Sweet Hope

Fused.

Nothing else described this new sensation of completion within me.

Hearing my cell beep again, I growled at the interruption. Jogging to my car, I opened up my messages. There were two.

MOLLY: IT’S GAME DAY!!!

And again…

MOLLY: I’ve tried to call you three times, but there’s no response. And I noticed you didn’t come home last night… after you went to Elpidio’s… So I’m assuming things went well? YAY! But we need to leave in an hour if we’re to make the game. Rome would love you there.

I smiled as I read Molly’s last text and sent her quick response that I was on my way home. She was going to grill me for details. I just knew it.

*****

“Holy shit, Molls! How the other half live, hey?” I said, shaking my head at the opulence of the décor as Molly led the way into Rome’s private suite in the CenturyLink stadium. I walked to the floor-to-ceiling wall of glass offering a perfect view of the field and whistled low. It was amazing. From this position, we would have the best view of the game.

Typical Rome. Buying an expensive suite just so his pregnant wife would be safe and warm while he played.

For a minute, I looked down at my pale-pink knee-length chiffon shirtdress, my black fitted blazer, and my favorite pair of brown cowboy boots that I’d had for years. My hair was tied with chopsticks and I wore large silver loops in my ears.

I’d asked Molly a million times if what I was wearing was okay. She assured me it was. But Molly really couldn’t give two shits about what she or I looked like, never had. What she didn’t see, however, was that she always looked beautiful no matter what she wore. And today was no exception, as she sported a long black dress, the clingy jersey material showcasing her growing bump and stunning figure. Her long brown hair was curly and flowing down her back, her square-framed Chanel glasses complimenting her pretty face.

Hearing someone enter the suite, I turned to see Lexi and Levi walk in. Lexi beamed a huge smile at us all, waving excitedly as she wore her “Carillo” Seahawks home jersey with a pair of jeans. Levi was wearing the navy-and-green jersey too. I expected him to come and say hello. Instead, he jerked his chin in a brief greeting and walked to the far side of the suite to sag down in a chair.

Frowning at his strange behavior, I held out my hands to Lexi and kissed her cheek. “How’re you doing, darlin?” I asked.

“Good, you?” she answered, but I could see she was distracted about something.

Blushing, I dipped my head. “I’m real good.”

Lexi cocked her head to the side as she regarded me. “What—”

“She’s been out all night, Lex,” Molly interrupted from beside us, and Lexi’s eyes widened in interest.

“Who with? Do tell?” Lexi asked, leading me to a couch in the corner of the room. Molly followed and we all sat down.

“Taking a deep breath, I couldn’t fight the smile pulling on my face. “Elpidio,” I confessed, and Lexi’s thrilled smile reflected my own.

“The reclusive artist?” she asked, curiously.

“Yes,” I replied, giggling.

“And?” Molly asked. “What happened last night? You’ve said nothing about it yet. You’ve kept me on tenterhooks!”

I shrugged. I wasn’t sure how to explain what Elpi and I had shared. It wasn’t normal by any stretch of the imagination, and honestly, by both his looks and closed-off attitude to seemingly everyone but me, I knew my friends would warn me to stay away.

Lexi and Molly were waiting anxiously for my answer, so I simply said, “It was the best night of my life. He’s beyond anything I could ever have imagined.”

Molly reached over me and pulled me in for a happy hug, and Lexi could do nothing but smile. I laughed at Molly’s reaction when a server came by to hand us glasses of champagne.

As I reached out for my flute, I noticed Levi slumped further into his chair, looking out over the field, with headphones on, music blaring, blocking out the world, lost in thought. He looked miserable. My eyebrows pulled down.

“Lex?” I called and, stopping her conversation about Austin’s debut today with Molly, she turned to face me.

I nudged my head in the direction of Levi. “What’s wrong with Lev? He looks as miserable as sin and barely said hello when y’all walked in.”

Lexi ran her tiny hand, sporting black nail varnish, down her face, glancing sympathetically at Levi, then back to us. “Axel,” she said on an exasperated sigh.

I grimaced. “Shit. Yeah. Molly and Rome told me he’d got out of prison. How’s all that going? I haven’t had time to ask you much about it.”