Long Shot (Lauderdale Knights Book 3), page 17
We chuckled.
“I’m glad you have a plan. I’m super excited for you. I plan to fly out when the baby comes too.”
She cocked her head. “Do you think you’ll be in Fort Lauderdale with Jace?”
“I hope so.” I stared off at the ocean. “It’s hard for us to make definitive plans until he finds out whether he’s going to be in Lauderdale or Atlanta. I think it’s been stressing him out, and I don’t know how to help.”
“Just be there for him if he needs to talk and be supportive when it comes up organically.”
“I think deep down he believes I won’t want to be with him if he gets sent back down to the minors.”
“Will you?”
“Of course.” I made a face. “You think I’d dump him because he’s not in the NHL?”
“All those nasty little comments Eddie makes will increase tenfold if that happens. And it won’t just be Eddie saying them.”
I shrugged. “I don’t care. People are stupid.”
“What people are stupid?” Scarlett asked, sinking into the chair next to mine and motioning for the waiter.
“The ones who think that dating a minor league hockey player isn’t cool enough for the Sexiest Athlete of the Year.” I rolled my eyes.
Scarlett cocked her head. “Do you know how hard it’s going to be on you guys? Not just the gossip and stuff, but the day-to-day of that life? Wolf and I were only seventeen when we dated, so of course it was a lot different, but even with no fame at all back then we recognized how futile it was.”
“Yeah, but life is different at twenty-four than it is at seventeen,” I protested. “We can afford to jump on a plane to see each other.”
“If he’s in the minors, he won’t be able to,” Scarlett said quietly.
“Yeah, but I make plenty of money. I can buy his tickets or whatever.”
“You think that’s going to be okay with him? Letting his girlfriend pay for everything?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” I demanded. “If roles were reversed, and he was the big NHL player and I was a struggling surfer barely making ends meet, no one would bat an eyelash at him sending me tickets to go see him.”
“But roles aren’t reversed,” Kalea pointed out gently. “And that isn’t the world we live in. I think it will be emasculating for him.”
I frowned. “Jace is tougher than that. Besides, he’s going to make the team. I feel it in my bones.”
“Good morning! Sorry I’m late.” Belinda slid into the empty chair at the table. “I swear, Tobias has the libido of a sixteen-year-old. He’s going to kill me with these all-night sex marathons.”
Conversation changed to other, lighter topics, but I let my mind wander.
I had to believe Jace and I could make this work.
I had no choice.
I was in love with him.
The only questions now were whether or not I should tell him, and whether or not he felt the same.
And both of those things were terrifying.
Having downtime together was wonderful. Neither of us was high-maintenance, so we’d work out and train in the morning, wander around the town or go out to eat in the afternoons, and then spend the evenings together in the fabulous suite Tobias had rented for us. We’d talk or hang out on our private balcony. And Jace made love to me every single night, usually more than once. I wasn’t used to such a vigorous or fulfilling sex life. I hated to constantly compare Jace to Pete, but in reality, there was no comparison.
Pete had never been with anyone but me, and while our sex life had been sweet and passionate when we were in our teens, the older we got the less interested he was. His focus became surfing and success with me as a bit of an afterthought. Now that I knew better and had met someone who didn’t treat me that way, I could never go back to it.
It broke my heart to realize that’s what I’d been for Pete. He’d loved me, and took care of me, but I’d never been his priority. Surfing, and the money and fame he got from it were where he put the bulk of his energy. By putting me on the same path, he’d made it easy for me to go along with anything he told me to do. I followed in his footsteps, doing my own thing but at the same pace, and the plan had been to ride the waves of our success until we were too old to do it anymore.
I was beginning to recognize there was more to life than surfing, success, and money. All of those things were important, but it wasn’t everything. Maybe it was easy for me to say since I was currently at the top of my game in almost every way. Yet Connor was too, and he had no trouble making time for his wife, his upcoming baby, and all the other parts of life outside of his career.
I wanted that for myself, but I wasn’t naïve enough to think money wasn’t equally important. Especially if Jace didn’t make it to the Knights. One of us needed to have a good, steady income. If I could work hard for a couple more years and save money, once I sold the house in Hawaii we’d be okay. The house would bring in over a million dollars, and the mortgage was less than two hundred thousand. We could rent in Atlanta until he decided what he was going to do, and then we’d have the money to buy a house cash, wherever we wound up.
Then I could retire, maybe open a small surfing school in Florida or California or even Hawaii. I could continue to model part-time too. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it, and it paid well. It also required a lot less travel to exotic locales every month.
We could make this work.
“You’ve seemed awfully deep in thought tonight, beautiful,” Jace murmured once we were in bed the night before the competition began.
“I’ve never been to Fort Lauderdale,” I said softly, nestling into his chest.
“It’s a great city. I love it there. Lots to do, great restaurants, the beach, shopping, everything you could want.”
“Probably a lot less expensive than Hawaii, too.”
“Oh, yeah.”
“How much do you think a nice house would be in Lauderdale?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure. I know my teammates have some nice houses that are in the high six-figures but having a McMansion has never been on my radar.”
“When you start getting those big checks in October,” I said, rubbing my hand down his torso. “You’ll need to think about it. Pete and I bought our house after the first year he made really good money. As athletes, we know things can change at any time with injury or whatever, so investing in a home is important. That way, you always have somewhere to live without a huge mortgage payment.”
“That was smart,” he agreed.
“That’s my plan for the next couple of years,” I told him. I wasn’t sure how to have a more serious conversation where I admitted how I felt about him, but I could drop hints by talking about our potential future. “I want to work hard and save up, so I don’t have to worry about injuries and such. I mean, we always worry, but I want to have a nest egg to fall back on.”
“That’s the scary part about my job,” he said. “I don’t have that yet. I haven’t been great with money because I’ve never had enough. I live paycheck to paycheck during hockey season, though I make sure to pay my rent through the summer. I make extra money doing personal training in the off-season, and when I get the extra money from the times I’ve been called up to the big leagues, it’s usually to pay off credit card debt, new tires for the car, stuff like that. There’s never been enough to save much. I have a rainy-day account, but it’s only about eight grand.”
“That’s better than a lot of people. And anyway, it won’t matter anymore because you’re going to make the team come October.” I crawled on top of him, straddling his hips. We’d been sleeping naked lately, so I immediately felt his erection jump to attention between my legs.
He smiled up at me, hands on my ass. “I like your confidence.”
“Bet that’s not all you like.” I shifted so he was poised at my entrance before I sank down.
“No, that’s definitely not all.”
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
Jace
The competition in Teahupo’o was the most intense I’d seen so far. Tawny and Scarlett were neck and neck the whole time, and Scarlett was slightly ahead in points going into the finals. I didn’t fully understand the scoring system the judges used, but I had an overview. They looked for commitment and degree of difficulty, innovative and progressive maneuvers, speed, power, and flow, and a handful of other things that were incredibly subjective.
Hockey was mostly cut and dried. Score a goal, get a point. There were some nuances to do with penalties and such, but for the most part, there was no gray area. Surfing seemed to be all gray area, which would have been frustrating for me. Tawny took it all in stride, though, doing her thing without complaining, no matter what was going on around her. That was one of the things I loved about her—she was a consummate professional when she was competing.
“I have great news,” Tobias said, joining me in the VIP area as we waited for the finals to start.
“If you say we’re shooting another commercial, I’m going to punch you,” I told him, smirking. He knew I was kidding since we’d gotten to know each other well over the last month or so.
“Actually, not yet,” he said. “But we’ve been looking to expand our stores into new areas, and we’re hitting South Florida next. I just got the go-ahead to open a Shine On Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach. That’s not far from Lauderdale, so it’ll be convenient for you to potentially run some ads with us. And the icing on the cake? My people are in negotiations to be sponsors of the Lauderdale Knights. In the water or on the ice—the Knights Shine On! How’s that for a motto?”
I chuckled. “Pretty cheesy.”
“We’re working on it. Lots of great stuff coming in the next couple of years.”
“Sounds exciting.”
“I’d love to have a big event for the grand opening with you and a bunch of your teammates. Would you be interested?
“I can’t promise anything during hockey season, but if it works out? Sure. You know I’ll do anything I can for you.”
“Oh, here we go!” Kalea gripped my forearm. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous for her before.”
“She’s got this,” I said, though I was nervous too. I loved watching her surf, but it was nerve-wracking. I supposed it was like this for anyone who loved an athlete. I knew my mom was always a wreck when she watched me play, so it made sense I would be too watching Tawny. I’d never dated an athlete before, and while it was a little stressful in the moment, I liked it.
“Yew!” Kalea called, cupping her mouth as Tawny did some incredible maneuver that had the crowd on the beach cheering.
Damn, she was beautiful out there. I loved seeing her naked—what man wouldn’t?—but out on the water was my second favorite. She was the most badass woman I’d ever met, and I was so fucking in love with her. Leaving was going to be hard, but I had to get my head and body one hundred percent ready for hockey. Once I earned my place on the Knights, I’d be able to breathe enough to make Tawny my priority. That would be around the time she’d be done with her season and joining me in Fort Lauderdale. We could figure out where the relationship was going and get settled into our new life.
My short-term priority was showing Coach Petrov that I deserved to be on the Knights full-time. I couldn’t even consider asking Tawny to take things to the next level until that was settled. If I went back to Atlanta, it would change everything between us, no matter what she said.
“Rip it up, girl!” Connor yelled, pumping his fist as Tawny ended her ride.
I’d been so lost in thought I’d missed part of it, but it didn’t matter. Tawny was getting out of the water, and it seemed like a thousand people wanted to talk to her. She was in her element, and I was okay with hanging back, letting her do her thing. Come fall, hopefully it would be my turn.
“Hi.” Tawny came running over to me as we waited for the final scores to be posted.
“Hey, baby.” I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her, oblivious to how wet she was.
“Tawny, is Jace your new fiancé?” someone called out.
“Is Jace quitting hockey to travel with you?” someone else yelled.
“When are you getting married?” a third person asked.
Our eyes met, and we laughed.
“I think they’re jumping the gun,” I whispered.
“Maybe a little.”
“Turn around, let us get a picture!”
“Tawny! Jace! Over here!”
There was a lot of interest in us, and we figured we wouldn’t get any peace until we let them take a few photos. We obligingly turned around, smiling for the cameras, before Eddie shooed them away from the VIP area.
“You edged her out,” he told Tawny. “I think this will be four in a row.”
Tawny didn’t say anything, merely nodded.
“You did it!” Kalea let out a shout as we got the results, and as Eddie had predicted, Tawny had just won her fourth in a row.
“You did it!” I picked her up and spun her around. “So fucking proud of you, babe.”
“Thank you.” Her eyes shone with excitement.
“You’re on fire,” Tobias said, hugging her once I put her down. “Really proud of you, Tawny.”
“Thanks.” A lot of people wanted to talk to her. There was general chaos for the next hour until the men’s finals began and the press turned their attention to that.
I had a feeling I was going to have to get used to this because my girlfriend was suddenly a superstar.
We were having breakfast at the hotel restaurant in the morning when Eddie came over and dropped into an empty chair.
“You are everywhere right now,” he said, a big smile on his face as he looked at Tawny. “I mean, sports pages, commercials, print ads, every fucking where. And I just got a call from Sports Today. They want to book a photo shoot for your Sexiest Athlete of the Year issue. I also heard from Heaven Sent, that bathing suit manufacturer? They’re interested in featuring you in their spring ad campaign. They haven’t given me a timeline yet, but the pay is ridiculous.” He barely took a breath as he outlined everything going on.
“Wow.” Tawny looked overwhelmed. “That’s great news, but I really can’t think about anything until the finals. Can you hold them off a few weeks?”
Eddie sighed. “I can’t hold off Sports Today. They need to shoot you sooner rather than later.”
“Where are they located?”
“L.A.”
“I could fly there as soon as the finals are over in Australia,” she said. “Then I’m heading for Fort Lauderdale.”
Eddie cut a glance at me. “What if he’s in Atlanta?”
My gut clenched in irritation.
“Then I’ll be going to Atlanta,” Tawny responded evenly.
“Heaven Sent said October. I can get some dates from them, and you can pick the one that’s easiest for you, okay?”
She nodded. “Yes. Thank you for your hard work. You and I can sit down and hash everything out day after tomorrow, okay? Jace is leaving that morning, so we’re going to spend our last two days together.”
“Okey-dokey.” Eddie nodded and got up. “I’ll pencil you in for an extended lunch meeting on Wednesday.”
“Thanks.”
“Take care, Jace. Safe travels.” He walked away whistling, and my irritation only grew, even though I wasn’t sure why.
“Please be careful with him,” I told her. “He rubs me the wrong way.”
“Oh, he and I are going to have a long talk once we get through finals in Australia. But I can’t think about firing him right before the biggest competition of the year.”
“I know.” I took one of her hands between both of mine. “I’m really going to miss you.”
“Me too.” She leaned over and brushed her lips across mine. “Right now, it looks like I’ll leave Australia on October first, and while I don’t have any details from Eddie yet, I’d like to get that photo shoot he was talking about done ASAP. Hopefully, I’ll get to you by the tenth.”
“Just under two months,” I murmured.
“It’ll be here before you know it. You’ll be kicking ass and taking names at training camp. And then the season will start, and you’ll probably be on the road or something when I get there.”
I smiled. I loved her confidence in me, even when I wasn’t a hundred percent sure of myself.
We walked back to the room and changed into bathing suits. Instead of working out today, we were going to lie on the beach and be lazy. We’d rent lounge chairs and umbrellas at the resort, and just hang out. I hadn’t been in the water since the day of the jellyfish incident, so today I wanted to give it another go.
“You sure you want to spend the day at the beach?” she asked as we headed out.
“The only thing I’d rather do is spend the day in bed,” I said. “But I figure we can start that around dinnertime.”
She smiled. “Works for me.”
We got settled by the water, slathering ourselves in sunscreen before linking our hands between us. We sat side by side like that without talking for a while, until we were both hot and the ocean seemed to be calling to us. I sat up at the same time she did, and we exchanged a knowing look.
“Come swim with me?” she asked softly.
“I’ll give it my best shot,” I said, getting up and taking off my sunglasses. “But I know why the surf here is known as the most dangerous in the world. I read about the sharks and the waves and all that.”
“Yes, but this is a secluded section of beach, specifically chosen by the resort because it’s relatively safe. It’s not like where the competition was. That’s definitely the most dangerous surf in the world.”
“And yet, you rocked it like it was nothing.”
“Oh, it’s something, but you learn to get past it.” She stared off at the horizon.
“Tawny?”
