I don’t want someone really nice, and I doubt they would compare to the feisty brunette I can’t seem to stay away from. I’m a glutton for punishment, because I think if I were capable of loving anyone, I would hope it’d be with someone like Alondra.
I hate to admit it, but after washing off my face and using the moisturizer they passed to me, my face is really soft, but it’s too much work to do on my own if I were to try another face mask—which I’m not.
I’m not sure how it happens, but at some point, Macy drifts off to sleep during the next movie, and my head ends up on a pillow in Alondra’s lap. She’s watching the movie, but I’m too busy looking at her to pay attention to it. Her fingers are slowly combing through my hair, and it’s a fight to keep my eyes open.
It feels fucking fantastic.
“You know, I’m glad you showed up tonight,” Al says, breaking the silence after my eyes have fallen shut, and I blink quickly, forcing them open.
“You left so fast last night, I wanted to check on you,” I murmur, glancing up at her. “I also came to apologize. I shouldn’t have asked you if you were seeing anyone in front of my friends.”
Alondra’s fingers in my hair still and then resume moving through the strands a few beats later. “So you stayed for a spa night?”
A low chuckle rumbles from my chest as I smile, because staying was the easiest decision I made today. “What can I say?I needed a night of relaxation, considering your dad has no problem kicking my ass every morning.”
“Poor you.”
My throat tightens as my heart spasms in my chest. “Are you okay?”
I don’t want to be right. I really don’t.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” she asks, looking down at me, and I don’t think I can ruin tonight by asking her about Bradley. There’s so much left unsaid in her question, and the tightrope I’m standing on sways beneath me.
“You don’t have to go to any of the games if you don’t want to,” I finally say, deciding against telling Alondra about my run-in with Bradley.
She softens, dropping the prickly exterior she wears most of the time. “A deal’s a deal, but I’m not wearing your jersey. I should have known Macy would tell you about my inability to choose something other than rock.”
“Okay, but if you change your mind, you don’t have to go.”
I want her to stop running away from me, instead of giving her more reasons to.
“Your mom seems great,” she compliments, changing the topic, and my smile grows.
“She is.”
“I’m glad you have her.”
“Momma asked to meet you while she’s here in a couple of weeks. Are you okay with that?”
Her smile brightens. “I’d love that.”
I wake up the next morning thanks to my internal alarm surrounded by the familiar smell of strawberries. I shift tofumble for my phone when I realize I’m not in my bedandI’m tangled with someone else.
It takes me a moment to realize Alondra’s draped over me. I must have fallen asleep here last night.
My head drops back into the cushions, and I relax, despite how fucking tiny the space on this couch is. The only reason my feet aren’t hanging off the edge of the couch is because my legs are bent, and I’m curled around Alondra, or maybe she’s curled around me. All I know is it’s hard to tell where I end and she begins.
I’ve never stayed with someone long enough to wake up still holding them, but I don’t think I hate it. The night she asked me to stay when she was drunk, I selfishly said yes, but I left a few minutes after Al fell asleep to check on Dylan and Ellie. Now, I’m wishing I hadn’t because I think I like that she trusts me enough to sleep next to me. It’s a good feeling, especially when she’s usually on the verge of bolting in the other direction from me.
She’s soft, lacking the tension she normally carries, and knowing she’s sleeping soundly will make every ache I’ll feel in my body later worth it.
Except then Al groans, shifting further into me, and my body is all too keen to react to her ass pressing against my pelvis. I clench my jaw hard enough I’m shocked I haven’t cracked a tooth, trying to move backward to create space between our bodies so I can give myself a fighting chance of getting my morning wood to deflate before she wakes up.
Think about how pissed off Coach would be if he knew you woke up with his daughter and a bone?—
Alondra moves again, her warm breath tickling my bicep she’s using as a pillow, pressing her body against mine, and I’m a fucking goner.
Taking a deep breath doesn’t help because I’mwreckedby the smell of strawberries overwhelming every semblance of common sense.
