I soaked up every little mewl that escaped her lips like a hard-fought-for reward. It surprised me how hard it was to peel myself off her when I knew Shawn was about to go on break, and I had to stifle a laugh when I realized I was hard as a rock when I stood up from our booth. I’d had to adjust myself in my pants and stand with my crotch against the bar until I could calm down.

Giana was unexpectedly addicting. Her and her weird books, her unique clothes, her innocence that she tried so hard to cover up with unfaltering sass.

She was… refreshing. And fun.

But not even she could save me from the numbness of today.

“I expect picks like that all season long,” Holden said, clapping me on the shoulder once we’d all made it back to the locker room. “Except next time, it better be run in for a touchdown.”

“Sir, yes, sir,” I shot back with a salute.

Holden smirked, tearing his damp, dirty jersey off and letting it drop to the floor before he tilted his chin at me. “You good?”

“Good.”

“Sure?”

I cracked my neck, giving him a look that I hoped told him what I wouldn’t voice out loud. No, I wasn’t good. Far from it. But I didn’t want to talk about it.

He just nodded, lips pressed together as he ran a hand back through his wet hair. “All you can do is focus on what you can control,” he said, almost to the ground or himself rather than to me.

I nodded, thankful that he wasn’t pushing it.

We finished undressing in silence, both of us dragging our asses to the ice baths before we took showers. By the end of it all, every muscle in my body was screaming in protest — just like it did at the end of every game. Four quarters of putting my muscles and bones and joints through hell never got easier. In fact, the older I got, the more talented I became? The bigger and badder guys I was facing on the field.

I couldn’t imagine what it would be like once I was facing off against the tanks in the NFL.

As I finally got re-dressed in my sweats and made my way out of the locker room, I promised the guys I’d see them at the party later tonight. I needed a nap before then, and maybe a few drinks to pre-game.

When I rounded out of the locker room and into the hall, a familiar laugh made me freeze in place.

Maliyah’s sing-song giggle floated down the hallway, wrapping itself around me like a warm, esophagus-crushing hug. I followed the sound of it like she was a siren, and I was a helpless sailor on tumultuous seas, only to find her leaning up against the wall a mere twenty yards away.