Page 28 of Platinum Pressure

Yet, something in my brain kept telling me I didn’t want to catch feelings for her. In fact, I kept thinking about how I didn’t want her here at all in the beginning . . . Now, part of me couldn’t imagine her anywhere other than in my home. We had a routine I enjoyed. Morning workouts, breakfast, rest, afternoon workouts, shower, lunch, evening rest, and dinner. Sometimes during the evening, we’d sit out in the garden or enjoy some time in the pool. She loved to skirt on the edge of the deep end, which always stressed me out more than I would admit.

Once we got comfortable with the routine, she would leave a few times a week to be with her family, but mostly, we were inseparable.

She paid attention to detail. She remembered things about me I didn’t even remember sharing with her sometimes. She always touched my body with care. The way she was gentle yet firm with her massages was one of the core reasons I had to jack my dick off daily because I wanted her to go up a little further and massage my dick just like that. Her touch was more intoxicating than any liquor or drug.

She kept her distance, and I respected it. I never wanted to appear like a predator by not respecting her boundaries, but I was also a man who knew what he wanted.

Meadow.

I wanted her more than I wanted to breathe.

Knock. Knock.

The light taps on the bathroom door broke me out of my thoughts. I turned off the shower and wrapped my towel around my waist. I stepped out of the tub and stepped onto the bathroom mat.

“Yeah?” I called out to whoever was on the other side of the door.

“It’s Sed. You’ve got some visitors.”

I frowned. “Who?”

“Come to the living room and see for yourself.”

I smacked my lips. “Whatever. Give me ten minutes.”

When there wasn’t a response, I assumed Seddrick had walked away. I dried off, handled my usual routine, and emerged from the bathroom in a plain black tee, some gray sweatpants, and some socks. I didn’t need the brace or my crutches anymore and could move freely around the house—as long as I continued to take it easy outside of workouts.

Over the last two weeks, my improvement and healing had made me hopeful for the future. We’d even started adding full body workouts three times a week. It felt so good to be back in the gym, even if it was the at-home one. My arms and back bulked up like I hadn’t missed a beat.

“Who the fuck pulled up to my house announced?” I asked as I walked into the living room with a scowl on my face.

“Fix yo’ face, P.” The familiar voice made me whip my head in the direction it came from.

I looked over to the couch and noticed Lay Low and Eddie. They stood up and closed the distance with firm handshakes.

“Man, I ain’t think y’all would pull up on me for real. What’s good?”

“Shit. Yo’ bean-head ass been ignoring the fuck out of the group chats. We had to pull up and make sure you was alright,” Low answered.

“You said fuck us, huh?” Eddie added.

In all honesty, I stopped responding to everyone associated with the Silverbacks, staff and coaching included, because I was embarrassed of the slow recovery process. I had no good updates for them, and it made me sad to communicate with them when I couldn’t be out on the field right now.

I chuckled. “Nah, man. I really been in my head these last couple of months. Between the NFC championship game and Super Bowl, I have been feeling guilty.”

“Guilty about what?” Eddie quizzed.

“My injury. Because of me, we lost the game. Because of me, we couldn’t defend our Super Bowl win. I’ve been a trending topic for three months, and it’s overshadowed everything y’all have done.”

Seddrick shook his head. “Man, cut that shit out and sit down before Meadow comes in here fussing at you.”

“She’s out with her folks this afternoon. I’ve been thuggin’ it all day.” I chuckled and made my way to the couch. We all sat down and continued catching up. The living room was back to normal, and I’d been sleeping in the guest room now since there was a connected bathroom I could use. I couldn’t wait until I was comfortable enough going up the stairs to sleep back in my room.

The sports channel played in the background, and of course, I was still the trending topic. Since my injury, no one had seen or heard from me outside of my medical team, parents, and Seddrick. He’d been in contact with the team and coaching staff on my behalf, but the guilt of my injury had me pushing everyone away. My misery did not love company.

“Nah, for real. You are trippin’, P. Your injury was a freak accident nobody could have predicted. Get out yo’ head and focus on your healing journey.” Low shook his head.

“Okay. Okay. I hear y’all, but I’m still gon’ hold that shit in my heart.”