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“You don’t have to say anything. I’m just being honest with you.”
He was saying all the right things, and worse, she wanted to believe him. But this needed to slow down before it went somewhere she wasn’t ready for.
“I think we should just be friends,” she said, bracing for how he’d take the F-word.
“Friends,” he repeated, and she could practically hear him frowning. “I don’t want to be your friend.”
“What do you want to be, then? My boyfriend?” she teased. Sure, he liked her. She believed that much, but this was probably about him getting some.
“I . . . didn’t say that. But I . . . I don’t know. We should . . .”
“I’m kidding, Drew. I know what you really want to do with me.”
“This isn’t just about hooking up. I want to get to know you. See where it . . .” He stopped, and Nicole waited for the smooth finish.
“Shit.” He laughed under his breath. “I don’t even know what I’m saying right now. I just . . . I really like you, Nicole.”
“I like you too,” she said, quieter than she meant to. “And that’s the problem.”
Whatever self-control Nicole had left was slipping. Every time she tried to keep him at a distance, Drew found a way in—or hell, he just barged straight through—and the worst part was how badly she wanted him closer than she’d ever let Cedric get. That was terrifying as fuck.
“I know you hook up with a bunch of other girls. I’ve heard the rumors.”
“I know what they say about me, and most of it is true. Maybe a little exaggerated.”
“A little exaggerated, huh?”
“I’m not a virgin. Or a saint. I’m single, and yeah, I like sex. Who doesn’t? But I’m not doing half the stuff people say I am.”
“Your reputation scares me. And so does the fact that you’re about to go pro. I know all about that life.”
“I can’t change what I’ve done. And I’m not apologizing for going pro. Football is everything to me.”
“I know that, and I respect it. I do.” Nicole picked at a loose thread in her comforter. “I just don’t want to be one of those girls to you. The ones who don’t matter. You hook up, move on, and tell the next one the same things you’re telling me right now.”
He didn’t say anything for so long that she started to wonder if she’d nailed it.
“That’s fair,” he said finally. “I can’t sit here and tell you I’m some different person, because I’m not. I am who I am. But I don’t call girls, Nicole. I don’t think about them the way I think about you. And I sure as hell don’t chase them down and beg for their number.”
“You didn’t beg.”
“I asked for it more than once. Sure felt like begging,” he said, the teasing back in his voice.
Nicole smiled into the phone. “Whatever, boy.”
He laughed. “I have a fucking crush on you. What the hell, Nicole? What did you do to me?”
“One little taste of a Black woman and look at you. Already sprung.” That cracked them both up.
“So that’s what it is, huh?”
“Oh, yeah. Most definitely.”
For a beat, neither of them said a word.
“Can I ask you something?” he said.
“Go ahead.” Nicole rolled onto her back and pushed herself upright against the headboard.
