiny, even shorter than me, and I don’t understand why Alex is afraid of her. “Hello,” she says. “Thank you for coming over.”

“Thank you for having me.”

“Myles told me you’re an editor at Willamette Publishing. How do you like it?”

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