Will smirks and takes an exit off the freeway.
“Besides,” I continue. “I hung out with a band full of guys. I was never destined to have a clean mouth.”
Suddenly it occurs to me that maybe my language offends him.
“Does it bother you?” I ask.
“Does what bother me?” he asks and pulls into a private underground parking lot under the football stadium.
“My mouth.”
“Your mouth is delicious.”
“My language, smart ass,” I mutter and smack his arm.
“Ouch! You like it rough, sweetheart?” He offers me a wolfish smile and I laugh.
“Sometimes, yeah.”
This gives him pause. He parks the car, shuts it off and stares at me. “Seriously.”
“Sure.” I shrug. “You didn’t answer my question.”
He just stares at me, his mouth agape. I rub his thigh gently with my fingertips.
“Will?”
“Yeah?” He comes out of his trance and swallows.
“Does my language offend you?”
“No.” He shakes his head and frowns. “You’re not nearly as bad as Jules.”
“Few are, Will.” I laugh and climb out of his sexy car. He waits for me, takes my hand, and leads me to an elevator.
“So, obviously, we’re at the football playing place,” I comment casually in the elevator.
“Football playing place?” Will asks and doubles over in laughter.
“You know what I mean.”
“Do you know anything about football?” he asks, delighted with me, and I glare at him.
“Of course I do.”
“What position do I play?” he asks.
“Is this a quiz?”
“A little one.”
“You’re the quarterback.”
“Who do I throw the ball to?” He ushers me out of the elevator and then leans against a wall and crosses his arms over his chest.
“Another guy in a blue and green uniform.” I respond confidently. “Usually,” I add, earning a glare from him.
“I’m going to torture you for that.”
“I hope so, babe.” I grin at him and his face sobers. “What?”
“Why can you call me babe, but I can’t call you that?” he asks.
Good point. I frown and shrug. “I guess babe doesn’t sound like baby to me. It sounds more grown up, maybe? I don’t know. It doesn’t weird me out, though.”
“Okay, so noted. Come on.”
He takes my hand again and pulls me down a long hall and through an enormous set of double doors that open up to a tunnel that leads up to the football field. All of the stadium lights are on. It’s empty.
“How…?”
“I called ahead while you were in the restroom at the restaurant and asked someone to turn the lights on for me.” He continues pulling me out on the field and stops, right in the center of the fifty-yard line.
“Wow,” I whisper and look around the stadium. “How many people can this seat?” I ask.
“Sixty-seven thousand,” he states like it’s no big thing, and I stare at him with an open mouth and wide eyes.
“Holy shit.”
“We sell out every weekend.”
I knew that. Yet, being here, right here, in the middle of the field, looking around at the empty stadium seats, at the enormity of this place, just about knocks me on my ass.
In fact, I just sit, right there, on the turf.
“Are you okay?” he asks, his brow creasing with worry and joins me on the ground.
I’m speechless as I gaze around the stadium, and it occurs to me that this could have been me, on stage, singing in front of sixty-seven thousand people, rather than small little clubs around Seattle, or reception halls full of wedding guests. If Leo hadn’t made the decision to go without me, I would have been singing in places just like this one.
“Meg?” Will’s worried voice pulls me out of my trance and I shrug.
“You must not get stage fright either,” I murmur.
“Only during the play-offs,” he replies and pushes my hair back over my shoulder. I love how he’s always touching me.
“You’re a lot to take in, you know?” I ask him.
He smiles shyly, and frowns for a second, looking down at this hands. “I can be, yeah. But remember, this is just what I do. It’s only part of who I am.”
“It’s important to you,” I remind him and he nods.
“Very. I’ve played football for as long as I can remember.” He takes one of my hands in his and plays with my fingers. “Football got me through school, Meg. I knew I had to get good grades and stay out of trouble if I wanted to stay on the team. And I did. I wanted the camaraderie with the guys. I had some really smart coaches who pushed me and taught me. It earned me a scholarship to college, and I worked my ass off there too.”