She’s exquisite.
All night long, our bodies give in to our desire, drowning in the other as we chase pleasure again and again.By the end of the night, we move like one as if we’ve spent an entire lifetime in one single moment, learning everything about what makes the other hot and needy.
I leave the next morning for practice with the promise to return after I kiss her again and again, incapable of bringing myself to stop.
But when I return, there is a note stuck on the frame.I can’t do this.
I still knock and a woman opens the door, informing me that the girls who rented the place for the weekend have left.
The magical night I thought we shared was nothing more than a one-night stand for her.
My phone rings, blaring through the memory and yanking me out of my thoughts. I’m undecided about whether I should be grateful or pissed.
Levi is calling me.
“I’m picking up Amelie from the airport. Wanna come over for dinner?”
Yep, my best friend went there. Levi is with my baby sister. He broke the bro code just like how he catches balls on the field, as if it’s his destiny.
“No… Maybe. I—” I groan, rubbing a hand down my face.
“What’s the matter? Stop bitching. I love your sister, and soon I’m going to ask her to marry me.”
“It’s not about you.” I exhale loudly. “I sawher.”
A thick pause follows, and his voice lowers. “The mystery girl?”
“Yeah, she moved into the apartment next to mine.”
“Fuck, man, that’s great news. Wait until Amelie hears that.”
Great news, my ass. I clear my throat. “I pretended I didn’t remember her.”
“Are you fucking insane?” he shouts. “You have been pining over this girl for years and now you pull this shit?”
“Apparently.” A sigh rocks my chest. “Talk to you later.”
I hang up. Maybe it’s the fatigue making me see things. I hope it is because the reality of her so close to me threatens to fuck me up even worse.
I can’t allow myself any distractions. And fuck if she isn’t the epitome of distractions.
TWO
LILLY
I closethe door to my new apartment, letting out a strangled breath. Body shaking, I slide back against the door, unsteady on my feet. I press a palm to my chest to soothe the erratic beat of my heart. Naïve of me to think I’d never see him again.
I have done my best to avoid seeing Ian again, at least not in the flesh. But his not recognizing me tore open the wound that has never truly healed.
I kept our night together as one of my most treasured memories. I am where I am because of him and what transpired between us that night. Ian made me feel adventurous, as if I could achieve anything. This virtual stranger instilled in me more self-confidence than I ever thought possible.
The day after we met, I wanted to wait for him and tell him I was there only for the weekend because my best friend had surprised her boyfriend, who was studying in Seattle. But then I saw Ian on television. He was a college football player, and I couldn’t go there.
I regretted my rash decision, but I promised myself I would never date a football player. My father was a football player and is now the head coach of one of the most successful teams in theNFL, the San Diego Sharks. Growing up, my father was often away, and my parents’ divorce affected me greatly. When he made me promise never to date one of his players, I quickly accepted.
Our night together was incredible, but as soon as Ian left, doubts crawled into my mind, spinning their poisonous web. I had just come out of a relationship that did more harm than good. The timing was just all wrong.
I was twenty-one and terrified of how he made me feel: tipsy, dazed, enchanted. Something I never felt before.
