Rich Prick by Tijan
Second Epilogue
ASPEN
YEARS LATER
“Are you ready for this?” Jade asked as she took the seat beside me.
I shook my head. “Not in the least.”
It was Blaise’s last game as a Seattle Falcon. When he’d finished college, he’d taken a spot on the team. We’d been in Seattle for the last two years. But tonight was his last game with the Falcons—and in the United States. He’d joined a new club in Europe. We’d be on a plane in a couple weeks, heading to Hungary. The offer had been too big, and Blaise knew his time to be able to go over and play in their ranks was diminishing. With the Falcons, he’d quickly become one of the best in the league, but I knew he wanted to try his luck overseas.
“But I’m excited too,” I assured Jade.
“I bet.”
I reached over, took her arm, and gave her a squeeze. “I’m glad you came.”
Her eyes got big. “Of course!” She pulled me in for a hug.
My throat was already swelling up. With the little one in me, my emotions were all over the place. And just thinking about him or her—we’d decided to be surprised—made me reach down and place my palm over my stomach.
He/she was kicking, and I smiled.
Blaise had been ecstatic when I told him.
After college, we’d wanted to enjoy living together while he started his soccer career, and I joined a marine-mammal-rescue nonprofit. My main task was to go out every day and rescue ocean mammals. There was never a shortage, sadly. Wrestling seals and cutting netting from around their necks had been the most terrifying at first, but then became my favorite job to do.
It was not something I thought I would’ve ended up doing, but camping on the beach was what got me started. Not a seal, but a sea lion was caught in another large net. Blaise and I caught him to cut it off.
After that, I was in in.
There was no going back.
Blaise and I still did our camping thing, and I say our because I’d converted him long ago. He was now the packer and planner for our trips, though I think that was because he always wanted to make sure our sites were somewhere Zeke could join us.
Yes.
Zeke.
You read that right.
Zeke now joined our camping expeditions too—he and his girlfriend. And I’m not naming names because the ‘girlfriend’ changed every two months. Though, that was a step up from how he was in college. Zeke had gotten a big rep for having only one-night stands.
“Blaise’s family is coming tonight, right?” Jade asked.
I nodded. “They got their own seats because it’s a surprise for him. He can see me, and if he looks up and they’re sitting with me…”
Jade nodded. “Got it.” Her smile was so big. “And that’s awesome. I’m happy they’re here.”
Another arm squeeze, another look, and we were hugging again.
I couldn’t stop the tears this time. I sniffled, trying to wipe them away.
I still hated crying, but the hormones didn’t. The hormones loved crying, especially publicly.
A roar started in the stadium, and just like that, the game was about to start.
The players came out, and we all stood.
Blaise was one of the last to walk onto the field, and as soon as he appeared, a giant roar sounded through the stadium. This was the last game for the Falcons’ newest star.
I knew Blaise planned to come back.
He wanted to be in Europe for a few years, then return and retire after a few more years here. There was a bit more leeway when it came to players’ ages in the United States. Plus, we had family here.
Like I knew he would, Blaise turned his head as he strode out to the field. His eyes found me, as I’d sat in the same spot for every one of his games.
Jade sucked in her breath. “You’re on the jumbotron.”
I ignored that, because Jade didn’t know we were going to be on the jumbotron quite a bit. News had broken about the pregnancy last week, and the attention had been intense.
When I fell in love with Blaise, if I’d known the amount of attention he was going to get—and I’d get by his side—I’ll be honest… I don’t know how I would’ve handled it. But, day by day, game by game, I’d slowly started to get used to it.
I went from being the invisible girl to having a jumbotron on me on the reg. That said everything right there.
Blaise smiled, kissing his fingers and holding them in the air to me.
I returned the gesture, then noticed many in the crowd doing the same.
They loved their DeVroe.
And yes, my throat was swelling and here came the tears. Again.
I’ll have no working tear ducts by the time I have this kid. I’ll be like a desert inside.
Jade sighed. “God, he’s hot.”
I glanced at her.
Her cheeks reddened. “Not your man—though he’s hot, too.” Her eyes went to his teammate.
Ah-ha. The last time she came to visit, I now realized it hadn’t been an accident that Theo joined us for dinner.
And the night after.
And the night after that.
Why hadn’t I noticed it before? And why hadn’t Blaise told me? I needed to be looped in on this stuff. Jade had been my roommate, then my friend, then my best friend, and now my sister.
My phone buzzed.
Nate: Your man is looking ready to kill someone tonight.
I smiled.
Me: You know it. Probably envisioning your head on his opponent tonight.
Nate: Ha! Your man loves me. We both know it.
He was right.
Nate had started visiting more often, and he and Blaise had become almost joined at the hip. Nate didn’t care about the age difference in the beginning of their budding bromance. He joked that hanging with him kept my brother young, but I always thought he liked Blaise so much because Blaise enjoyed pissing off some of Nate’s friends.
Nate: You’ll be around before you fly out?
Me: Of course.
Nate: Good. Love you. I already texted Blaise good luck, and he gave me a middle finger emoji back.
Me: And then he followed it with a kissing emoji, right?
Nate: How’d you know?Wink emoji.
I laughed.
Me: No clue.
Nate: Game is starting. Stop texting me. I have to start my cheers.
That was another new tradition. My brother liked to watch Blaise’s games in a bar, and he always announced who his brother-in-law was and sent video of the entire bar cheering Blaise on. Most of the videos ended with more than a few patrons mooning the camera as well. Both Nate and Blaise assured me it was their inside joke. I wasn’t privy to it, and I didn’t think I wanted to be.
Either way, I was happy.
My brother was happy.
Blaise was happy.
His family was happy.
I felt a kick in my stomach.
Our little guy/girl was happy too.
And that, right there, was everything I could’ve asked for in life.
Another deafening cheer, and the game started.
Blaise kicked in two goals and assisted on another one.
The Falcons won.
We went to Europe. Blaise played for six more years.
Our little Zeke was followed by Crosston and Sailor—Cross a little boy, and Sailor a little girl. She was the apple of all her boys’ eyes.
No one could blame them.
“Babe.”
I woke to Blaise pressing kisses down my spine, pushing the sheets away.
I stretched, enjoying his type of alarm. It beat wails, screams, beeping sounds, toy cars being rammed into the wall, or just shrieks.
Then giggles split the air. That was the other good alarm.
I heard the little feet stampeding on the floor, and we braced, knowing we had imminent arrival in three…
Two…
The door slammed open, and Sailor appeared.
Her blond hair stuck up in the air. She had red marks around her mouth, probably juice stains, and her father’s eyes were irritated. She crossed her arms over her little chest and puffed up. “Why are you both still in bed?”
Blaise groaned. “Sail—”
“Why, Daddy?!” She clambered onto the bed, crawling to us and settling on his chest, staring down at him. He jerked his head up, mock-glaring right back.
I just waited.
This was almost a tradition now, during the off-season.
This time, Sail broke first. Her face melted, and she started giggling. “You’re funny, Daddy.”
He swept an arm up around her and rolled. She shrieked, and then the tickling started.
I slipped out of bed, making my escape. I was taking advantage. I could do with a long, hot shower by myself. Hearing another shriek/giggle, I glanced back. Blaise had Sailor in the air, pretending she was an airplane, and she was loving it.
I got into the shower, and I was loving that.
A few minutes later an arm slid around my stomach as the water pounded down. Blaise settled his hips up against mine.
“You thought you could just slip away like that?” he growled.
I laughed, noting how similar my giggle sounded to Sailor’s, but then his hand slid between my legs and my head fell back to rest against his shoulder. “The kids?”
“With my mom and Stephen.”
Well, then….
I was going to take advantage of this too.
So we did.
If you enjoyed Rich Prick, please leave a review!
They truly help so much.
Blaise and Aspen’s story is done,
but you can read more of them in Always Crew and Nate’s book!
www.tijansbooks.com
