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  "You know who that is?" I asked Noah as I followed him to a waiting car.

  "Noah." A tall black guy with a bald head and glasses hugged Noah. He looked like Preston, but older and leaner.

  "Hey Peter. It's good to see you." Noah turned. "This is Callie. Babe, this is Preston's brother."

  "Nice to meet you." I extended my hand.

  Peter stared at it and then back up at me and then at Noah and smirked.

  "No handshakes, girl. We hug in this family."

  "Whoo." My body stiffened as he picked me up and gave me a bear hug.

  His jovial laugh calmed me and I went with it.

  "You've been hiding her away for a year, we were thinking she was deformed or something."

  I narrowed my eyes.

  "You're beautiful Callie." Peter said with sincerity and relief. "I'm just glad we finally get to meet you."

  "Thank you." I said and grinned up at Noah. "Me, too."

  "Come on. Let's get out of here," Noah said.

  Noah opened the back seat of the black SUV.

  I climbed in.

  "You okay?" he asked as he leaned in and placed Nip's pack on my lap.

  "Yeah." I kissed him and gave his pecs a reassuring squeeze.

  Noah winked and shut the door.

  The guys put the bags in the back of the car and climbed into the front seat. They talked the whole way to the hotel.

  I sat back and listened. Not to what they were saying, but to how Noah behaved.

  He had an intensity to him and he didn't talk a lot, but I always knew what he was thinking. He knew what I was thinking and feeling, too, so it was fine.

  Now, he was animated and silly, joking with his friend.

  Even on the football field, during the game, he stood off to the side with a scowl and watched every play. If he played well, he was quiet. If he played bad, he was angry with himself. I would give him his space and he would come looking for me when he was over it or on to the next game.

  I had never spent time with him around his teammates. We had dinner with his coach a couple of times and ran into a teammate once when we were out having dinner. I'd never seen this side of Noah.

  It's like he had a whole other side to him that I had yet to discover.

  I had a feeling I would see a lot of it on this trip.

  We arrived at the hotel.

  The three doormen opened the truck doors.

  "The guys are meeting in the lobby at three." Peter said as they climbed out the truck.

  Noah nodded.

  "Where's Preston?" he asked.

  "He should be just getting back to the hotel. They had a meeting with her pastor this morning," Peter said.

  "Everything okay?" Noah asked.

  Peter looked back. "Yeah, just last minute details."

  Noah walked to the back of the car as I climbed out.

  "Callie," Peter said.

  "Yeah."

  "I'm really glad he found you."

  Before I had a chance to respond, the doorman reached for my backpack.

  Nip barked.

  The guy retrieved his hand.

  "Nip." I said and unzipped the pack. "I should probably walk him.

  "We have a dog run, I can take him and bring him up to your room."

  Noah stood behind him and nodded.

  I studied the guy in his black uniform. His nametag read Steve. He was handsome in that fake Hollywood kind of way. He was probably an actor or a musician.

  "Okay." I kissed Nip on the nose and handed him over to the stranger.

  Nip glared at the kid and then at me.

  Noah grabbed my hand and pulled me into the hotel as I watched Steve walk away with my dog.

  "Are you sure I shouldn't go ..."

  "Nip will be fine." We walked to the counter.

  "Mr. Blake. Nice to see you again." The woman at the front desk leaned forward. Her tone dripped with sexual innuendo. She was pretty, also in that fake Hollywood kind of way. So far, everyone looked made up for an impromptu photo shoot. The front desk girl smiled and typed something into her computer.

  I wrapped my arms around Noah and peered around his shoulder.

  She stopped smiling.

  "We have you all checked in. Here's your key and we'll have your bags brought up." She pouted her lips.

  "Thank you," Noah said.

  "Yes, Thank you." I said and kissed Noah's shoulder while peering at the lady. She gave me a half smile and walked away.

  "What did she mean, nice to see you again?" I asked.

  "I always stay here when I'm in LA," Noah said. We headed towards the elevator.

  "How much has she actually seen of you?" I raised my eyebrows and pushed down the nauseous feeling.

  "Callie."

  "N--" Before I could get it out, Noah was pulled away from me.

  "Noah Patrick." An African American man with huge hands and a sexy grin grabbed Noah from behind and pulled him into his chest. "You're finally here." He grunted.

  Noah grinned from ear to ear. He turned and gave Preston a proper handshake and hug. They saw each other a couple of months ago when the Giants played the Forty-Niners. They stepped back stared at each other and hugged again.

  While their little reunion continued, the hair on the back of my neck stood up. A chill hit me as a manicured hand with pale pink polish wrapped around my shoulder. I turned and found Kate Stone standing next to me, touching me.

  "You'd think they hadn't seen each other in fifty years." She pointed, rolled her eyes, and grinned.

  "And they call us emotional creatures," I said and inhaled. She smelled like lilies.

  "Right." She squeezed my shoulder.

  I instantly liked her.

  "Callie." She turned and hugged me for real. "It's so good to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you, I feel like we are friends already."

  "It's nice to meet you." I said as I studied her face, looking for a note of insincerity. I found none. She looked like a regular girl with a celebrity filter laid over her. She wore mascara and lip gloss, her skin flawless. Her light brown hair pulled into a high ponytail, showed off her high cheekbones and her smooth skin appeared perfectly lighted from all angles. She wasn't all perfection. She had a scar on her hairline that she touched when she reached up to adjust her ponytail. She wasn't bone skinny like I thought she would be. Her smile seemed genuine.

  "What?" She patted her chest and adjusted her dress.

  "Oh nothing." I waved.

  She winked and stepped behind Noah.

  "If you two girls are done, can I get some love?" Kate asked.

  "Kate." Noah leaned over and gave her a hug. She leaned into him and hugged him back.

  "She's gorgeous," Kate said.

  Noah looked over at me.

  "Callie Blake." Preston said my name in a three syllable singing rap cadence.

  I smiled despite myself.

  "Wow. Look at you." He touched my red hair and it slid through his fingers. "So you're the one."

  He leaned down and picked me up, much more gentle than his brother.

  I hugged him back because it seemed appropriate. It was weird. They were all so affectionate and they seemed to know me. He sat me down and kissed my cheek before releasing me and staring me up and down.

  "You're getting creepy, babe," Kate said as she reached out and took my hand. "We're going to grab a quick bite."

  I stared down at our interlaced fingers. I didn't even hold my sister's hand.

  "We just got in," Noah said.

  "You must have a million things to do," I said.

  "Come on. I want to hear what's going on with you two," Kate said. "Besides, I am sick and tired of talking about this wedding. Ugh."

  I turned to Preston who grinned at his fiancée.

  I had no choice but to follow her into the restaurant.

  We sat at a table overlooking the hotel courtyard.

  "Katie, two more days and we are out of here," Preston said. "It will go b
y fast."

  "Yeah, and if I missed any of it, I can just binge watch it on Netflix." She said in a sarcastic tone.

  Preston pouted.

  Kate reached over, squeezed his hand and smiled.

  He smiled back.

  "I'm sorry." Kate said to me. "I'm enjoying it. I just can't wait for our lives to get back to normal, you know."

  I knew exactly how she felt.

  Four

  Noah

  Throughout lunch, I couldn't take my eyes off Callie.

  She hung on Kate's every word. They became fast friends, chatting and giggling about nothing. I should have been happy about it, but it made me uncomfortable. I caught Preston staring at me.

  He narrowed his eyes.

  "What do you guys have planned tonight?" Kate asked.

  No one spoke. All eyes fell on me.

  "What?" I asked.

  "Hello Noah." Kate waved. "Are you with us?"

  "I'm sorry. Tonight?"

  "My baby's last night of freedom. What's the plan?"

  "Uhm, I was thinking bourbon and cigars and in bed by ten o'clock." I said.

  Callie giggled and Kate glared.

  "Not buying it, uh." I winked at Kate.

  "Okay, don't tell me," Kate said and looked at her phone as a message came in.

  "Oh, shit. I'm late." She downed her half glass of wine and stood up. "Callie, the guys are heading off to the spa, what are you going to do. I have an interview to finish up. It's going to be boring as hell, but you can hang out if you want."

  "Oh, I don't know. I think we can find something interesting to talk about," Garret said as he slithered up to the table.

  Garret Sims.

  "Garret." Kate stood up and gave him a quick hug.

  He shook hands with Preston. Callie stared with her mouth open.

  "You know Noah Patrick and this is his girlfriend, Callie Blake," Kate said.

  "Oh, I know Callie Blake, too." He smiled at my girlfriend and I wanted kick his ass.

  Callie's eyes grew wide.

  "I follow your blog." He winked.

  She blushed.

  The collar of my shirt grew tight.

  "You're a talented writer," Garret said in his smug tone.

  "Uhm, thank you." Callie took his outstretched hand.

  I suppressed the urge to yank her away from him.

  "And, you've given hope to athlete stalkers everywhere." He said with a wave of his hand.

  Everyone laughed.

  I didn't find it funny.

  Callie's former blog, lifewith89.com wasn't a secret. I didn't want her to be embarrassed by it. When I found out about it, I jumped to the wrong conclusion and even though it was my girl’s imaginative mind doing what she's good at, it was kind of embarrassing to me.

  "You want to come with," Kate said to Callie.

  "No, that's okay. I'm supposed to meet up with my sister."

  "Dani Blake?" Garret asked.

  What, did he have her fucking bio memorized?

  "You know her?" Callie asked.

  "I did a story on one of her clients two years ago." Garret nodded. "Tell her I said hello."

  "I will." He and Kate headed for the door.

  Garret stopped.

  "We should talk before the weekend's over." Garret turned towards Callie. "About your writing."

  He winked at me.

  Preston's hand on my arm was the only thing stopping me from pounding the fucking guy.

  We said our goodbyes and rode up in the elevator in silence. The expression on Callie's face confused me. She held her head up, her shoulders back, staring out the glass enclosed elevator.

  When the elevator reached our floor, Callie stepped out and headed down the hall. She was lost in her own thoughts.

  "Callie." I called her name and she stopped and turned. "Room's this way." I pointed to the sign on the wall.

  She gigged and grabbed my arm. We walked to the room, her fingers laced between mine. I opened the door and let her walk in. She pulled me in behind her. She turned around, wrapped her arms around me and reached up to kiss my neck. I hugged her.

  She grabbed my face and kissed me hard. It was her I want you now kiss. It was the kiss that usually had me tearing her clothes off.

  So why am I pushing her away?

  Yip, Yip

  Nip came running in from another room.

  Callie narrowed her eyes, but turned to give Nip some attention.

  "Hey sweetie." She picked up the little dog. "Where did you come from?"

  Yip Yip.

  I took in the room as Callie and Nip walked out on the balcony. I'd stayed in the suite before. The sun reflected off all the white surfaces gave me a headache.

  "Babe, come look at this view. It's incredible."

  I stepped on the balcony. The fresh air felt good, but it did little to ease the tension behind my eyes. We look out over the valley, standing side by side. The balcony enclosed in glass. Callie put Nip down and snuggled up against me.

  "You okay?" She asked.

  "Yeah." I put my arm around her and rubbed her back. "So, what did you think of Kate and Preston?"

  "I love them. I love her." Callie stepped in front of me. "Oh my God, she's amazing. And I love watching them together. They are so into each other. It's nice."

  "I though you said she was self absorbed." I played with her hair.

  "I said I hoped she wouldn't be," Callie hugged me. "She was so cool. Nothing like I thought she'd be."

  "So why didn't you go with them?"

  "They were working. Besides, I have to find a couple hours to spend with Dani, or she might disown me." She rubbed her hands up and down my back.

  "What do you think Garret wants to talk to you about?" I cringed as the question left my mouth. Passive aggressive looked bad on me, I couldn't help it. I didn't trust the guy.

  "I don't know. Maybe he wants to talk about my writing like he said." Callie walked back inside and grabbed her suitcase. She wheeled it into the bedroom. She hoisted it up on the luggage rack next to the closet and started pulling things out.

  "He's a sports reporter," I said. "You don't write about sports."

  She didn't answer; she continued to unpack.

  My face grew hot.

  "Callie."

  "What?" She stopped and dropped the things in her hand. "Are you trying to ask me something?"

  "I don't trust the guy."

  "What does that have to do with me?" She shook her head and scrunched her brow.

  "I'm just saying. In case you decide to talk to him." I walked back to the living room and grabbed my suitcase. When I turned back around, Callie stood in the doorway.

  "Do you trust me?" Her hands rested on her hips.

  "Of course I do. That's not the point." I stepped towards her and she put a hand up.

  "Then what is the point? Was that a warning?" Callie asked. Her face grew red.

  Why was she so angry? I was the one who had to watch her blush from a stranger's compliment.

  "No, I'm just saying be careful. People out here will tell you what you want to hear to get what they want."

  "And, you think I'm so easily manipulated. What? Am I some naive little girl who will take off her clothes at the slightest compliment from a man?" She turned away before I could answer.

  She continued to unpack.

  I flopped on the bed and watched her. Her face matched her hair when she got angry. Her face got red when we had sex, too. Must be why I was so turned on.

  "Callie." I scooted to the edge of the bed and grabbed her hands. "Of course I trust you. I'm sorry. I've never seen a guy flirt with you in front of me before."

  "He wasn't flirting with me."

  "And, I didn't like that little comment about you stalking me."

  "It was just a joke."

  I pulled her into my lap.

  "I don't care. I didn't like it." I kissed her red ears. They were warm on my lips.

  She crossed her arms over her chest
, but leaned into the kiss. It was a good sign. I ran my hand down her thigh and kissed her neck.

  She sighed.

  "I'm not ashamed of the blog." Callie dropped her arms. "You said it didn't bother you anymore."

  "It doesn't." I reached up and caressed her cheek. "I just don't like anyone questioning what we have."

  I wrapped my arms around her waist. My hardness rubbed against her hip. She tried to ignore it. Callie put on an act of indifference, but beneath the surface I could tell. My girl was turned on. Nothing like a healthy bit of jealousy along with a lovers spat to get the juices flowing. I couldn't remember what we were fighting about. I didn't care. I wanted her.

  I pulled her down on to the bed while I crawled on top of her.

  "Noah," She tried to push me off, but a well placed knee between her legs made her forget her name. she grinded against me as I pulled her shirt up over her head. I pushed the cups of her bra up and out of the way. I loved her tits, they were the perfect size and tasted sweet.

  All of Callie tasted sweet.

  I ran my knuckles over the swell of her breast. she exhaled in defeat and pulled my shirt over my head.

  Shoes, socks, jeans flew off next. I pushed her knees apart and settled between her legs.

  She moaned as I rubbed my cock through her folds.

  She drew her knees up and wrapped them around my waist. Pulling me toward her. I rocked back and forth, coating myself with her before I plunged in completely.

  Callie slapped my chest and winced, I stilled. She rocked her hips and I continued.

  "Faster." She whispered as she leaned up and kissed me. I placed my hand on her chest and pushed her back down on the bed. I pounded into her.

  "Harder." She whispered.

  "Oh fuck, Callie." I growled as I hovered above her. The angle hit her so deep. I loved being inside of her.

  She placed her hand on top of mine and arched her back and clinched around me. She groaned, a sound between pleasure and pain, but it kept going.

  I powered through her never ending orgasm. Waiting for her signature smile, but the intensity in her eyes spurred me on and I grounded out inside of her and came so hard, I lost my grip and collapsed on her with a thud.

  She was still twitching from her own release to care.

  She wrapped her arms around my neck. I felt her heart beat.

  "I love you so much," I said and squeezed her tight.