Unbreakable(69)

Emmy: I’m proud of you. See you soon.

I talk to a few of my teammates on my way out of the arena, and they congratulate me again on my assist. I’m still not sure if I’ll be back for another game, but all I know is that this stint made me even hungrier to get to this league. And the only way to make that happen is to keep working hard every single day.

I finally arrive at the players’ parking garage and look around for everyone. Emmy, Sully, and the rest of my friends are standing with a large group of fans at the open garage door. I talk with a security guard nearby, and he radios over to the guard manning the gate. The guard waves them through a moment later.

“Maverick with the assist!” Axel hollers, pumping his fist in the air and doing a silly victory dance. He holds his hand up and high-fives me. Sully and Dylan clap me on the back as Violet and Peyton attack me with congratulatory hugs.

“Hey, you look great in your suit,” Peyton says, looking me up and down. “So GQ.”

I bite down on my lip to keep from laughing. The last time I saw Peyton, I’m pretty sure she wanted to feed me my balls for breakfast. I guess she’s forgiven me, or she’s a little tipsy. Maybe both.

Emmy stands behind the group, holding her rolled up signs. She smiles, but she looks a little stressed. As happy as I am to see my friends, I wish I could have some time alone with her. We really need to talk, but this isn’t the right time for an intense conversation.

“I can’t believe you guys all came,” I say, shaking my head. “I didn’t expect that at all.”

“We wouldn’t ever miss this,” Sully says, shoving his hands into his pockets. “No way. No matter what, Mav.”

I nod at him, seeing the regret in his eyes.

“Really, Sully? No matter that you’ve been an ass to Will for months? No matter that you rearranged his face at the cottage?” Peyton quips. “No matter even that?”

Sully visibly flinches as his face turns bright red. “Yeah, Peyton. No matter even that.”

“We’re family,” I say, nudging her. “Families fight sometimes. It’s all good, and it’s forgotten.”

Sully shoots me a grateful look. “Yes. Completely forgotten.”

Emmy hasn’t made a move in my direction yet, so I reach out and pull her into a hug. I relax a little as she buries her face in my coat and wraps her arms around me. She trembles when I pull her closer.

Damn. This moment feels way too intimate for everyone else’s eyes.

“They would have been so proud of you tonight, Mav,” she says, her voice wavering.

“I know, Sunshine.” I kiss the top of her head. “But you made it extra special. I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”

She tries to pull away, but I keep one arm firmly around her waist as she turns to face the group. I’ve missed holding her, and want to keep her at my side for as long as possible.

“We’re thinking of heading over to Grano’s Steakhouse,” Sully tells me. “Pretty sure they’re open late. We need to celebrate the win.”

“I’m in,” I reply. “Em, will you ride over with me?”

“Okay.” The look on her face is shy and a little bit nervous, which surprises me.

“We’ll meet you guys over there soon,” I tell them.

“I think Mav’s trying to get rid of us,” Axel jokes, putting a hand over his heart and making a wounded face.

I grin. “Yeah. Trying, but not succeeding.”

He laughs as Sully and Dylan shove him toward the exit. Violet and Peyton wave and follow them out.

Emmy, who I’ve still got tucked against my side, looks up at me. “I’m really happy for you.”

“You are, huh?” My voice comes out a lot huskier than I intended, and the shy, nervous look on her face returns.

“I’m sorry,” she says, glancing over at the group of fans huddled together at the exit. “I just feel very exposed here.”

“Let’s get into the truck.” I usher her over to the passenger door and help her in before jogging around to the driver’s side. After I start it up, I turn to face her.

I guess now is as good a time as any to get this off of my chest.

“Emmy, I just want you to know that I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything. I made all of the wrong decisions for what I thought were the right reasons. I can’t apologize enough.”

“Well, I guess I didn’t handle any of it very well, either. But when I reached out to you and you were so cold…” She lifts her shoulder in a tiny shrug.

I swallow down my guilt. “Seeing you so upset in the alley behind Glyka’s…” I run a hand through my hair and blow out a breath. “I knew then that I had to try and fix everything. That’s why I went to talk to Sully that night.”

Her eyebrows shoot up. “You went to see Sully?”

“You didn’t know?”

“No, he didn’t tell me that.”

She looks up at me with those pretty eyes, and f*ck, I want to kiss her so bad. But this isn’t the time. There’s still too much awkwardness, and I need to take things slow.

“Em, we have a lot we need to talk about,” I say softly. “It’s really important, and I wish we could do it now, but everyone’s waiting for us.”