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I clear my throat. “Seriously, I’m fully clothed.” That might be a slight exaggeration. I’m wearing shorts and a sweatshirt.
“You can take off whatever you want.” His eyes are intense, but a smirk appears on his lip–lips that are very close to mine.
I bite mine, trying to figure out exactly what’s going on here. A second ago, I was inside, tending to my fresh wounds. Now I’m sitting here on the edge of…something, with a very pretty, very sexy football player. One I’m beginning to realize I like way more than I probably should.
I let out a breath. My emotions are one hundred and fifty percent messed up and will likely never return to any sort of normal. This isn’t helping.
“Turn around,” I tell him, trying to sound annoyed.
It takes a second, but his big hands release me, and without stepping away, he turns his back to me. I flip my sweatshirt over my head and thank goodness I have a decent full-coverage bra on. I swing my legs over and sink down into the water.
“You in?” He doesn’t move.
“Yes, sergeant.”
I hear the porch door open and close, and he disappears. The big shit all but dumps me in here and then leaves me for some ax murder to find. That would be on par with the way things are going. Oh well, I guess I’ll take my chances.
I sink down a little further. The warmth and the bubbles are pretty fantastic. The glow of the tub lights illuminates the area, but I rest my head back, watching my breath meet the cold air and dissipate into the clear sky above. I’m in desperate need of all of my thoughts and feelings to fade into the black abyss.
Another minute goes by, and I hear the door again. Sean appears with two towels, and…he’s in swim trunks and shirtless. The man with the beautiful face does not need a body that does the face justice, but of course, he does.
Each and every muscle is perfectly defined and cut–his arms, shoulders, chest, and stomach. He’s not muscular in a meathead kind of way, but his body is chiseled, showing the dedication and hard work that makes him excel at his job.
A smile creeps across his lips as I meet his eyes like he is very much aware of my thoughts, and then he slips down into the water across from me with a splash.
“I thought you left me out here for the wolves and escaped convicts.”
“Nah. I think you’ve had enough for a few days.” His light blue eyes sparkle from the reflection of the lit water.
“I think I’ve had enough to last me the rest of my life.” I tip my head back again and relax in the water.
“I’d say that’s probably true.”
I run my finger over the top of the water, feeling the bubbles. “How about you? Have you had enough to last you a lifetime?”
He’s quiet, and I know he’s probably uncomfortable that I switch the topic to him and his life, but I know he can handle it. I also know that at every turn, Sean is surprising me. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d be staying in his house, sitting in a hot tub, letting him see me at my worst, but here I am.
The more I’m around Sean, the more I want to know him, and the more I like him. And I’m beginning to really, really like him in a way I wasn’t sure I’d ever care about a man again.
“I’d say I’ve had my fair share, but unfortunately, we don’t get to choose. I learned that a long time ago.”
I take another risk, pushing where I know he doesn’t want to go, but I want him to trust me enough to take me there, even if it’s just a little. “What was it like moving from home to home?”
I hear him pull in a breath and let it out. I’m certain he’s deciding what he wants to share.
“It was…horrible, terrifying. I wouldn’t wish that on any child. Some homes were ok, others weren’t. The group home was at least consistent, and then I had Shane and Mark and football.”
“That’s when you started playing?” I move my hands back and forth, pushing the hot water around.
“It was the best, most acceptable way for the three of us to take out our pent-up aggression and actually use it for good. Somehow, we got into a camp with one of the best players in the NFL at the time, or maybe ever. It got us started. Then, a man who volunteered at the home would come and work with us. He helped us get on the high school team. If we weren’t in school, we had a football in our hands.”
“It’s miraculous, you know that? The three of you. You’re three miracles walking around in a world that did you so wrong, but you’ve all turned it into something so great.”
“They have. I kind of pissed it all away for a while, looking for value and attention in all the wrong places.”
I flick water at him, making him look at me. “You’re not now. You caught yourself. There’s strength and character in that. So many people would’ve just kept walking the bright, superficially lit path because it’s so much easier. It feels good and looks a whole lot like happiness.”
“Yeah, well, you see, I got stuck in the elevator with this little smart mouth that told me I was shallow and pretentious. I couldn’t go on ignoring it after that.”
