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“How?”
I shrug a little even though she’s lying on my shoulder. “He was my hero when I was a kid. You know? In that stereotypical way dads are for kids. He was a pro football player, and that was pretty kickass, which I’m sure you can relate to.”
She nods, and I realize for the first time that it’s something we share in common. Most of the women who lay in a bed with me are only around for one night, and they don’t understand asingle damn thing about this life. But her dad lived it. He’sstillliving it. She’s been around it her entire life like I have.
Except I made it my career. She didn’t.
“But then he retired, and he changed. He became obsessed with this bar he owned with his former friend, and he put everything into it. I don’t know all the details about it, but I feel like his downfall stemmed from that. His pride took the wheel, and he lost a lot. Friends, family, money. It drained everything out of him, and it turned him into this bitter, selfish old man. Yet deep down, I know my hero is still in there.” I find myself getting oddly emotional talking about my dad.
“Of course he is,” she says softly. “What about your brothers? Are they close with him?”
“That’s complicated, too,” I admit. “None of them understand why I live with him, and sometimes I don’t know why, either. Maybe to save him. He was there for me during some rough times in my life, and even if we butt heads now, I can’t forget that. But living with him means I’m not as close to my mom as I used to be. She doesn’t come around and stay with me. She’ll go to Linc’s to help out with the kids, or she’ll go to Gray’s to use his pool. I miss her.”
I’m going much deeper than I thought I would with someone who’s only supposed to be a two and done.
“What’s it like having three brothers?” she asks.
“Do you have any siblings?” I ask before I answer.
She shakes her head.
“Sometimes it’s the greatest thing in the world, and other times it’s, well, the opposite of that. I always say Linc’s the leader, which is obvious given his career choice. Grayson’s the outgoing one, Spencer’s the smart one, and then there’s me. The youngest. The risk-taker. The wild one. I somehow fit in with all three of them, and at the same time, I don’t fit in with any of them.”
“I doubt that,” she murmurs softly. “You seem so…”
I wait for her to fill in the blank, and my heart seems to pick up speed. The word feels like it’ll hold a lot of weight, whatever it is, and I’m not sure why.
“Charming,” she finally finishes. “Like you get along with everybody, but you also don’t care what anybody thinks about you.”
“I care whatyouthink about me,” I admit.
“And you fish for compliments when you don’t need to.” She pulls back off me and looks me in the eyes, simply to roll her eyes at me, and I grab her by the back of her neck and pull her down for a kiss.
She laughs as she resists, but eventually, she gives in and kisses me back.
“I never thought much about settling down until I saw them doing it. I never thought I wanted it. But then this gorgeous woman ordered a dirty martini, extra dirty, and I was immediately smitten.” The words tumble out of my mouth before I can back up and stop them…before I can act like they aren’t way over the top and too much too soon. I clear my throat as she stares down tenderly at me, and she runs a fingertip along my jaw. “I guess I never thought much about the future until I met you.”
She leans down and presses a soft kiss to my lips. “And now?”
My eyes flick down to her lips. “And now I can’t stop wondering when the next time I can get back inside you will be.”
Her eyes widen a little at my words, and then I get my answer.
It’s nearly an hour later when she sighs deeply. “I don’t want to go…”
“But you have to?” I guess, and she nods.
“Yeah. My dad finding out about us would be bad for both of us.”
I nod. I get what she’s saying, and I get why she has to go…but still. “I don’t want you to go,” I admit.
“I don’t even have a shirt to wear home since you ripped mine off me.” She purses her lips at me.
“You can take mine,” I suggest, and her eyes seem to light up a little at that. I can grab a shirt from a store downstairs. She moves to get up, and I playfully grab her and pull her back against my body. “When can I see you again?” I ask over her giggles. I pepper kisses to her neck.
“As soon as possible,” she says.
“I have plans tomorrow night. Can you do Wednesday after practice?”
