“Flowers.”
I narrowed my brows. “I’m sorry?”
“That’s my line.” She smiled nervously. “I got you flowers.”
And just like that, I was wide awake.
A dozen plastic cups lined the cardboard tray in her arms, each of them labeled with a different species of poisonous plant. Devil’s trumpet, oleander, foxglove, lily of the valley.
“You got me flowers,” I repeated.
“Yeah, I . . .” As she trailed off, she bit down on her lip. “I thought it was time I did the wooing. Plus, I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have left you hanging after Saturday night. And Sunday morning. The pancakes were delicious, by the way.”
My lips quivered.
“I did what I usually do when I start to fall for someone—cut it off before one of us gets hurt. And that’s not fair, especially since you’ve been nothing short of amazing. But old habits die hard, you know?” I nodded. “So, what I’m trying to say is I’m sorry. Do you think you might be able to give me another chance?”
I didn’t need to look behind me to know every one of my teammates was watching our scene unfold. Diaz might have been the self-proclaimed movie buff of the group, but they were all die-hard romantics. And Nessa’s declaration was better than any Sandra Bullock movie I’d ever seen.
“Honestly,” I said, evening out my tone. “I barely heard a word after you said you were falling for me.”
She bit down on her bottom lip. “What if I fuck up again?”
“Then you fuck up again.” She still didn’t look certain. “Ness, neither of us is perfect. We’re bound to make mistakes, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying. I think the biggest mistake would be if we didn’t give this a real go.”
She shivered when I rested my hands on her waist. “Do you want to be with me, angel?” When she nodded, I pulled her closer and lowered my lips to hers. “I’ve got one condition.”
“What?”
“Take me home.”
Uproarious cheers from the back of the bus were the last thing I heard before I kissed her.
“This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind for our night together.”
She giggled as she helped me shuck my second sock. As much as I wanted to rail her against every wall of the house from now until Tuesday, my body was on fire. Every muscle screamed in protest. Well, maybe not every muscle. My dick had been at full attention from the second Nessa had entered my bedroom and dropped to her knees. Only to help me remove my clothes, but still.
I pulled her up to straddle my lap on the bed. “Will you shower with me, angel?”
She pecked my lips. “Sure.”
“Just to shower,” I said between kisses. “As much as I want to lay you out and lick you top to bottom, I can barely keep my eyes open.”
“That’s okay.” She hesitated before adding, “I’m still on my period.”
I ran my hands around to cup her ass. It was impossible to keep my hands and lips off her. Besides, we had a week of missed touches and kisses to make up for. “Do you not like to fuck on your period?”
“I’ve never really thought about it.”
“Just so you know, I’m okay with it if you are.” I paused to press a kiss to the spot behind her ear that made her squirm. “I’m okay with any way you’ll let me love you.”
When she pulled back, her eyes sparkled with moisture. Maybe it was too soon to use the L-word, but it wasn’t like I was telling her I loved her.
Don’t run, don’t run, don’t run—
“Good to know.” She climbed off my lap and removed her shirt. I groaned when she kicked off her jeans and turned toward the en suite bathroom. “Are you coming?”
I was on my feet before her bra hit the floor.
