He laughs again, deep and throaty, then flops back against the pillows. “God, I’m too sore for practice.”
The words make my stomach lurch. “Wait—we have practice?”
“Mm-hm.” He cracks one eye open. “But I’m not going.”
My eyes widen. “You’re seriously skipping?”
He grins. “What, worried the team will crumble without me? They’ll survive one day. You should stay too. So you can take care of your patient.” He pouts playfully.
“They’ll notice,” I mutter.
His grin sharpens. “So let them. What are they gonna think? That we’re together? Big deal.”
The bottom drops out of my stomach. “Phoenix?—”
He rolls toward me, propping his head on his hand, eyes glittering. “You scared, sweetheart? Scared they’ll figure out who’s been keeping you up at night?”
Heat floods my face again. “You’re such an ass.”
“Mm.” He kisses my cheek, slow and deliberate. “And you like that too.”
I groan, burying my face in the pillow. “I can’t believe I’m even letting you talk like this before I’ve finished my coffee.”
“Correction,” he says smugly, tugging me closer. “Before I’ve finishedmycoffee. You’re already wide awake. Energized, glowing even. Rookie, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you got laid last night.”
I swat at him, but he catches my wrist, laughing like a devil.
We fall into a rhythm after that day.
I spend the mornings waking up and making our coffee. Whispering sweet things in Phoenix’s ear until I can bribe him into waking up.
Some days, he pulls me against him and groans, “Five more minutes,” into my neck.
And I feel like I couldn’t deny him anything.
At night, Phoenix loves to spoil me in little ways—cooking extravagant dinners, ordering stupidly expensive wine I can’t pronounce, sneaking little gifts into the house like it’s no big deal.
One evening, I joke about how nice his speakers sound compared to my old ones, and the next day, there’s a brand-new surround system set up in the living room.
“Phoenix,” I groan, running my hand through my hair. “You can’t keep doing this.”
“Why not?” He shrugs, like money’s nothing. “I made some good investments. I have enough to make sure you never want for anything. That’s all I care about.”
I try to laugh it off, but his words linger. Investments. Enough to spoil me withanything.
“You’re not serious,” I say. “Like—you don’t actually mean you could buy us a whole new house or something.”
Phoenix’s lips curl in that way that makes my stomach drop. “Who says I couldn’t?” He leans closer, voice dipping, teasing. “You want me to buy you a house, baby? More space for us, a yard for… I don’t know, a dog maybe? You want that?”
My chest tightens. Because the way he saysus… it sounds permanent. Like a future, I didn’t realize I was already building with him. And instead of terrifying me, it feels safe. Safer than I’ve ever felt.
He laughs. “I can’t believe being domesticated is getting you hard right now.”
I corner him against the wall, my hands already on his hips. “Tell me more about this house you’re going to buy me.”
The bubble isn’t just for us, though.
Jeremy comes over one Friday with Jax in tow, insisting we need a game night. I half-expect it to be awkward, but it isn’t. Jax collapses onto the couch like he owns the place, Jeremy brings enough snacks to feed a small army, and soon the living room is filled with laughter and the sound of controllers clicking.
