I close my eyes and pull her closer, and for the first time in a long time, I don’t make a single rule.
Well, maybe one—Once you get her, don’t ever let her go.
Chapter
Forty-One
Decker
* * *
I can’t help but watch her. In a T-shirt and cotton shorts, padding barefoot around the kitchen, preparing breakfast.
She places eggs and a bowl in front of me. “Do something useful and beat these.”
I grab her around the waist before she can escape. She laughs, and I kiss the hollow of her neck. My bare chest pressed to the soft cotton of her shirt makes me want to strip her down again. But we both need to eat before we pass out.
“Sure you want to eat?”
She wiggles out of my grip, and even though she’s only just across the kitchen, I miss being right next to her. How will I sleep at my condo alone? If she asked, I’d move in tonight. Might not even go home to get my stuff, just order new shit.
“We should probably talk.” She looks at me with a pensive expression.
Guess I shouldn’t be surprised she wants to get it all out in the open—how we move forward.
I nod. “All right. You go first.”
She places bacon on a cookie sheet and puts it in the oven. “I’m not ready to broadcast our relationship to the world yet.”
I concentrate on breaking the eggs and avoid eye contact. I understand her concern. I’m not exactly someone to bet on yet. There’s a lot more I need to prove. “Okay.”
“I mean, our friends…”
The word our hits me square in the chest. I love the word our when it comes out of her mouth.
“I’m fine with them knowing,” she continues. “But.” She comes over to me, and I prepare myself for whatever has that concerned expression on her face. She slides between me and the counter and wraps her arms around my neck, tilting my head to look right into her eyes. “I know this is real, Deck. But I have to put Hazel first.”
“Of course.”
“So that means we can’t tell her yet.”
I lower my head and kiss her. “It’s your decision. Whenever you think it’s right.”
She smiles and kisses me once more, but I slide my tongue into her mouth. It gets a little out of control before she slides out under my arm. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
I finish the eggs, scrambling them. She throws some bread in the toaster and refills her coffee again.
“We don’t have to worry about our friends,” I say. “They’ll never tell anyone. They know the score.”
“I know. That’s why I’m okay with it. We have a lot of other things to deal with. My dad being your manager. Me handling the Dugout Social Club. There might be non-fraternization rules we don’t know about, and I won’t jeopardize your career. This is your contract year.”
“I don’t really care anymore.” I wrap my arms around her as she puts butter in the pan and starts cooking the eggs. “I have everything I want in my arms right now.”
“I’m serious.”
“I am too. Right now, baseball doesn’t matter.”
She tilts her head, offering me her neck, and I take the opportunity to prove to her she’s all that matters in my life right now.
