7
“Yo. There’s a fine young woman out in the hall, looking for you.” One of Simon’s star athletes smacked him on the ass as he jogged past in the warm-up area. “Better hurry up and see what she wants before the rest of the guys notice her and try to give her a tour of the locker room.”
Simon finished wrapping an ankle quickly but efficiently before practically sprinting over to the entrance separating the staff area from the general stadium space. He flashed his badge to the security guard before surrounding Andi in a bear hug. He kissed her right out in the open, where anyone could see.
Fuck that. He hoped his colleagues finally realized how lucky he really was and why he didn’t often take them up on their offer to hang out at sports bars after practice or at the end of game days. He lifted his chin at Reed before bumping the other guy’s fist, still without letting go of Andi.
Simon loved that she had popped in for a closer look at his work. It was a treat that she, Cooper, and Reed had been able to make it. It felt so weird keeping them separate from parts of his life. Unnatural, despite what anyone else might say about their arrangement.
“I know you’re busy—” She glanced over her shoulder at Reed like she might turn around and leave. Simon loosened the hold of his arm, which was slung over her shoulder, trying not to squish her in his enthusiasm.
“Nah. You have great timing.” He wasn’t about to let her flee. “Coach rounded up the players for the pre-game briefing. I’ve got about twenty minutes before they’re going to need me again. Want a tour?”
“Sure.” She smiled then, placing her hand in his.
Simon glanced over at the security guard on duty. It wasn’t one of the guys he’d gotten to know over the past year. “Hey man, I don’t suppose you’d let me bring in two guests for a couple minutes?”
“Sorry. No can do.” The guard crossed his arms and shook his head. “One’s the limit.”
Simon didn’t blame him for sticking to the stadium policy. It kept him…and Andi…protected after all. Hopefully Reed would understand.
“Go ahead.” Reed waved his hands at them, taking a step back before Simon could even explain the rules. “Cooper is in line for some junk food. And you’ve only got a little while to spare. I’ll go next time.”
“You’re sure?” Simon asked.
“Yeah. Of course.” Reed smiled. “Have fun, kids. I’ll wait right over here for you, Andi.”
“Thanks.” She blew him a kiss, then gave Simon her full attention.
He stood a little taller, his chest puffed out as he led her through the guts of the stadium and pointed out all the stuff that was part of his routine. Seeing the facilities through her eyes, for the first time, he felt pretty damn good about himself and how far he’d come in his first real job after college. Between that, living somewhere other than his parents’ basement, and being in his first meaningful relationship—if an unusual one—he might just be making something of his life.
Andi looked up at him, her eyes wide as she surveyed the sports medicine bay. “It’s really cool to picture you here, doing what you’re best at. It’s a little weird, too, to see you being so serious.”
“When it comes to the athletes’ health, yeah, I’ve got to be all boring and shit. Any other time…not so much.” He laughed as he showed her his various treatment stations, careful to avoid the entrance to the locker room.
Instead, he detoured to a thick, blue-painted steel door with no windows.
No one else would give a shit about this particular spot. It only mattered to him. As the low man on the totem pole, he was responsible for reordering supplies and keeping the rest of the medical staff fully stocked with whatever they required.
He plucked a key hanging from a lanyard around his neck off his chest and leaned down to fit it into the lock. “This spot is pretty much my domain. We stash our materials in here. I wouldn’t ordinarily bother showing you this, but maybe it’ll interest you because it’s stuff we get from Reed now that his company won the bid for the contract.”
When he ushered Andi inside, he pivoted on the heels of his sneakers and flipped the lock. The noise made her jump. Then she whirled around and realized it was only him and her inside. Simon waggled his brows to erase any lingering distress from her features. “I’m the only person with a key.”
She tapped the screen of her phone and checked the time. “Ten minutes until you need to be back out there?”
He nodded. “Give or take.”
“I can work with that, and I’d really, really like to give for once.” She stepped closer, into his open arms, and wound her arms around his neck. “I feel like I take too much.”
“Not from me,” he promised a moment before she sealed her lips over his.
It still blew his mind, how Andi fit him so perfectly even though he’d seen how she meshed as seamlessly with Reed and Cooper, who were nothing at all like him. She settled into his embrace, their chests mashed together as he teased her lips with the tip of his tongue. She had to be able to feel how much he wanted her.
His cock was trapped between them, hard just from having her nearby.
Simon ran his hands down her back then over her tight ass to the tops of her thighs. He slid them up again, this time under her skirt. When his fingers could reach the waistband of her panties, he nudged them down until they tangled around her thighs.
Only then did he stop kissing her, and only long enough to kneel so he could guide the scrap of satin down her legs, over her shoes, then help her step out of it.