“So, you would hug me if I wasn’t contaminated?”
The weight of his chest makes my elbow bend slightly. “Quit it. I’m warning you, Gray.”
“Answer the question. Would you?”
My arm shakes against the pressure as I admit, “Yes. I would.”
The moment the words leave my lips, he grabs my forearm, pushes my arm down, and wraps himself around me. Kenneth Gray is hugging me. In public. And I’m willingly hugging him back.
Just like I remember, we fit together so perfectly. My head in the crook of his neck, his chin in my hair, and my arms looped around his waist.
I inhale, and the seriousness of this moment sets in. The smell of chlorine is nonexistent. Only clean soap and detergent fills my nose.
“You showered?” I ask, leaning deeper into him.
“Of course. I knew there was no way you’d come close to me if I didn’t, and I wanted nothing more than to hug you. It’s all I’ve been able to think about since the race ended.”
In his arms, I finally can put words to how I feel about the man I swore I’d never care for. And I have no clue what to do with this new knowledge.
“Congrats, Kenneth.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
I’ve been able toavoid our third and final punch for a while, but I can’t push it back anymore. I need feedback on my personal statement, and I know that comes with a final hole being punched in my golden ticket.
Gravel crunches loudly as Flintstone creaks to a stop in my driveway. Jogging to the front door, I stop and check my reflection in the mirror. I push a hand through my hair, which looks violently red today, and smile to check my teeth.
Let’s do this.
I swing open the door, and a purple bowl is where Mallory’s head should be.
“Surprise!” she chirps.
“Is the surprise that you went grocery shopping?” I laugh, looking at the bulging grocery bags on the welcome mat. The smell of flour hits me when I peek beneath the white towel covering the bowl.
“More or less. I brought stuff for a pizza party. I hope you didn’t already have dinner plans.” She leans over to grab the grocery bags, but I reach down to take them before she can.
I step aside and usher her in. “Nope. No plans.”
We drop the items on the kitchen counter, and I notice the massive amount of dough in the bowl. “How many people did you invite? This could feed the whole block. Did you invite the whole swim team?”
She rolls her lips to keep the smile away. “The girls and I got a little excited, so we made a bit more than we expected. You and Cade can freeze the leftovers. My freezer is already full of dough.” Mallory lines up jars of marinara, bags of cheese, and toppings on the counter. “I didn’t want to ruin the surprise by asking what toppings you wanted, so I bought them all. Nothing spicy because you hate spicy foods. I got ricotta, roasted garlic, spinach, sausage, pepperoni, and more, but there’s no pineapple if you’re one ofthosepeople.”
“Ed.” The sweet gesture wraps itself around my vocal cords, making my voice crack. “This is too much. How much do I owe you?”
“Not a thing. Yesterday you kicked ass and today we celebrate.”
My neck burns. Yesterday felt like something straight out of a movie. I’m a National Champion, my favorite people were there to watch, and I feel like I’m getting somewhere with Mallory.
Although she wore teal like everyone else in the CLU section, Mallory always adds a little bit of color. I knew she was crafty, but I had no clue she would show up to the meet looking like that. Vibrant flowers decorated the denim, with‘CLU SWIM’down the leg and‘KG’on the pockets. She waved wildly from her seat, trying her hardest to make sure I could see her.
In any room or crowd, I’ll always find her.
“Thank you, Eddie.”
She gives me a soft smile before turning back to the groceries. “Can you turn on some music? Cooking without music is like movies without popcorn. Just plain wrong.”
I head into the living room and connect my phone to Bluetooth. Instead of choosing one of my songs, I select the playlist she shared withme last week. “Party All the Time” by Eddie Murphy blasts through the speakers, and Mallory lets out an excited whoop.
