Page 52 of Here We Go Again

Every year when the hoses start up for the first time, it’s understood the Jaguars will be the first in line to get an official soaking. We tend to make a show of it, many of us losing our shirts in the process. It’s all optional, zero obligation, but Maggie has made it clear it’s great PR for the team, and it’s for charity, so who am I to complain? Especially when it’s a really great way to cool down during the hottest part of the day.

A loudspeaker crackles to life as I walk toward the fifty-yard line with Jordo, Sebastian, and Holly. Carter is ahead of us with Miles, who just showed up an hour ago.

Beside the firefighters, there’s a growing collection of team wives and girlfriends. Miles’s wife, Anna, is there with Sarah and Jordo’s wife, Malia. It looks like Watson is dating someone new, and she’s there, as well as Sebastian’s girlfriend and a few of the older players’ wives who are standing with their kids.

Once the team has been sprayed down, families get pulled in next—those who are willing—before everyone else in the stadium is invited to join in.

The announcer asks for a round of applause for our team, and I quickly shrug out of my shirt, tossing it outside the splash zone. Then he counts down from three, and the firefighters turn on their hoses and let us have it.

Cheers erupt around the stadium as we’re pelted with the cool water. Jordo lifts his hands into the air, adding his whoops and hollers to the noise, then he tugs his own t-shirt over his head, dropping it on the ground at his feet.

“Gotta give the people what they want,” he says with a wide grin, then he turns and heads toward Malia, pulling her into the water.

Carter is already dragging Sarah into the spray, and I find myself looking for Becca. I spot her near the front of the crowd, a lot closer than I expected her to be.

Before I can stop myself, I’m jogging toward her.

“You’re coming with me,” I say as I reach for her hand.

“What? No!” she shrieks, but she doesn’t let go as I tug her into the throng of Jaguars players and their families. It’s bold of me to include her like this, but I can’t bring myself to care. She laughs and squeals as we step into the path of the closest hose. She jumps behind me, hands on my forearms as she ducks behind my back, using my body as a shield.

“Oh no you don’t,” I say, then I spin around and wrap my arms around her waist, picking her up and turning into the spray so she can’t escape.

She laughs as the water rains down on us.

I wonder if she realizes that every other woman with the team right now is a wife or a girlfriend. Soon, it won’t matter. The rest of the crowd will converge, and the significance of her presence will get lost in the resulting chaos.

But I won’t forget what it feels like to have her beside me, at least for a moment.

“You’re lucky this feels so good,” Becca says as I lower her to the ground. She’s soaked to the skin, water dripping off the end of her ponytail and clinging to her lashes. It reminds me of last week when I picked her up from the bar and the rain chased us to the car.

“It’s my favorite part of the day,” I say, and she grins.

“I can see why.”

Finally, the announcer calls for the rest of the crowd to join us, so I take Becca’s hand again and lead her out of the splash zone to where I tossed my shirt. “Mia didn’t want to cool off?” I ask as I pick it up.

“She’s in there somewhere with Aaron,” she says.

“Aaron?”

“The guy she’s dating.”

“And how do we feel about Aaron?” I ask.

“Good, actually. He’s a doctor at the hospital. He has a dog, and he likes his mom, so pretty good starting stats.”

“Are you saying I should get a dog?” I ask, and she grins.

“You definitely shouldn’t. Poor thing would spend half its life living alone.”

I almost wince at the truth of her words. It can’t be helped, but she’s right. During the season, I’m gone almost as much as I’m home. Which means it isn’t just pets who are on their own a lot. It’s families too. It’s a lot to ask of someone.

Which is probably another reason to make sure my timing is good when it comes to asking Becca out. I don’t want to be a rebound. And I want to make sure she recognizes I’m worth what I’m asking.

A tiny twinge of doubt takes root in my gut.

Assuming I am.