Page 21 of Full Strength

7

Grant

I woke up with fresh determination. I wasn’t going to give up. I missed her too much not to try again. There was only one way I could assure that there was no paparazzi around for our date. It was lame, but we had to stick to our houses. I’d get some candles and cook something nice...or maybe order in. I’d pick her up and bring her over like it was a normal date. There would be less pressure, at least I hoped, so we could focus on each other rather than the people around us.

Now, all I needed was for her to say yes.

I changed into sweats and grabbed my bag before heading to the arena for practice. I slipped my phone out of my pocket and stared at the screen while I waited for the crosswalk light to change. Now was a good time to call. I had a time constraint so I’d have an excuse to hang up if things went south. Plus, I didn’t want this to be hanging over me during practice.

I tapped her name and held the phone up to my ear, praying she’d answer.

“Hi Grant.”

I melted a bit at the sound of her voice. She didn’t sound annoyed or angry that I called, that was a good sign.

“Hi Addi.” I sucked in a breath and rushed to get everything out before she could interrupt me and give me time to back out. “I know you said you didn’t want to date because of the media, and I want to respect your wishes. Really, I do. But I can’t stop thinking about you. I miss you. I really want us to give this a shot. I know you don’t want to go out in public yet, so I’d like to have you over to my place. I’ll come pick you up and bring you over and we’ll have dinner then I’ll take you home. Like a normal date. What do you think?”

I was right outside the arena doors, standing there feeling each heartbeat pound against my chest while I waited for her response.

“Grant…”

Her voice faded and my heart dropped to the ground. She was turning me down, again. I wasn’t sure how much more rejection I could take from this woman. Not when I cared about her so much. How hard was it for her to see that there was something between us? Didn’t she want to discover what it was?

“When?”

I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts I almost missed her question. When? That wasn’t a no!

I hadn’t exactly thought this far ahead, but I ran through my schedule. “Tonight or Saturday. What works better for you?”

There was silence for a few seconds. I checked the screen to see if our call was still connected. It was.

“I’m off at five tonight.”

I punched the air while smiling like a maniac. “I’ll pick you up at seven, and bring Eli.”

She sighed. “No, I’ll find a sitter.”

That shouldn’t have made me as happy as it did. But this made it officially a date. Different than the dozens of other times we’d hung out together.

I headed into the locker room like I was bouncing on clouds. Hartman narrowed his eyes at me. “What’s going on?”

Erik and Reese turned around and I suddenly had an audience, but I didn’t care who was listening. I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. “Addi said yes.”

The guys took turns congratulating me and Noah walked by and clapped me on the back. “Welcome to the club, man.”

I laughed. “I’m not quite there yet.”

He smirked. “I give it two weeks tops.”

I didn’t need the guys to tell me I’d been on fire today. Coach gave me a smile when I passed him on the bench and that was more than enough for me. Turns out Addi saying yes was better than any pre-workout or adrenaline rush.

“So, what are you going to do?” Erik asked as he ran a towel over his wet hair.

“I’m going to pick her up and take her to my place for dinner. I thought I’d pick up some candles and make a nice dinner.”

Erik nodded then looked behind me. I turned to see Reese watching me with narrowed eyes.

“What?”