Page 76 of The Fall

I chuckle. “I’d love that too, but as your coach, I think I’m supposed to tell you to get your ass out of bed.”

She cracks an eye open and glares at me. I think it’s supposed to be menacing, but it only makes me laugh.

I pull the covers off her and mentally kick myself for not putting clothes on her last night. Seeing her naked makes it a hundred times harder to get out of bed.

“Fine.”

She rolls over and stands from the bed. She lifts her arms overhead and leans from one side to the other to stretch her back. It’s hard to take my eyes off the long, lean lines of her muscles that I know she works so hard at perfecting.

“I can feel you staring at my ass,” she says.

“It’s not just your ass I’m staring at, baby.” I’m not ashamed that she caught me admiring her. I’d look at her all day, every day if I could.

She laughs and heads to the bathroom, giving me a much-needed minute to calm my body down.

After she finishes, she grabs a sports bra and some shorts from her suitcase and puts them on. We didn’t even bother dropping her things in the room we’d originally booked for her. We both knew she wouldn’t be in it. By the time the next out-of-town competition rolls around, I’m hoping Savannah will be ready to tell Tati about us so we don’t have to pretend anymore. But for now, we had to book our own rooms to make it look like we’re sleeping separate.

I slip on a pair of boxers and walk over to her, cupping her face with my hands and leaning down to kiss her.

She’s smiling when I pull away, and that makes me feel really fucking good.

“So, about last night,” she says. Her voice sounds a little hesitant, which I don’t particularly like. I want her to feel like she can talk to me about anything, even if it’s something a little uncomfortable.

“Mmhmm?”

“Are we good?”

I look down at her, a little confused. I don’t know why she would think we wouldn’t be good. I’m wracking my brain for anything I may have done to indicate that we’re not ok, but I can’t think of anything.

“Of course, we’re good, Savannah. Is there something bothering you about last night?”

“No. I don’t know. I just want to make sure it didn’t ruin anything between us.”

“Nothing is ruined between us. If anything, I think we’re stronger because of it. Do you regret it?”

“No, I don’t regret it. But I don’t know that I’d want to do it again.”

“On that, we agree. I’m glad that we did it, and that we experienced it together, but I don’t want to do it again.”

“The whole time I was with him, all I was thinking about was you and when it would be your turn,” she admits.

I smile and tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear. I’d hoped she was thinking about me. I always want her thinking of me. “That’s my girl.”

“And when I was with you, my body felt safe and comfortable. It felt like coming home. Being yours is the most incredible feeling in the world.”

I swallow as her words sink in. Being yours. Does that mean…?

“Are you mine?” I ask hesitantly. I don’t want to scare her or make her think I’m pushing her to make a decision, but I need clarification on what she meant.

“I think I’d like to be,” she admits.

“Does that mean Miss Anti-relationship wants to be my girlfriend?”

A blush creeps up her neck as she nods. “Yeah, I do.”

I kiss her nice and slow this time, wanting her to know how much I love hearing her say that. I want nothing more than to be with her all the time. I’ve been waiting for this since I first laid eyes on her. Even when she was looking at me like I was the evil villain of her movie, I knew I wanted to be with her in any capacity she would have me.

“Well, I accept your proposition. You can call me your boyfriend from here on out.”