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“So far, they seem to be a pretty good group of dudes. Time will tell how well we work together on the field, though. We’rea pretty young team and right now, the pressure is off.” I nudge her side. “Think you’ll come to our games?” I ask, trying my best not to picture her in an orange and blue jersey with my number painted on her cheek. In high school, I had plenty of girls over the years cheer me on, but none that mattered.
“I might stand to make a couple of games.” She grins, and it does strange things to my insides.
“I can introduce your girls to a few of the guys,” I offer. Hell, maybe if I did, we could all go out together.
Fuck, why does that sound like a double date?
Brynn laughs and rolls her eyes. “I’m sure they’d love that. Although Samantha has her eyes set on one of the bartenders at Bradd’s. His name is James, and it’s completely ridiculous, but so far, we haven’t been able to deter her.”
“You’ve been going there a lot?” I ask, trying not to pry, even though that’s exactly what I’m doing.
She shrugs. “Some. Samantha has zero chill. She’d drag us out every night if she could, and though I’ve been enjoying being social and making friends, sometimes I miss just staying in.”
“Meet any new guys?” I ask, staring at my hands like her answer doesn’t matter when the pinching inside my chest tells another story.
“Jealous twice in one night, are we?” She pokes me in the side, but I catch her hand as it makes contact with my ribs.
Carefully, I thread my fingers through hers and I tug her forward, enjoying the tiny gasp of surprise that escapes her lips. “What if I am?”
Her throat bobs, drawing my gaze to the smooth skin of her neck.
A bubble of nervous laughter pops in her chest. “I’d say that’s a first.”
She’s not wrong. Until this summer, I’ve never been jealous. I never care enough. But Brynn’s another story, and I’m wellaware of what a catch she is. These past few weeks have only shown me exactly how much she has to offer. She’s funny and smart. Gorgeous and intuitive. Not to mention, kind and reserved in a way I find far too sexy. Any man with eyes is going to scoop her up, and the second they discover she’s as beautiful on the inside as she is out, they’re never letting go. Anything else would be foolish.
I clear my throat in an effort to cool my blood as she stares over at me, confusion and something else I don’t recognize warring in her eyes. I wish I knew exactly what she’s thinking, but despite how long I’ve known her, Brynn has always been a mystery to me. An enigma I can’t quite figure out. She chooses the people close to her wisely and doesn’t open up easily, and I find I desperately want to be one of those people. I want to belong in her inner circle, to know everything about her. All her tells, and her deepest and darkest secrets.
“You never answered my question.”
“I forgot what it was,” she murmurs, her breath tickling my neck.
I brush my thumb over the back of her hand, and her lashes flutter. “I asked if you met anyone new?”
“No.”
The band in my chest loosens, but the moment feels charged. I idly wonder if it will always be this way between us. No matter what end of the spectrum we’re on between love and hate, will our interactions always be this intense?
“You have the most beautiful eyes,” I say, focused on the purplish-blue. They’re like a cross between an amethyst and a sapphire. If I were an artist, I’d paint them. They deserve to be memorialized. Instead, I’ll have to settle with seeing them in my dreams.
“Jace . . .” Her gaze dips to my mouth. “What are you doing?”
That’s a good question. One I don’t have a fucking answer to. All I know is that these past few weeks have been torture. She’s all I think about, despite doing everything I can to push her from my mind, and I'm not sure how much longer I can hold out. I’m not sure I even want to.
Brynn and I are a very bad idea for a lot of reasons: my inability to commit and Teagan topping the list.
I stare at her a beat longer, warring with myself over my next move. If I was smart, I’d call it a night and go to bed. I can see where this is heading, and it’s likely to end in disaster. But I’ve always been more impulsive than I have calculated, and a bigger part of me wants to see where this goes.
Fuck it.“Do you ever think about me?” I ask.
She swallows, and I watch the movement in her throat, transfixed.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she whispers.
I cock my head, my lips curving into a grin as I search her eyes. “I think you do, but I’ll be more specific.” She’s like an emotional vault, giving nothing away. I have no idea what she’s thinking or feeling. All I can do is go with my gut because it’s rarely wrong, and my gut is telling me she wants me every bit as much as I want her. “Do you think about the night we kissed? Because I think about it all the time.”
I hear her breathy exhalation before her gaze drops to my mouth; it’s the second time in the last few minutes, which I take as a good sign. I want to kiss her more than I want to breathe, but unlike the other times, I won’t initiate. If Brynn wants me to kiss her, she’s going to have to make the first move. I won’t push. She has to want this.
“I think about it, too.”
