“Most of you know that this will be my last regular season game with Ft. Lauderdale, and I appreciate every single bit of support as to why I’m leaving. This has been an incredible place to play, and you’ve been the best team a guy could ask for.” I exhaled hard, tightened my grip on the ball, and tried to soak in every moment, every feeling. “A leader is only as good as the people around them. And if I’ve been a good leader, it’s because of you.”
I waited until their cheers quieted.
“But I’m not sure I can keep this ball,” I said quietly. I looked up. “Malcolm, I think you’ve gotta come get this one. Because if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have figured out all the things I wanted to fight for.”
If I thought the room was loud before, the sound was deafening when the team opened a path for Malcolm to walk through. Rebecca stood with Adaline, tears streaming down her face, while Malcolm joined me in the center of the room. I handed him the ball, and he grinned.
We embraced to raucous cheers, and I smacked Malcolm on the back.
“Thank you, man,” I told him. “Glad to see your grumpy ass back in this room.”
He laughed. “Had to remind you who’s taller.”
With a slightly trembling hand, he took the ball and tapped his chest.
While our teammates surrounded him, I walked toward the back of the room. I held open my arms, and Adaline walked straight into them, pushing up on her tiptoes to lay a scorching kiss on my lips.
“You stink,” she said against my mouth.
I laughed. “Not all of us can smell like fruit salad at any given moment.”
She pinched my stomach. “Good game, Ward. You did all right out there.”
My eyebrow rose imperiously. “All right?”
Adaline shrugged. “Mildly impressive.”
With a glance over my shoulder to make sure no one was paying any attention, I walked her back against the wall and slid my hand down the curve of her back and over the curve of her hips. She bit down on her bottom lip, eyes sparkling happily. Her hands trekked underneath my shirt, fingers spread over the muscles of my stomach. I dipped down to kiss the spot under her ear that always made her knees weak.
“I still have to shower and do press, but when I get home, I’ll show you something impressive,” I whispered.
She laughed into our kiss, and when her tongue slid against mine, everything around us faded into a pleasant, muted hum.
The past few months hadn’t been easy. I’d seen her less than I hoped. But weekends like this, when I could fall asleep with her in my arms, wake with her sprawled over my chest, and kiss her any time I wanted, it was affirmation that we’d done things the right way. That no matter how the timing or fate or life seemed stacked against this ever happening … we ended up exactly where we were supposed to.
“Tim and my mom and Greer will be there too. Don’t forget.”
I nipped at her bottom lip. “Better keep quiet then, Wilder.”
She burrowed into my arms while I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Her family came with her. Tim’s energy had stayed just high enough over the winter that he still felt like he could attend my last game in Ft. Lauderdale. We’d rolled out every convenience for him, a private cart that took them from the team’s parking lot up to a suite to watch the game. A chauffeur to bring him back to my house where they were staying during their visit.
And stocked in my fridge were about four kinds of cake.
“Last home game,” she said, lifting her head to study my face. “How’re you feeling?”
I took a deep breath. “Happy. It was the right thing to stay.”