“Damn, I needed this.” I settle back in my chair, my stomach full and my heart happy. “Thank you, baby.”
“You’re welcome.” She gives me a sweet smile. “How was the podcast, by the way?”
My heart stutters at the question.
This is it.
I have to tell her.
I can do this.
Taking a deep breath, I brace myself.
“It was good. There’s actually something I’ve?—”
A loud, obnoxious as hell robotic beeping startles me, cutting me off. It’s the ringtone Maya assigned to Ava’s number.
“Shit, sorry,” she apologizes, silencing the device. “You were saying?”
I shouldn’t have eaten so much pasta. Suddenly, I feel like I may empty my stomach onto the table. Needing a minute to collect my thoughts, I nod toward her phone. “See what she wants, bean. You’ll be stressed if you don’t.”
And I need a breather.
She huffs out a breath, her shoulders dropping. “Are you sure?”
“Yep.”
As she listens to Ava’s voicemail, I steal a sip of wine from her glass. A shot of tequila would do a lot more to bolster my courage, but I’ll make do.
“Holy shit,” Maya squeals, her lips curling up like flames. “Ava got the internship. She’s going to be in Boston this summer.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
How am I supposed to tell her now? She won’t want to take time off and stay with me in San Diego if her sister’s here. And I sure as hell can’t ask her to move there with me if she’s never even seen the city. If my ask was selfish before, it’s just plain cruel now.
“That’s amazing,” I say, my throat thick.
Maya chatters about all the fun things they’ll do while her sister is in town. “And after the playoffs, when you have downtime, you can join us, of course. Anyway, you were talking about the interview. There was something you wanted to tell me?”
Not anymore.
“Cole? Are you okay?”
I muster a weak smile, all the words I prepared disappearing into the ether. “Yeah, just tired. Do you want to watch a movie?”
She studies me for a moment, her brows pinched, but she doesn’t push me to say more. “Sure. I’ll pick something out.”
By the time I’ve boxed up the leftovers and put the plates in the dishwasher, Maya’s pulled upNew Girlon Hulu.
“This isn’t a movie,” I grumble.
“You need to give it a chance,” she demands, breaking into a wide smile. “The fact that you don’t like it makes me very concerned about your sense of humor.”
“Fine, fine, fine.”
I lie on the couch, pulling Maya’s body against mine so we’re both facing the TV. I most definitely won’t focus with her ass nestled against my cock like this, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. With her body pressed against mine, I don’t bother keeping my hands to myself. I slip my left hand under her shirt and trace small circles around the soft skin of her stomach. Eventually, I move upward, cupping her breasts and lightly thumbing her nipples.
“Cole.” Her breathy tone makes my name sound like a plea rather than an admonishment.
