AllFreeNovel
Share Us
All I want is to ditch this event and be alone with her, preferably naked and distraction free.
But beyond my need to be buried deep inside her, I crave our conversations the most. Our interactions have been limited despite talking on the phone and through texts. We haven’t had a deep or meaningful discussion since Thanksgiving weekend.
Amanda doesn’t even know about my meeting with Dad tomorrow. I called him this morning about winning the tournament, and he insisted on meeting face-to-face. We could have handled whatever business he wanted to discuss tonight, but he wasn’t one to conduct family business in public. Honestly, I don’t even know what he wants to talk about. It’s simple—I won, end of story.
But I suspect he’s using this as an excuse to get me back home. We haven’t seen each other since our run-in at the restaurant, and we certainly haven’t talked since the night of that horrible dinner.
They don’t realize how infrequent these visits would be if they’d just come out to one of my games.
But there’s another matter Amanda and I need to address: her future. There’s no doubt that Memorial Hospital will accept her application, and when they do, she’ll have to decide between the two internships. However, she was supposed to hear from them this week, and the delay in their response seems to weigh heavily on her. She was unusually quiet during our car ride here, indicating something was bothering her. Although I can’t speed up the decision process, I can help end the indecision we seem to have in spades.
Amanda appears from the hallway, and my breath catches just like it did when she opened the door back to her apartment earlier. She looks stunningly beautiful in her blush-toned dress that compliments her dark hair perfectly. A few soft tendrils fall free and frame her petite face, but it’s the vivid green of her eyes that makes my heart flip when I don’t fall for anyone. They seem to hold a secret or a longing as if she will miss me.
If that’s the case, I need to squash that thinking. Amanda isn’t going anywhere. This girl is all mine.
And I need to make sure she realizes that. I’ve done a poor job conveying that we won’t break up after tonight. My focus has been solely on myself. The tension in the locker room has been palpable after another road trip loss. Then, I had to study for finals and barely passed Business Calculus. But I made it through, and then, on top of everything else, my entire future hinged on the outcome of this skills tournament. This whole week has been about me, but that changes now.
“Hey,” I say, reaching her side quicker than I thought possible. “Have I told you how gorgeous you look tonight?”
A faint blush spread across her cheeks as she lowered her eyelashes. That look right there will never get old.
“You’re quite handsome yourself.”
I offer my elbow, which she slips her arm through. “Shall we go?”
Her eyes flick up to mine, green meeting blue. There’s a sense of relief for a moment, then it’s gone, swallowed by that same worry. I mentally kick myself for not noticing sooner and being so caught up in my head about asking her to be mine.
“Everything okay?” The question hangs between us, heavy and loaded.
She hesitates, biting her lip—a clear sign that something is bothering her. I know Amanda well enough that whatever’s eating at her is huge if it has her this twisted up.
“Hey, talk to me. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I’m just … this whole thing is overwhelming.” She forces a smile, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. I need to reassure her about us sooner rather than later. But the Silverstone lobby isn’t the time or place for that conversation.
I lean down and kiss her forehead. “They’re just people. Their wealth and status mean nothing except to them. You hear me?”
She nods, and I add, “You’ve got this.”
We enter the dimly lit ballroom, and I scan the room for my parents but come up short. Surely they won’t miss tonight. This is a big social event.
“Duke!” Drew’s voice breaks through the muffled sound of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. I’m honestly surprised he’s able to function today.
“There’s the guys.”
We snake our way through the crowd, but Coach stops us before we reach my teammates.
“Blake, I’d like you to meet Dr. Alexander Steinberg.”
Ah, yes. The whole reason I have a date by my side. Maybe I should bow or something as a sign of gratitude. I would not have asked Amanda out without his push for a clean image. And then I would’ve missed out on the best thing that could have happened to me.
I reach out my hand to the distinguished gentleman in the sharp suit. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I say, introducing myself. “And have you met my girlfriend, Amanda Hoyt?”
“I don’t believe so.” He finishes our handshake before turning to Amanda with a charming smile. “Nice to meet you, Amanda.”
Amanda’s eyes widened in recognition. “You’re Dr. Alexander Steinberg?” Amanda squeaks a sound that is part surprise and part admiration.
His mouth twitches at her star-struck expression. I find myself wanting to punch a man with salt-and-pepper hair for the first time in my life.
