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He runs his fingers through my wet hair, separating the strands and twirling them around his finger. “I need to make a rule.”
“A rule?” I ask.
“Yeah, no sex for our first three hangouts. I don’t want you using me for sex.”
I splash water in his face, and it starts an all-out splash war. His laugh is like the pretty bow on top of the most beautifully wrapped present—heartwarming.
Chapter Twenty-Five
REED
We lie in bed, reading a billionaire romance where we alternate reading the male and female points of view.
“The scene where her first love builds the house she always dreamed of, even though they aren’t together… swoon,” Brooke says as she wiggles her head right under my neck.
It’s as though we’ve been lying in bed together for years.
“What do you dream of, Cookie?”
She tilts her head, flashing me those playful round eyes. “To have a big family and produce musicals, plays, and eventually movies. What about you?”
I trace her lips with my finger. “The NHL and to find someone who loves me as much as I love them. I’ve never had that… ever.”
Not a sound disturbs the stillness, creating a void that invites introspection.
Have I found her? Can I have the NHL and her at the same time?
I put the book on the bedside table and cradle her body against mine as we drift off to sleep.
When we wake, her leg is thrown over my thighs. I kiss her forehead. Brooke and I kiss and talk non-stop about Caleb, and I can’t wait to meet him. But also, about how I enjoy scary movies, and she hates them. Why she walked away from figure skating, wanting to spend more time with her dad. And her favorite game is Risk.
Her dad is supposed to return with Caleb at noon, so we pack up and leave the snow-covered resort in separate cars, but I do follow her home. The roads are icy and as her boyfriend, it’s my job to make sure she arrives home safely.
I can’t believe I’m secretly dating my coach’s daughter who is also a single mom, but the instant connection Brooke and I possess is the first in my lifetime and based on what she said about Caleb’s sperm donor, she feels the same way.
I’m sitting in my car, waiting for her dad to return with Caleb. Out of nowhere, my mind drifts to Coach saying,“I coached their center for a year and believe me when I say he’s an ass. He doesn’t score. Got it? I want to shut them out.”
Could that guy be Caleb’s father? No, surely she wouldn’t date a douchebag like him. But then I think about when I was eighteen years old. I didn’t make the best decisions.
I hear a little boy’s voice, and Brooke’s door swings open. He leaps into her arms, talking a mile a minute, and the warm, loving smile on her face is as priceless as it is wide. Caleb is her whole world.
Will Caleb welcome a third person into his family? And will I be a better man in his life than my stepfather was in mine? Inwardly, I laugh because it wouldn’t take much to be better than him.
I pull out of the parking lot and head home to change clothes before going to make an appearance at the Children’s Hospital. Logan and Harper asked me to visit a pre-teen boy who loves hockey. His favorite professional team is the New York Rangers and college is UMich. I’m just glad we don’t have a midnight game.
As soon as I step inside the house, Harper hurls a hundred questions at me. “Did you find her? Was she receptive? What did you talk about? Are you a couple? We can double date. No, wait, triple date.”
All of her questions give me an idea. My roommates would never tell anyone about Brooke and me if I asked them not to. We can hang out here with them, and that will increase our chances of keeping our clothes on and my dick in my pants.
Books are strewn all over the couch. Papers cover the coffee table. I tease, “You don’t have time to hear all about it.”
Harper throws a pillow at me. She asks Logan, “Can you put my notes in the kitchen?”
Logan leans down, kissing her cheek. “Sure, princess. Do you need something to drink while I’m in there?”
She shakes her head and when he’s gone, she pats the couch, and I jump over the back, sitting where Logan normally does beside her. He comes back in, shaking his head. “I’m really going to have to get you a girlfriend.”
I put my arm around Harper. “No, I’ve got one.” The cheesiest grin takes up my whole face.
