A quick peek inside shows that Lucas is sitting in the front row all by himself, hat in his lap, arms folded, noise-canceling headphones sealing him off from the world. He’s leaning against the window, eyes closed, probably asleep.
Darius, Arturo, and Diego are all sitting together in the middle row, and Coop is sitting by himself in the back.
When Logan gets on, I hear Coop call, “Logan, my man. Join me.”
Bless you, Cooper Kellogg.
With everyone on board, I check in with the driver and Gabriela, who’s in the front passenger seat.
Then I climb onto the bus and take the only row that makes sense—Lucas’s. I slide across the bench to sit next to him, but because there’s no one on my other side, I don’t get as close as I’d like.
Just close enough that if he stopped pretending to be asleep, our knees could touch.
He doesn’t stop pretending, though. Not when I clear my throat or drop my phone on the seat. Not when the driver turns on music.
“You must have slept terribly last night,” I mutter just loud enough for my own dark satisfaction.
“I did,” he mumbles.
I keep my face forward in case Logan’s looking at us, but my eyes snap to Lucas.
He hasn’t moved his head. He’s still folding his arms. His eyes are still firmly shut. He twists his body to take up more space on the bench, though, shifting like he’s getting comfortable.
And his knee bumps mine.
I inhale a full, careful breath.
The corner of Lucas’s mouth twitches up, like he got exactly what he wanted.
The van pulls away, and we all rock with the motion. I could let myself slide closer to Lucas, if I wanted, but Logan would notice.
Besides, I don’t need the pretense—Lucas’s knee is still pressed against mine. We’re touching.
Seeing Jake and me together yesterday didn’t scare him off.
The driver turns up the music just loud enough to compete with the engine. The school we’re going to is twenty minutes away, leaving me with far too much time to debate my next move.
Do I work for the next twenty minutes or sit here and memorize the exact pressure of his leg against mine?
This feels like such a waste of a ride—of a day. Jake isn’t here. And if Logan weren’t on board, Lucas and I would be able to talk all we want, because there’s nothing actually suspicious about a player and his player coordinator talking. Especially when he’s my primary assignment.
But freaking Logan …
Cooper can’t know what a relief it is to have Logan’s attention redirected, even for a minute. Ineedthis point of contact. My feelings for Lucas are growing every day, and late-night texts and loaded glances aren’t cutting it anymore.
Neither is this.
One minute—that’s all I give myself to be present. To revel in this quiet, stolen, totally inadequate point of contact. To sense his nearness, feel the heat coming off him, and wish?—
With a mental shake, I pull out my laptop and review the day for the hundredth time.
“You’re looking at the itinerary again? I guarantee you have it memorized,” Lucas says in a sleepy voice.
“Yes, I do, and you have a hard stop at 11:00, no matter how much trouble you and the kids are getting into.”
“I like you bossy.” Lucas’s voice is quiet, but somehow, it’s on my exact frequency, because I don’t have to strain to hear him.
“I like that you like that about me,” I whisper.
