Page 33 of Sacked
“Look at you. You beam when you talk about football, and you’re not even talking about the Coopers. I should have known you were a Hubbard from Lexington, from the Coopers.”
“I genuinely love the game. The business. All of it.”
“I saw that and see it now. I was wrong to be so upset with you.”
Vee pressed her lips together. “We’ve moved on to the next game. That’s what you told me.”
“We have. I just feel I like I owe you more groveling.”
Vee’s sweet laugh rang through the air. “Before you showed up in Lexington, I would have said the same thing. I would have said I deserved some serious begging for forgiveness.” She tilted her head. “Then we talked about it. Never in fourteen years did I think about why you didn’t return my calls or suspect it was because of who I am. I mean, I thought I didn’t hear from you because you met all those other girls.” She arched an eyebrow. “Hundreds, wasn’t it?”
Scoffing, I shook my head. “Not hundreds.”
“Fin, I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t tell you about the Coopers because I wanted you to like me for me, not for what I could do for you or what my dad could do.”
“For the record, Vee, I love you for you. I did then and I do now. Because right now, the whole Coopers thing is pretty damn overwhelming. And watching you deal with it all is maddening. I want to help, but it’s above my pay grade.”
“That’s not true. You’ve helped more than I could’ve ever imagined.” She looked around at the crowd of people and back to me. “Even today. This is fun. You hold me in your bubble and allow me to take a break from all things Coopers. And at the same time, you’re an important part of our team. You understand what I’m dealing with because you’ve been in the league. I love you for all those reasons and more.”
I lowered my voice. “You can say it. It’s my cock.”
Vee snorted her hot chocolate as her windburned cheeks grew redder. Once she controlled herself, she whispered back. “I mean, it’s better than a vibrator.”
“On a scale from one to one hundred.”
“I don’t want you to get a big head, but I’d say one thousand.”
Reaching out, I ran my thumb over her cheek. “I love to see you smiling.”
“It feels good.”
“Back to the cold.”
After we threw away our cups, we clasped hands and entered the tunnel to the seats. “I think the Vikings can pull this off,” Vee said.
The sun made me squint as we made our way back to our seats. “Are you always so optimistic?” My question reminded me of Clark’s rose-colored-glasses statement.
“I guess it depends on the subject. Seriously, with Rowlings back as QB, the Vikings’ offense is better than it’s been.”
I pulled my face away. “You’ve been following the Vikings?”
“I follow all the NFL teams. And after seeing Zane the night of the Titans’ game, I’ve been keeping up.” She squeezed my hand. “I can’t predict how Simpson would have done during Dennison’s injury, but I’m thankful you were there. The Coopers could have been the Vikings, struggling.” Her smile grew. “We’re not looking at a comeback with Troy’s return. Just a continuation of the greatness.”
My faith in Dennison outweighed my desire to be the starting quarterback. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t enjoyed the position.
With forty seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, I was practically hoarse from screaming. The crowd was in a frenzy. Vee’s sunny prediction was within reach. On the last play, the Bears made it to the Vikings’ three-yard line and were held to a field goal.
Now they were up by six.
Not a given outcome.
Not insurmountable.
The Vikings kick return team ran the ball to the Bears’ forty-nine-yard line. I held my breath as Zane snapped the ball to Rowlings. Rowlings stepped back. My gaze went over the field.
The Bears’ defense was strong with zone coverage. The Vikings’ tight end was open.
“Throw it,” I screamed.
