Taryn grabbed the remote and shut off the TV. “It’s time for me to go. I have to open the coffee shop in the morning, remember?”
Shit. In my Taryn-induced lust, I’d forgotten my girl had said we had to have an early night. “Sure. I’ll drive you home.”
Before we even had our coats on, Bax was passed out on the couch, and Finn was asleep in the recliner. Their hangovers were going to epic—and nothing less than they deserved with their sucky timing.
Then I remembered myself. Due to my roommates’ fortunate timing, I’d be driving my girlfriend back to her place at a reasonable time for someone who had to be at work at dark-thirty. It was selfish of me to ask her to stay out late when she had to work and we both had finals to study for.
Breaking the quiet of the drive over to her apartment, she said, “My parents like to get breakfast at the Coffee Kiosk on the Sundays I work following a game. If you’re around tomorrow morning, I’m sure they’d like to see you again before they head home.”
“Ooh, so it’s yourparentswho’d like to see me tomorrow,” I deadpanned.
She lightly backhanded my bicep. “I always like to see you. You know that.”
Grinning, I asked, “What time will they be at the coffee shop?” I pulled into the spot beside her car in front of her apartment. “I have film at ten.”
“They’ll probably be there at nine or so.”
“Then it’s a date.” I ran my fingers through her hair. “I’ll take any excuse to spend time with you.”
?Chapter Thirty
?Taryn
“You’re headed hometomorrow?” Danny asked as he sat across from me at my dinette.
I watched in fascination as he bit into his hamburger, eating about a quarter of it in one bite. “Yeah. If you guys played at home this weekend, I’d stay here, but since you’re heading to North Dakota tomorrow, I didn’t see the point in hanging around an extra day.” I ran a couple of french fries through the puddle of ketchup on my plate and popped them in my mouth.
“This is our last night together before New Year’s.” The sad expression on his face tugged at my heart. “I’m missing you already.”
“You’re going to have a good time with your mom and little brother.” I ate another fry. “Maybe someday I’ll get to meet them.”
“I was about Devyn’s age when my parents split up.” His tone was far away. “Devyn’s dad is nothing like the captain. He’s super-good to Mom, and my half-brother is pretty well adjusted.”
“Are you implying you aren’t? Because I’m going to fight you on that one.”
A laugh huffed out of him. “I just mean I feel like a stranger when I visit them. But I’m glad I reached out and asked to reconnect with Mom when the captain no longer had a say in it.” He finished his burger and sneaked his hand across the table to snag some of my fries.
“Hey! You have your own.”
“Correction. Ihadmy own. Now I’m having some of yours.” Mischief danced in his silvery eyes.
With a long-suffering sigh, I pushed my plate toward him. “It’s fine. I wasn’t going to finish these anyway.”
“I know.” The smug expression on his face had me rethinking my decision to share.
After we’d cleaned up our meal, we naturally gravitated to my couch. Danny couldn’t stay long since he had to be on the bus for the game at six in the morning, but it was our only night together before the calendar flipped to a new year. Last year at this time, I thought I’d finally moved on from him, found someone else. But I was wrong.
Yet he still didn’t know something important about me—something that could change everything and not for the better.
“Hold that thought,” he said as I was snuggling in close to his side. He jumped up and snagged his backpack from the floor beside the front door. A second later, he sat back beside me, holding a slim wrapped box. “Merry Christmas.”
“Oh!” Now I jumped up from the couch. “One second.” I hurried to my bedroom and came back with my present for him.
Stealing looks at him from beneath my lashes, I carefully slid my fingernail under the tape at the end of the box and peeled up the paper. Then I did the same with the tape along the middle of the box.
“Killing me, T,” he said as he watched me take my time unwrapping his gift.
Opening the box, I discovered a gorgeous aquamarine tennis bracelet. “Omigosh! Thank you!” I gushed as I set the box on the coffee table and wrapped my arms around his neck, letting my kiss tell him what my words didn’t.
