She let out a short, humorless laugh. “You think you’re pulling me under? Bennett, you can’t pull me under when you’re the one who holds me up.”
The words landed softly, like a hand on my chest right where the ache still lingered. She reached out slowly, threading her fingers through mine.
“You arealwaysthere for me—when I start to spiral, when everything seems like too much, when I need a little pick-me-up at one a.m. You make me feel like I can fall apart and still be wanted.That’swhat holding someone up looks like.”
Her thumb brushed over my knuckles.
“And now you’re the one falling apart, and you think I’m going to run? Stop trying to protect me from you. I’m not some fragile little girl, and I’m not going anywhere. I’m exactly where I want to be.”
I swallowed hard and tugged her closer until she was sprawled half in my lap, her arms wrapping around my shoulders like she could shield me from the mess I’d made of myself.
I buried my face in the crook of her neck, breathing her in. Honey, airplane.Home.
“I’m sorry.” My voice came out muffled against her skin. “I shouldn’t have disappeared on you like that. I just— I’m scaredI’m going to lose you.”
She pressed a gentle kiss to my temple.
“I’m not going anywhere.” She pulled back just enough to meet my eyes. “And just so you know, we’re going to fight about this more when you’re feeling better, but for now, I just want to hold you.”
I nodded once jerkily. “Please.”
The mattress dipped under her weight, and she settled beside me, tugging the comforter up and over both of us even though I was still in my dusty uniform and probably smelled like a locker room.
She opened her arms, and I went willingly, letting her guide me until my head rested against her chest, right over the soft rise of her tits. One hand combed through my sweat-damp hair, while the other stroked a slow, soothing path along the tense muscles of my neck and shoulders.
I closed my eyes and let myself sink into it.
My free hand came up to rest on her waist, fingers curling into the fabric of her shirt like I needed the anchor.
“Thank you,” I whispered against her shirt. “For coming. For staying.”
“Always.”
For the first time in two days, the emptiness in my chest didn’t feel quite so vast. Sleep came slow, but it did come.
And Bella was still stroking my hair when it did.
Bella
It was safe to say that after three days in Arizona, I finally understood the saying “hot as balls.”
And I didn’t even have balls.
The desert heat had been relentless, the kind that made me feel like I was slowly being turned into jerky. Three days had passed since I’d landed here in a haze of panic and red-eye exhaustion, and during that time, the Scottsdale condo had started to feel like a temporary home. And thank goodness it was because some of the guys were messy as hell.
Not Roman, though, surprisingly enough. The dude was kind of a neat freak, both with his space and personal hygiene. Diaz, on the other hand . . .
Takeout containers still lined the kitchen counter from last night’s chaotic group dinner. We had ordered from at least ten different places because Diaz had insisted on sampling the entire Scottsdale food scene in one sitting. Not that I was complaining. I had spent the better part of the evening chowing down on tacos, dumplings, and something called a ramen burger, while watching him and Matty argue over the differences between regional meat pies.
Dinneranda show.
The three of them had welcomed me into their shared space with arms—and fridge—wide open. More importantly, they had been there for Bennett every step of the way. He wasn’t backto his usual self just yet, but last night had felt like proof he could get there.
I had sat there for hours, knees tucked under me, pretending to scroll on my phone while I cataloged every small return of the man I had fallen for. The way his shoulders had loosened when Matty had teased him, the crooked half-smile when Roman had clapped him on the back like nothing had happened.
He was still careful, still quieter than normal, but there was something steadier about him now. Grounded. The guys had been instrumental in that shift.
It was clear that they had his back on and off the field.
