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Hunter raises his index finger, a common pose of his when he decides to drop some historical knowledge on us. “There are three things which cannot remain hidden for long: the sun, the moon, and the truth. Meaning …”
“I get the meaning,” I grumble.
“Meaning,” Hunter continues, his voice laden with the messageyou obviously wouldn’t be doing something so stupid if you did, “even though you two have been successful hiding this so far, youwillget found out eventually if you keep going. It’s just a matter of time.”
I rub my palm over my face. Of course, I know that. And even though each time we’ve escalated our “relationship,” Zoey and I have always excused it to ourselves by saying it’ll make it easier for us to keep things hidden, to keep our passions under control when we’re close to peering eyes, that’s turned out to be bullshit every time.
We haven’t gotten more careful, because we just can’t keep our hands off each other for long, no matter what. I mean, I pulled her into a classroom on campus and spanked her bare ass until she came. That’s sure as fuck not beingcareful.
“I know, man, it’s just, maybe if we can get to the end of this semester, her internship with the social media department will be over, and then we won’t be against the rules …”
Hunter interrupts. “Maybe not against the formal rules. But she’ll still be Coach’s daughter.”
My stomach sinks. Suddenly, I’m flooded with regret over my last three years on campus. Most of us Hot Shots guys have earned reputations as shameless playboys whose bedrooms have been like a rotating door of hookups, and me no less than anyone else.
Everyone knows it, and Coach is no exception. It’s part of his job to keep tabs on our reputations, what we get up to in our personal lives.
Is there a chance that Coach would be comfortable with his daughter being with a guy like that? Like me? Not likely …
“There’s still no harm done because I’m pretty damn sure no one else has figured it out yet,” Hunter says. “Yet.” That repeated word is like a punch to the gut. “Think with your brain and not your cock on this one, man.”
If only he knew.
This time, I’m not thinking with my brain or my cock. I’m thinking with my heart. Despite its reputation, I’m pretty sure it’s the most dangerous body part of all.
When Hunter and I leave, we take our separate ways as he says he needs to hit up the library. I’m pretty sure he just wanted to give me space to mull over everything we just talked about.
And I do mull it over. But you know what makes me realize I’mreallyfar gone?
I’m not looking forward to spending this weekend alone with Zoey any less.
26
ZOEY
I’m so excited and anxious that it’s a little embarrassing. I’m like a kid who woke up too early on Christmas morning and has to wait hours for her parents to wake up before she can finally open her presents.
I’m sitting on the couch, practically squirming in anticipation, my eyes fastened to the front door that I expect Liam to knock on at any moment.
There’s some show playing on the TV in front of me, but I’m not paying the least bit of attention to it. I can’t even remember which streaming service I selected to play something random for background noise. I’m a ball of excited nerves waiting for Liam to show up, waiting for our weekend together to begin.
Obviously, spending a whole weekend together is a world apart from the hour here and there alone that we’ve been able to snatch over the last couple weeks. Even the time I stayed overnight in his room, we were trapped in one place and had to keep our voices down until I could sneak out early the next morning.
But this weekend, we’re not trapped. We can act normal—we can act like a normal … couple.
Even though that’s still not what we are. Not something we can ever be.
But for just a weekend, there’s no harm in deluding myself, right? No harm in embracing a fantasy that can only exist in this unusual, improbable bubble where Liam’s still here in Ridley while all the rest of the team are states away.
Letting my guard down and throwing myself into the feeling of being with Liam for the weekend is like a birthday gift to myself.
Even though, I’m sure in Liam’s mind, this weekend is just an extended hookup session rather than a taste of what it would be like to actually betogether.
After all, that’s why I decided not to even mention that my birthday’s coming up to him.
I didn’t want him to think that I expected anything special from him because of it. I don’t want him feeling like I’m trying to push this thing between us beyond what we agreed it would be. I don’t want him thinking that I’m getting, I don’t know, clingy or something. I don’t want him thinking that I’m expecting more out of him than he’s willing to give.
All that overthinking melts away when I hear a knock on my door.
