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“What happens when we end up in a picture on TMZ?”
“Are you telling me you want to hide?” He teased.
“I’m telling you that we start the College Cup tournament next week and Coach may have a coronary.”
“Aww, Ash, you know I love making him crazy.”
I laughed and sat up, wrapping my arms around his neck. “The only thing I have here to wear is jean shorts and flip flops.”
“Miami’s official uniform.” He winked and stood, pulling me from the bed and onto my feet. “Perfect for the beach.”
“I haven’t been to the beach in probably a year. Not even for dinner.”
“That should be illegal.”
“Erin prefers the city, and she’s been the only person dragging me into civilization.”
“I want to take you everywhere.” He held my neck and made sure I was looking into his eyes. “Thank you for taking a chance with me. On me. On us.”
“Pretty sure I didn’t have a choice. We were kidding ourselves when we said once would be enough.”
“Speaking of which, I still have one question I can ask. I never cashed in on that.” He rubbed his hands together like he was thinking of the most diabolical question. I laughed and started getting dressed while he tossed questions around in his head.
“What are you going to ask that you don’t already know? My deepest, darkest secret ended up being your ex. How much deeper can you get?”
“Ohhh that is a good question. How much deeper can I get?” He licked his lips and ran his eyes up and down my body. “There are still places on, and in, your body I want to try reaching.”
My face had never turned as red as it did with those words. I also had a shiver run through me at just the thought of him taking me in ways he hadn’t before.
“Is that your question?” I asked, barely able to get the words out without catching my breath. I was fully dressed and walking toward the door, trying to act casual.
“No.” He got behind me and ran his hands on my ass then around to the front and grabbed my breasts. “But maybe later.”
ChapterForty
Rhys
Itook Ash to Havana Vieja, my favorite place on South Beach. There was always a crowd, but they cultivated an intimate environment, no matter where you sat. For me, they made sure we were in a corner booth, private enough I could make Ash come under the table if I wanted to.
And I considered it.
Our whole relationship had been surrounded with sex–and Melanie–though. For one night, I just wanted todateher. Toast to how amazing she was. Feed her dessert off my fork. Ask her about her goals in life. All those normal date things.
I already knew her goals, though. She wanted a safe job with a secure subsistence. Now that I knew who her mother was, it all made perfect sense. Going pro was too risky for her. Her grandparents were gone, she had no siblings, and she felt alone. Creating something safe had been her way of survival.
There was no way dating me was safe. I was twelve years older than her, could get traded to another city at any moment, and was apparently going to be a father to her half sibling. Being with me was a terrible idea. I didn’t fit into her plans at all.
It was something I would never take for granted.
After dinner, we walked hand in hand along the ocean. The sidewalk went on for miles and the breeze was making me wish we could stay out there all night. Ash was looking at the ocean as the waves crashed onto the shore in the moonlight.
“What’s on your mind?”
“Just thinking about how quickly things change. One day you’re about to be benched because you couldn’t care less about soccer. The next day you get beaned in the stomach with a soccer ball, and your whole life changes.”
“I promised I would change your life, didn’t I?”
“You did, indeed.” She was laughing again. I loved making her laugh. I wanted her to laugh every day.
