Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 95951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Sloane places her hand on my arm. “She’s here with us.” Her eyes are misty with tears, and I have to look away and clear my throat to keep my tears at bay. “That’s not the only reason tonight looks different. We’re watching from your brother’s mansion, he’s in the professional football league, and tonight, we’re not just watching Landry.” She waggles her eyebrows.
“We’re watching all of our friends and my coworkers on the Rampage,” I answer.
Sloane tosses her head back in laughter. “It’s me, Corie. You can admit that your eyes are going to be glued to your man. How’s that going anyway?”
“He’s… mine for now,” I answer. I don’t know what else to say.
“The two of you have been spending a lot of time together.”
She would know. She’s been our cover for most of those occurrences. “We have been.”
“So, how is it?” She wiggles in her seat as if she can’t wait for me to spill the tea.
“He kisses me like I’m the air he needs to breathe.”
“And?”
“He’s good with his hands, and his mouth is good for more than kissing.” Warmth hits my cheeks as I make the confession.
“And what else is he good at?” She gives me a look, warning me not to hold out on her.
“I’ll tell you when I find out.”
“What? Hold up.” She sits up straighter. “You haven’t slept with him?” Her mouth hangs open in shock.
“I’ve slept next to him.” She knows that I’ve spent the night at his place.
“Corie.” Her tone has a warning to it.
“Not yet.”
“What are you waiting for?” She tilts her head to the side to study me, as if I’m suddenly a puzzle she can’t solve.
“I don’t know. I guess we both know that when we take that step, things will change. It already feels like more… like he’s mine and will always be mine, but that’s not true.” I’ve tried to tell myself that I can do this. That I can keep my heart out of it, but that is the biggest lie I’ve ever told. My heart can’t resist him. He’s kind and patient and so damn sexy it hurts to look at him sometimes.
“Why can’t it be true?”
I shrug. “I guess there is a chance, but one or both of us could lose our jobs. Then we have Landry to think about. My brother will blow a gasket.” I would never forgive myself if Knox lost his spot on the Rampage because of this thing between us.
“I don’t know,” Sloane muses. “I think Landry might surprise you. Think about it, Knox is his best friend. He trusts him. I think if Landry knew you were both in this for the long haul, he’d eventually be okay with it.”
“Maybe, but they're in season, and the last thing I want is to mess with that. To have any kind of animosity between them and have it affect the entire team. We need to just keep things as they are, and if we make it to the end of the season, we can reassess at that time.” If we can make it to the offseason, if this is still going strong, we can go to the Rampage and confess, and we can sit Landry down and tell him we’re together.
“If… Stop saying if,” Sloane scolds.
“I’m just trying to be reasonable about all of this. I can’t let myself fall too far. I’ll never be able to get back up.” Even as I say the words, I know it’s already too late.
“Oh, sweetheart, it’s too late for that.” She smiles, and I give her a tight nod. She’s right. It’s far too late. I’d always crushed on Knox, but now, that crush is so much bigger. What we have is more, and I’m scared out of my mind that this isn’t the same for him. We haven’t talked about it. I know we said we would be open and honest if it became something to either of us or if one of us wanted out, but I don’t want to be that girl. I don’t want him to feel pressured. I’ll keep my truth locked up tight, and we’ll just see how it all plays out.
“It’s starting,” I say, nodding toward the television.
For the next couple of hours, my eyes stay glued to the screen as we watch my brother and my… Knox bring home the win. They’ve won all of their preseason games. I hope that’s a sign of how this season is going to go.
“Are you staying?” I ask Sloane.
“Yeah, I might as well. I brought my stuff for work tomorrow just in case.”
“It’s late, so that was a good call.”
“When are they coming home?” she asks.
“They fly home tonight. There’s a time difference, so I think they get back in the middle of the night. They’re off tomorrow, so they all voted to fly out after the game since they’ve been gone since Thursday.”