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My heart begins to race at the prospect.

“Perfect. I’m just gonna…” He thumbs over his shoulder before disappearing into the room, and shortly after, Calvin heads upstairs to change, leaving my sister and me alone for the first time since she discovered the truth.

“So, I guess it’s us doing the cleaning up then,” she teases, taking in the dirty plates on the table and all the takeout containers on the counter.

It’s a good thing Cooper isn’t one of those players with rock-solid pregame rituals, or this afternoon might never have happened, and that would be a travesty.

We work in silence for a few seconds, but eventually, I can’t take it any longer.

“Thank you for being so cool about this. I knew I could trust you, but⁠—”

“Garrett,” she says, turning toward me with a stack of dirty dishes in her hands. “You don’t have to explain anything to me. What you guys have going on is yours. Sure, I’m a nosy bitch who wants every single detail about how this happened, but I’ll never question your need to put your partner first. If this is serious then⁠—”

“It is,” I assure her.

She smiles softly before beginning to load the dishwasher.

“Then Cooper is your priority.”

My gaze shoots toward the door he’s hiding behind.

It’s stupid. But I miss him already.

Sienna doesn’t say anything else about us as we walk side by side; instead, she tells me about their trip and how it ended abruptly when water started dripping through the bedroom ceiling.

Not long later, Cooper emerges in his game-day suit with his luggage in hand.

“I’m sorry we cut your time together short,” Sienna says. “I am glad, however, that I no longer have to play a game of Guess Who? over your identity.”

Cooper smirks.

“I meant what I said earlier. This…what happened here this afternoon stays between us.”

“Thank you, Sienna. I really appreciate it.”

“And when the time comes, we’ll be right there by your sides.”

I swear Cooper’s eyes get a little glassy as she talks about supporting him through the one thing that terrifies him the most.

Fuck. I love my sister.

Calvin reappears before the moment can get too heavy. He instantly makes a beeline for Sienna and pulls her into his arms.

“Make sure you’re wearing my jersey tonight,” he tells her. “I wanna see who you belong to.”

My eyes dart to Cooper. I haven't worn his jersey to the arena yet. I didn’t want to make him uncomfortable when he should be concentrating on playing, but there’s something hot and possessive in his eyes as he listens to Calvin’s demand.

As the couple beside us say their goodbyes, we stand kinda awkwardly. Or at least, Cooper does. I have no issues jumping into his arms and sending him off, but I’m very aware that he’s never done any of this with an audience before.

“Dude, we caught you blowing him earlier,” Calvin laughs, making Cooper’s cheeks blaze with embarrassment. It’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. “You can give him a kiss goodbye. We don’t care.”

Hesitantly, I take a step closer.

When Cooper doesn’t retreat, I push him a little harder, wrapping my hand around the back of his neck and tugging him so our lips are only a breath apart.

“Good luck tonight,” I tell him quietly.

“You’ll be there?”