Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 102185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 511(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
This is it.
I finally get to be with her again.
Before I step inside, I say, “I’ve waited four years to be with you again.”
Her grin is naughty and equally sweet. Pulling me inside the house, she whispers, “Let’s not waste any time, then.”
CHAPTER 21
Griffin
Cricket hasn’t wasted a minute. As soon as she hangs her hat on the hook by the front door, we tiptoe like we’re sneaking out of our parents’ house and not sneaking into her own.
She slows and walks even more carefully when we pass the second door on the left. Glancing back at me, she smiles and picks up her pace again before pulling me into the last room on the right.
My eyes aren’t quite adjusted to the darkness, but when they do, I look around at her bedroom. Bed against the far wall and two nightstands with a couch at the end of the bed anchoring it. I approve of the large screen TV hanging on the opposite wall from the bed.
The curtains are open, and although the moon isn’t hanging over this side of the house, some of its light still manages to filter inside. “It’s very . . . neat.”
She laughs after shutting the door. It’s not as boisterous as it was at Whiskey’s, but it holds the same joy in it. “I don’t think you’d be surprised that I have someone who helps me out.”
“It’s not a crime, Little Chirp. I paid someone to clean my apartment in St. Louis—not because my mom didn’t teach me to clean up after myself, but because I was exhausted and busy icing my body when I dragged my ass in after practice or being on the road.”
After locking the door, she comes closer, taking smooth but calculated steps as she approaches. “My mom didn’t teach me how to clean because she’s never cleaned a day in her life.” I’m still not judging, though I think she set me up for a reaction. But cleaning isn’t why we snuck into her house and tiptoed to her bedroom. And I have no intention of letting that steam slip away.
I meet her halfway, cupping her cheeks and angling her face up for our lips to meet in the middle. We start slower than we did outside the front door, sweeter, and when her hands tug to untuck my shirt, I deepen it.
Suddenly putting air between us, she rips the snaps apart and smiles like she got herself a treat when she sees me.
Tucking a finger under her chin, I lift it. “Eyes up here, sweetheart.”
She giggles. “How long did you have that ready to use?”
“Since you said it at the stadium.”
“All’s fair in love and war.” Between the smile gracing her face and the magnificent sound of her laughter, I feel like I just won the World Series. “But for the record, you’re very distracting.” She moves ahead with what seems like her plan all along and strips the cotton from my shoulders. When it falls to the floor behind me, she adds, “There. That’s better.”
Before I have a chance to say anything, she attaches her lips to my chest and kisses upward until she’s lifting on her toes to reach my shoulder. I rub around the soft skin exposed at her waist and then move higher to run my fingertips under her denim vest. “I want this off.” The words come in the form of a rumble in my chest. The buildup of this moment with her, after the years of imagining it would never happen, I can’t be patient. Fortunately, she’s grappling with my belt, appearing to be in a bigger hurry than I am.
She pauses, then abandons my belt for her vest. “You want this off?” The glint in her eyes says she already knows the answer. Starting on the lowest button, she frees it from the buttonhole.
“That’s what I want.” I run my hand to mess up my hair, wishing I’d done it earlier to remove the dents I know I’m sporting from my hat.
She undoes the middle button and says, “Those jeans look really uncomfortable.”
“They are. I should take them off.”
Her smile grows. “Great idea.” The last button is released, revealing a white lacy bra bright against her tanned skin. She slips the denim down her arms and tosses it to the couch at the end of the bed. She slides her skirt down, giving me a full view of the lace thong that matches the bra. My smile fades when I glance down as she steps out of the skirt. Seeing her standing before me in nothing but lace and leather boots, I watch as shyness washes through her, brightening her cheeks.
Doesn’t matter that spice and moxie got us here. I won’t allow her to have any doubts about us being together. “Look at me, babe.” When she does, I brush her hair back to admire her face. “We’re just having fun. No pressure or strings. Whatever you want, I’ll do for you.”