“To murder me? Why would we go to a field?”
“Because.” I shook my head, my face heating.Because?What a silly answer. It mollified her though. She remained quiet as we walked back toward the football house. A few people passed us on the path, nodding their head at me before glancing at Lorelei. There was curiosity in their gazes, but if Lorelei noticed, she gave nothing away.
I glanced at her, my attention stuck on her full, pillow lips currently pursed as her eyes stared into the distance. She had to be lost in thought, and I was dying to know about what.
Eric? Did she miss him?
Why do you care?
I cleared my throat, a sudden flicker of nerves twisting in my gut. What if Dean saw us holding hands? How could I possibly explain this for it to make sense? I let go of her, hating the cold left from the loss of her touch.
If he didn’t know the full story about what Eric did, then I could tell him. That’d explain everything, why I held her hand and wanted to help her out. Yes. That was the perfect excuse. Relief settled the tension in my shoulders, and I almost smiled.
I could spend time with her right now andnotfeel guilty.
She sucked in a breath, crossed her arms, and narrowed her eyes, all whilenotlooking at me.
She chewed her bottom lip, and I’d give anything to bite down on it and taste her.
No. Nothing more than one-night stands.
This had to be the last night I could do this, hang out with her and inhale her perfume and feel her skin on mine. It confused my goals and thoughts and tempted me to say fuck it to my entire plan just to kiss her.
But that was assuming she’d even want toandif I would risk everything with Dean. Regardless of the status of kissing her, I spent too much time worrying and thinking about her for this night to ever repeat itself, so if I only had tonight… then I planned on making it memorable.
We approached the house in silence, her soft footsteps the only noise she made. Her usual chatterbox self was buried inside her, and I wanted that back.
I gently put my hand at the base of her back, waiting for her to stare up at me. She did, and it was a sucker punch to the gut. Wide eyes, nose dusted with freckles, and an earnest, curious look on her face.
“Give me two minutes, I’ll be right back.”
“What are you doing?” She frowned.
“Grabbing something real quick.” I jogged toward the front door, used my key to get in, and I found what I needed in the hall closet. It had been a while since any one of us had used it, but I knew it was the right move when I held out the soccer ball and bounced it on my knee.
“No,” she said, her eyes widening. “What is this?”
“We’re gonna have a shoot-off.”
Competition flared in her gaze, and I knew I had her. Pride filled my chest as I dropped the ball to the ground and passed it to her. She stopped it, kicked it into the air so it landed on her knee, and smiled.
If she learned the power her smile had on me, she could get me to do anything in the world. Like betray Dean without question. My ears got hot as I stared at her white teeth and full grin, and I blinked.She said something.
“Hm?” I said, scratching the back of my neck.
“What are we playing for? What’s the wager?” She kneed the ball into the air and juggled it, her smooth movements so ridiculously sexy.
“I hadn’t thought that part out yet, just figured a girl like you would like a little competition to distract you.”
“A girl like me, huh?” She arched a brow and whistled. “Careful with phrases like that, Luca. Could get you into trouble.”
“What type of trouble?”
Oh my god.I couldn’t help myself. Around her, my brain resorted to primal instincts.
She ran her teeth over her top lip, her eyes heating. “Not the fun kind.”
“Oh, is there a fun kind of trouble?”
