“No jacket but I want to wear your jersey like a true fan.” Her eyes flick up, bright again. “My mom would love that.”
A chuckle tumbles from my lips. “She’d probably faint.”
“She would, but then she’d muster up the energy to kill me. She’s superhuman like that.” Lottie laughs, and I turn to marvel at how her whole face lights up.
I love looking at her.
“Maybe Ham could be the decoy. He already knows about us, and I’m his best friend. It makes sense he’d come to my game. If anyone asks, Ham dragged you along.”
“Ah.” She tilts her head, a smile spreading across her perfect lips. “That could work.”
“It will work.” My chest swells as I imagine her in the crowd. Just knowing she’ll be there fuels me even more.
“Okay.” She nods with conviction. “I’ll blackmail Ham into doing it.” She glances back down the path, then back at me. “And I hate to cut this short, but, you know, we almost got busted once already. I hate to push our luck. I should go.”
“I understand.” I say it, but my body doesn’t believe me. I plant my feet, knowing if I move even an inch closer, I won’t stop. I hold her gaze instead, because it’s the one thing Icando without crossing the line. “I hate I can’t kiss you right now.” The words scrape out of my chest.
Her cheeks bloom pink, and the sight nearly breaks me. She swallows, fingers curling at her sides like she’s holding herself back too. “Me too.”
I want to tuck her hair behind her ear, but I know even that is too much. Once I feel her hair in my fingers, I won’t stop there. As much as I want to kiss her, more than anything I want torespect the place she’s in and give her time to clean up the Bodan issue. It would break my heart if anything I did caused a scandal.
“I’m not saying goodnight.” I give her a small smile, though it barely tames the ache in my chest. “Because I’m going to text you later.”
“I’ll text first when I get home.” She smiles at me, and even though it’s not the goodnight kiss I crave, it’s enough to let her walk away. I let her go first, so we don’t get caught “leaving together.” Every step she takes solidifies in my chest that she is everything I’ve ever wanted. Wanting her is easy.
It’s this waiting that is going to slay me.
thirty-three
Tyson
Vrrrrrr.
I might as well be half dead, deep in slumber, when my phone vibrates on the nightstand. I’m surprised I even hear it—except it doesn’t stop.
Vrrrrrr.
With lazy energy, I swipe my phone off the nightstand and manage to open one eye.
Missed calls.
A lot of missed calls.
I must have been sleeping hard because I didn’t hear a single one. Half of these numbers are unknown. I scroll until I see Lottie’s name, and my heart skips. It’s not unusual to see hername, but when it’s in the middle of a dozen unknown numbers, it feels urgent. My heart speeds up as I press Call. Lucky for me, she answers right away.
“Hey,” I say, keeping my voice low. “Is everything all right?”
“Weellll.” She stretches it out like she’s weighing the bad news, and my stomach knots into a ball of nerves. “Nobody died again, if that’s what you are thinking, but someone leaked a photo of us from our date yesterday.”
Those knots tighten, one by one, until I wince. “Ah, how bad is the damage?”
“Not as bad as it could be. They didn’t catch us kissing, but it’s obvious. The way your hand is touching my lower back makes it look more than friendly.” Her voice wobbles despite her best effort. “It’s actually a really sweet photo for our first as a couple. We’re both smiling at each other, and you have this soft expression in your eyes, but … yeah, it’s not the best for, you know.”
I close my eyes as I hate to ask the next part, “Where did you see it?”
“Oh, everywhere,” she says. “The photo credits areSport Era Magazine, someone tagged me this morning. I didn’t panic right away, because my mom doesn’t read sports articles. But then someone tagged my mom.”
My chest tightens so fast, I wheeze. “Aw, that’s not good. So they not only recognized me, but you. I’m so sorry, Lottie.”
