My mouth quirks and I study her tenderly. “Is that right?”
Eve hides her face against my chest. “Don’t look at me like that, it’s embarrassing.”
“Like what? I’m just looking at my girl.” I cradle her head. “You’d better get used to it because I plan to do this a lot.”
“How is this going to work? We still have my dad and brother to worry about,” she mumbles. “We can’t just be like ‘surprise we’re together’ at dinner. My dad would have a heart attack.”
I walk backwards until I hit the couch, dropping down to bracket her with my knees. My fingertips graze the backs of her thighs, sliding up beneath her dress. She shivers at the contact.
Dating the head coach’s daughter is still going to be a problem. Benson I think I could convince easier. I hope, anyway. My best friend might knock my lights out once I come clean about being with his sister.
If he’s on my side, maybe I can win over David without losing my job for breaking his off-limits rule on Eve. As long as I continue proving I’m a good coach, I think this will work out.
“I’d say we’ve had damn good practice at sneaking around.” I press my face to her soft stomach, peering up. “We can still keep us a secret for now until we figure out how to tell them. And I do want that.”
“To tell them?” She cards her fingers through my hair.
“Of course. I won’t hide how I feel about you forever, sweetheart. Don’t you want to kiss me or hold hands whenever you want without worrying who sees? Dance with me at The Landmark instead of making eyes at me across the room? Sit next to me at dinner with your family without stealing glances?”
“Yes,” she answers in a heartbeat.
I hold my hand up and she threads her fingers with mine. I bring them to my mouth, kissing her knuckles.
“Jess knows, sort of. She has our backs if we need someone to cover for us.”
We’ll worry about everything else later. I tug her to my lap. She comes easily, resting her head on my shoulder. I close my eyes. As long as I get to enjoy doing this with her now, I’m content.
“Are you hungry? I can make something, or we could watch a movie?”
She pulls back, covering her smile. “A movie? You’re making me feel like I’m on my first date in college.”
“I haven’t actually dated a lot. Or had anyone I’d call a girlfriend. Things were usually more focused on getting a drink and getting naked.” I squeeze my nape. “So I guess this is sort of in the first date territory for me. We’re really doing all of this backwards, huh?”
She tilts her head with a fond expression. “A movie sounds great.”
We pick something out. When I go into the kitchen to scrounge for popcorn, she follows me, hugging me from behind while I search the cabinets.
“You know you have a box in the corner that says plates,” she points out.
“Yeah. I didn’t bring much. That one’s from my parents shipping extra stuff they thought I’d need. I only ended up unpacking the essentials.”
She hums in understanding. “I want to get cozy. Can I borrow a shirt to wear?”
“Yeah.”
I take her to the bedroom. She strips off her dress and unhooks her bra, standing bare before me. I rake my teeth over my lip. She doesn’t hide.
I saunter over, giving her curves a light caress. Her lashes lower in enjoyment.
Tearing my gaze from her, I pull a clean t-shirt and boxers from the drawer to give her. I also find a pair of loose shorts for myself. Pulling her panties from my back pocket, I set them on the dresser, shooting her a smirk.
I watch her in my periphery while she gets dressed, then change slowly for her benefit. She looks damn good in my clothes. My cock is half hard at the sight. If I make it through the movie knowing she’s wearing my shirt and little else, it’ll be a miracle.
“Comfy?”
She lifts the neckline to her nose. “Yes. I’m totally stealing this.”
A rumble sounds in my chest as I bend and haul her over my shoulder. My arms secure her thighs and I grin at her squeal. She grips the back of my shirt, laughing.
