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The concern in her voice and face stills the air in my lungs as she somewhat awkwardly lingers next to the couch, like she’s unsure if she should sit down. “Yeah, I’m good,” I tell her.
Daria looks towards my propped-up foot once more, biting into her bottom lip. I can’t help but watch, knowing intimately well how soft her lips are. “I was, uh, watching the game,” she informs me. “Saw you go down.” Her frown deepens a little, like she’s picturing that awkward tackle all over again. Her jaw clenches, stopping herself from wincing. “And I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
The tension in the air is noticeable, along with the quickening of my pulse. So, I find myself raising my eyebrows and smiling a little lazily as I ask her, in an almost teasing tone, “You were worried about me?”
At my lighthearted voice, I see some of the tension leave Daria’s shoulders, as she huffs a breath with a roll of her eyes. “Of course, I was worried,” she says exasperatedly, finally sitting down on the couch. She keeps some distance between us, which is understandable given the circumstances but still feels wrong. Glancing at my foot again, she asks, “It’s not broken?”
“Nah, just a sprain.” Her mouth twists to the side, still looking at my leg, and my chest warms at the obvious concern that weighs in her blue eyes. Before I can think twice about it, my arm stretches until my hand rests on her thigh. “Hey.” Her gaze snaps to me, flicking down to my hand on her before looking at me again. I smile reassuringly and say, “I’m fine. I’ll be back on the field in a week. I appreciate you coming to check on me.”
Daria arches an eyebrow. “Are you kicking me out already?”
Never, not if I can help it. “Don’t you have to get back to Elaine?”
She cracks a smile. “She’s at the movies with my brother.”
“Oh—”
“I can go, though, if you want.”
I shoot her a flat look. “The day I want you to leave is the day pigs fly, Ria.”
She smiles again, and this time it’s accompanied by a pretty pink hue coloring her cheeks. Silence falls over us, and I watch as a contemplative look crosses her face. Her blue eyes are on my hand that is still on her thigh, feeling her skin burn mine even through the material of her leggings. I know I should pull my hand away before it starts to feel like more than a platonic touch—which, who am I kidding? It already does—but I can’t bring myself to move it. I haven’t touched her in what feels like ages, and my body craves hers desperately. I don’t know if this feeling will ever stop.
Finally, Daria breaks the silence. “I’ve been thinking about. . . Things,” she starts slowly.
Her gaze hesitantly meets mine as I gently prod, “Things?”
Her throat works and my pulse quickens because of her nerves. “About you and me. About us.” Now my heart just launches itself into my throat at her words. Daria takes a breath as her hand covers mine, the touch sending electric shocks throughout my body and setting me on fire at the same time. Just a simple touch from Daria pulls those kinds of reactions from me. No matter how hard I try to deny it, she always seems to have this dizzying effect on me.
Daria lifts her gaze, and those blue eyes hold so much emotion in them that it nearly knocks me back. Her fingers thread through mine, slotting together fucking perfectly, as she takes a breath. “Things are easier with you than without, Caden,” she says, her voice coming out as a whisper. “And I don’t. . . I don’t think being just friends was ever in the cards for us.”
The air is tight in my lungs as I will myself not to get my damn hopes up. But a sort of excitement is already brewing, yet I keep my tone steady as I ask her, “What are you saying, Daria?”
I need to hear her say it. I need her to tell me, bluntly, what she wants. I need her to speak the fucking words.
She takes in a breath, her stare meaningful as her eyes lock with mine. “I’m saying that I’m going to do my best to protect my daughter, because that’s my job. I’m saying I don’t want to be so afraid of strangers’ opinions and their cameras that it keeps me from having what I really want.” Her gaze softens a little. “Which is you.”
Holy fucking shit.
My heart thunders harshly against my ribs, but I pay no attention to it as I stare at the woman next to me. This beautiful, brave woman who is looking at me with so much emotion in her eyes that it knocks the air clean out of my lungs. “Are you sure?” I ask her.Please be sure.
Daria nods, smiling a little more. “I am,” she breathes out. “I’m a little nervous but I know you’ll be right there for me when I need you.”
“No,” I say with a shake of my head, pinning her with a look. “I’ll be there for you regardless of whether you need me or not. Always, Ria. I’ve got you. And Elaine.”
A breath escapes her and for a split second, water lines her eyes, but Daria blinks it away as she squeezes my hand with hers. “Sorry for not seeing that sooner,” she whispers.
“It’s okay, baby.” There’s too much space between us. So, I slide my hand from her thigh to under her leg, and easily pull her towards me. A short, startled laugh escapes Daria at the sudden movement, and when she’s close enough, I use both hands to tug her onto my lap, her legs straddling either side of me.
She grips my shoulders, her eyes slightly widening as she glances over her shoulder. “Your foot—”
“Is fine,” I cut her off, pulling her gaze back to me. My hands are on her hips right under her sweatshirt, just her leggings separating her skin from mine, and for the life of me, I can’t fucking contain the grin that splits across my face. When Daria takes note of it, she relaxes as well, her own smile dancing on her mouth as she looks down at me. “You wanna do this?”
She nods, biting her lower lip. I want to tug it out with my own teeth. “I do,” she says through a growing smile. I feel her fingers tease my hair, her gaze flickering over my face. “Somewhere between the casual hook ups, I guess I really fucking fell for you, Superstar.”
Her words have my chest expanding with a deep inhale. No other words come to me other than a muttered, “Thank fuck,” before I’m surging forward and capturing her lips with my own.
Daria instantly melts into the kiss, hands sliding up to the back of my head and threading her fingers through my hair. I part her lips with my tongue and she grants me easy access, my dick stirring to life as my tongue caresses hers, feeling like a man starved after having gone what feels like forever without kissing her, touching her. My hands slide further up her body until I feel her soft, warm skin beneath mine, the tips of my fingers skimming the edges of her bra as every part of me comes to life with every slide of my tongue against hers.
