Cameron

Typically, home games are harder for me to play than away games. I know that sounds backward, but at home games, there's always more pressure. Playing in our home stadium means our fans came to this game to see us win. And while that might be the same when they're watching the away games on a television screen, I don't physically see their disappointment.

If we lose during home games, I have to watch the fans leave the stadium with sour expressions, and some children are broken-hearted, crying as they leave the stands with their parents. Whenever I walk out on the field, I carry the hope of thousands of people who want to see their team win the championship. I can't let them down.

Thankfully, today isn't one of those days.

We had a three-touchdown advantage on a team that beat us in the playoffs last year, and I'm buzzing with energy during all my post-game interviews, itching to find my way to wherever Maddie and Izzy are. It's their first home game of mine, so I told them to wait for me in the box suite. Knowing Izzy, she's already passed out for the night since it was a late game.

I jog underneath the stadium lights to head for the locker rooms, but as soon as I round the corner, the devil itself is leaning against the door.

"How did you even get clearance to come down here?" I ask through gritted teeth.

Katie analyzes her manicured nails, a tilted smile on her cosmetically-enhanced lips. "You know more than anyone how persuasive I can be."

I hadn't seen her the entirety of the game, so I thought she had changed her mind about coming tonight. A part of me should have known not to be relieved.

"What do you want now?"

"I can't tell you how well you did tonight? You were a very hot discussion in the stands amongst the women, and for good reason." She waves up and down my uniform to emphasize whatever point she's trying to make.

Ryan, one of my teammates, exits the locker room with his duffle bag, arching a brow as his gaze roams over us. The entire team knows I'm married, but with Katie wearing a pair of tight-ass leggings and a crop top leaving little to the imagination, I can only imagine what it looks like. "You good?" he asks.

"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow."

He lingers for a few more seconds, eyes darting between us until he finally relents and heads down the hallway. I can't tell him anything with Katie standing right here, and it wouldn't surprise me if Ryan finds a way to tell Maddie what he saw. My teammates tend to like her more than me, and I wouldn't expect anything less. I almost hope he does tell Maddie. She knew Katie wanted to meet with me tonight, and if Maddie found out she was down here?

I almost laugh at the thought, almost, but Katie takes a step closer, distracting me. "Our magazine cover is flying off the shelves. We're all anyone can talk about. There are...rumors circulating. Have you heard them?"

"I don't pay attention to what other people say. I know what's true and what isn't."

Smiling softly, she places her hand on my chest. I jerk away from the contact, taking a large step back to put space between us. "They're saying our chemistry is undeniable. That maybe, just maybe, we're having an affair."

Now that makes me laugh. "They're obviously delusional."

She arches a brow. "Wouldn't that be something? I find it ironic, honestly."

"Nothing's ironic because I never cheated on you with her," I snarl.

"You didn't? Dropping me like I was nothing and going right back to her wasn't cheating? Call it what you want, but you obviously lied to me about your feelings for her."

Closing my eyes briefly, I let out a sigh of frustration. Not an ounce of me wants to speak to her when my body is sore as fuck. I want to take a hot shower, read my daughter a bedtime story, and then fuck my wife into next week.

"Are you really still that hung up over it? Is that why you're holding onto the footage of her? Trying to make it seem like I'm having an affair? All for what? Revenge on something that happened years ago?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she replies with an evil smile. "I simply came here to ask if you'll be my date to the team's annual charity gala next month. My father is going to be there, and—"

"No," I state. "Hell no."

"Are you sure?" She twirls a strand of hair around her finger.

Who does she think she is? Does she honestly believe I'll do this? She's absolutely insane if she thinks I'll even for a second throw my reputation under the bus and make an embarrassment out of my wife. Fuck the footage being released. I'll never do that. Ever.

I take a step closer to her now, and when she tries to touch me again, I wrap a large hand around her wrist, squeezing tighter than I probably should. "Touch me again, and it'll be the last time you ever do."

For the first time, Katie seems nervous. Her eyes dart from side to side, and she swallows thickly before she meets my eyes again.

"Keep playing this game if you want to," I warn. "But when I win, which I fully intend on doing, your entire career and everything you've worked for will be burned to the ground. Nobody will want to work with you again. Maddie and I will make sure of that, so find someone else as your date. I know you need that footage as much as I do, or you'd have nothing to hold over my head. You know better than to ask me something as foolish as to be your date. I'd never publicly embarrass my wife like that."

"Never underestimate me, Cameron," she tries to say confidently but fails.

"I'm not underestimating you. If you have no footage, you have no access to me, which I'm starting to piece together is what you really want, right? You need me to boost your image, but even more so, you want me, and it must drive you insane that Maddie won out, doesn't it?"

A muscle flickers in her jaw, and I chuckle deeply, still holding a tight grip on her wrist. "Find someone else to accompany you to this dinner because it sure as hell won't be me."

"You can't possibly love her that much," she says. "Every man has a weakness—a breaking point. You're a professional athlete, for fucks sake. You could have anyone you wanted."

"And what I want is her. Not you, not a model, an actress, an influencer..." Dipping my lips next to her ear, she shivers, and it's an effort not to roll my eyes. It's been a while since I've seen women react to the simplest things I do, and it makes me miss Maddie even more. She doesn't fall for these moves. I've always had to put in effort to keep her, and I'm grateful for it. It humbles me. "Come up with a more acceptable agreement, or you won't get anything beneficial from this blackmail you've created. Got it?"

And until then, I'll do whatever I can to get that damn footage back.

"You aren't the one in control here." She pulls back to look up at me, blinking innocently. "If you love her that much, then you won't let this footage get out there. You'll come to this event with me as my date or destroy her career—your choice. I'll give you two weeks to decide. If I don't hear from you, I'll take that as a no, and I'll do what I have to do."

Nostrils flaring, I take a large step away from her. "You're truly this miserable and petty that you'd willingly destroy someone's life?"

Another dangerous smile graces her lips. "I'll always exact revenge on someone who takes what's mine."

"You're psychotic."

"Or smart." She shrugs. "I have the video for a reason. I'm going to use it to my advantage."

"For what? To get me? You'll never have me."

She rolls her eyes. "With this video, I can have anything I want, including you, because since you love her so much, I know there are no lengths you wouldn't go to in order to keep this video from seeing the light of day. Am I right or wrong?"

A tremor of anger courses through me, but I don't have a rebuttal for her because she's right. I'd do anything for Maddie, and I'd never forgive myself if she weren't able to live out her dream career because of a psycho I chose to get involved with in college. I can't be responsible for her dreams being destroyed. I'll do whatever it takes to ensure it's possible for her—even being a fake date for Katie.

She pats my chest despite my warning for her to keep her hands to herself. "That's what I thought," she hums. "Like I said. Two weeks. Have a nice night, Cam."