Page 25 of She Wolf

Due to Korhonen's swift departure, Knox had to be called up from the farm team to take his place on our first line.

I spot Jack on Casey’s driveway as I pull up onto mine and make my way over to him.

“Dude, how’s it going?”

“Hey, just working on my sprints. How far do you think that is?” he says panting, pointing to where the front yard meets the pavement.

“That’s a good fifty feet, no wonder you’re out of breath.” He nods, hands on his hips.

“Gunner, I need to tell you something. I don’t want you to be sad though.”

I look at his serious little face and bend down to his level. “Hey, nothing you ever say will upset me, I promise. You can tell me anything.”

He nods again and goes and sits on the bottom step of Casey’s porch. I follow and take a seat next to him. “Hit me with it, kid.”

“I think me and mom might be moving to somewhere new.” He looks up at me.

“Yeah, I think you might be. It will be different, but I’ll still see you all the time.

You’ll be visiting your uncles all the time and when you do, you can come over to my house, or we can all come and visit you and your mom. I bet I see you just as much.”

He nods again and aims his Wolves water bottle at his mouth, squirting water just like we do on the bench during a game. “So, you aren’t going to be too sad?”

“I mean, it sure is nice you being so close, but we’ll make it work.”

He snuggles in a bit, his light blond hair slick with sweat. I squeeze him in a hug and then stand up.

“Oh! I almost forgot. You need to sign my new number nine and number eleven jersey. Knox brought it home for me.”

I smile, knowing how many people were involved to make that happen for our number one fan today. “Let’s go get it then.”

***

After a nap, I shower and get changed into my new Brioni suit. I even had the Wolves emblem sewn into the inside of the jacket.

Opening the drawer I keep my watches in, I select the navy Ulysse Nardin Blast, slip it onto my wrist and then try to do something with my hair. The sides are short, with the top kept long. If I spend too much time on it though, I always ruin it, so I add a bit of styling cream, run my hands through the dark brown strands and keep it at that.

I’ve shaved too, because once we play tonight, we won’t be shaving again until the season finishes.

Ready and not wanting to stay in the house a minute longer, I make my way downstairs, lock up, and then grab my gear. We’ll all have to take separate cars to the game tonight because there will be too many of us. That doesn’t stop me from heading over to Casey’s though.

I walk in through the front door to the sound of silence which is unusual because it’s a very loud house. There are always people here and Jack can usually be found making a racket. I navigate my way through to the kitchen, finding Casey out on the deck, Knox pacing along the side of the pool, and no sign of the girls or Jack anywhere.

“He’s nervous as shit. So unlike him,” Casey says quietly to me and tilts his head toward Knox. I nod my understanding. Playoffs for a rookie are intense and even though it was years ago, the feeling I got my first time, is all too familiar.

I feel Coralie fill the space to my right; Anna appears next to Casey, their

feminine perfume light in the air. “Knox has been doing this for twenty minutes. I think you need to get him to the arena,” Coralie suggests.

I turn slightly, finally taking her in. Her long, light brown hair is pulled back at the sides and her bangs fall to the left. The black long-sleeved top she’s wearing makes the teal of our home jersey that she has over it, pop, and the skin-tight jeans make me want to grab handfuls of her ass.

What I wouldn’t give to see my name stretched across her back, but I suppose, all in good time—I must have zoned out for a bit because I hear her say my name like she’s said it a couple of times.

Her brow crinkles. “Is everything okay? Do I have a sticky handprint on me?”

I look towards the pool where Casey has moved to talk to Knox and swallow shaking my head. It’s not that it’s a secret, what’s happening between us, it’s that we’ve only had one kiss and I haven’t spoken to her brothers about any of it yet.

“No. You look goddamn perfect.” I watch as a rosy blush creeps across her cheeks. “Gunner, have you seen yourself? This suit is amazing on you. Is it new?”

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