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2 Mine
From Third and Long
Eva
“How did you pull this off?”Rob locks the hotel door behind us.
I can’t believe I did, honestly. It was a stroke of sheer luck that the Miners’ bye week aligned with Rob’s birthday. I called in the cavalry for the occasion. Even Jeremy and Alyssa drove down from Oberlin to be here. Instead of a bar crawl and the traditional twenty-one shots, our group of friends and family celebrated at the ritziest establishment on campus. The one that’s usually reserved for State administration and coaches when they’re trying to land a shiny, new contract from a prestigious sponsor. It wasn’t hard to get a room when I told The Athletic Club that they’d be hosting State’s Football God, but I spent every last cent in my savings account to pay for the event. All those extra shifts I put in at the Ironville Diner were put to good use tonight. I haven’t seen Rob so happy since before my assault.
On any given Saturday, the man packs stadiums with screaming fans, yet he couldn’t believe so many people showed up to celebrate his twenty-first birthday for a party that was far more classy than trashy.
He’s already shed his tie, and he’s rolling his dress shirt sleeves up, inch by glorious inch. There’s just something about a guy in rolled-up sleeves that’s so ridiculously sexy.
“Earth to Evie?” Rob stands in front of me with a smirk.
I gaze up at him in wonder. “You’re twenty-one now.”
He chuckles. “I am.”
He is. He really, really is. There’s no doubt this man is in the prime of his life. I drink him up—muscular, veiny forearms that are defined in his rolled sleeves; a crisp, white dress shirt that molds to his chiseled chest. I place my hand over the spot where the tattoo of my name rests over his heart. He covers my hand with his own. Even his long, thick fingers are a work of art. Everything about this man is utterly masculine and desirable. From the top of his thick, luxurious sandy hair to the tips of his size fourteen dress shoes. All night at dinner, the women who worked our room watched his every move with obvious lust. Who can blame them? Certainly not me. If Rob doesn’t land men’s underwear endorsements when he gets to the NFL, it will be a crime against thirsty women everywhere.
I hate to keep him all to myself when he has so damn much to offer the world.
“Hey.” He cups my chin with his hand and turns my face up to meet his chameleon gaze. “Where does your gorgeous mind keep wandering tonight?”
I let my hands do the talking as they wander over the hard planes of his chest, up and around his broad shoulders, before sweeping down biceps that are so defined, they should be illegal. “Would you rather go the bar? I sprang for a hotel room for tonight, but we don’t have to stay here. I’m sure if I put out a group text, everyone will be willing to prowl the best watering holes on campus with us.”
He raises a disbelieving eyebrow at me. “You know I’d rather stay here with you.”
“Alyssa did a bar crawl for Jeremy.” All my hard-earned plans fizzle before my eyes as I second-guess myself. “Your teammates got Alex so drunk, we weren’t sure he’d be able to play that weekend. Even Mike’s intent on getting me a fake ID, so I can go to the bars with you guys for his twenty-first.”
Rob runs his big, warm hands up and down my arms. “I guess not everyone can be as lucky as I am to have a girlfriend who knows I’m not really into the drunken bar scene.”
“I’m not exactly a prize, Rob.” My lips twist into a frown. “Some might even say I’ve put you through worse than the drunken bar scene.”
“Yeah, having a girlfriend who’s beautiful, strong, brave, smart, forgiving, loyal, selfless, and is my biggest fan is such a hardship.” He chuckles and places a soft kiss on my nose. “Seriously. Thank you for an awesome birthday.”
I smirk up at him to hide my mounting anxiety. “I haven’t even given you your present yet.”
His eyes change from blue to green in an instant. When he speaks, his voice takes on an excited, slightly husky tone. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
One large hand cups the back of my head, tangling through my hair. The other lands at the small of my back, pulling me into him. “You will forever be the best gift I’ve ever been given.”
His kiss is slow, soft, and perfect. Just like him.
“So…” He grins against my lips. “When do I get my real gift?”
As if on cue, God takes pity on my inexperienced nerves as Rob’s phone dings with a barrage of incoming texts.
With a heavy sigh, Rob releases me. “Great timing, guys.”
While he fishes his phone out of his slacks pocket to respond to the texts, I answer the messages that are piling up on my own phone.
Jess: You can do this. I’ve taught you everything I know.
Harper: Remember. No pain, no gain.
