My eyes blurred and I sucked in a harsh breath. I spun around and gave Theo a bruising kiss. I pressed along the length of him, clawing to get close enough that not even a whisper could fit between us.
Theo’s hands dove into my hair, scratching at my scalp in a way that almost made me purr for him. He sucked on my tongue and my dick pushed angrily at my zipper, begging to be freed. All too soon though, he pushed me back and I blinked lazily at him.
“Later, baby,” he promised huskily. “We don’t want the food getting cold.”
I let him lead me over to the set-up where we dropped down, leaning against each other as though any space between us was intolerable. Remarkably, the food was still fairly hot inside the insulated basket. Whatever the pasta dish was smelled amazing and when I snuck a bite of a breadstick, I was happy to note they were garlic-free. That wouldn’t have stopped me from sucking the lips off him later, but it was a perk. There was even a bottle of wine that he uncorked expertly and poured for us in glasses out of the basket.
“What, no dessert?”
“Oh, I brought that with me,” he said throatily, running his heated gaze down my body slowly. My cock thickened at the promise in his voice. I was so wound up from the last few weeks, I almost begged him to skip the dinner and devour me instead.
We started in on the food, falling into easy conversation like normal. It still amazed me that we never grew tired of talking with each other, moving seamlessly from one topic to the next.
“Do you remember the week during junior year you had the flu, but you didn’t want to miss the big rivalry game against the Timberwolves?”
I tipped my head back, releasing a loud groan. “Holy shit, I had blocked that out. I snuck out, drove to the game and somehow convinced Coach Eames that I was fit to play.”
“And were you?” he asked rhetorically.
“Nope.”
“Nope indeed! You were sick as a dog, yet you still suited up and went out there. I was honestly impressed you made it to the second quarter, but then...”
“Not the ‘then’…”
“But thenyou lined up for the snap, bent over, and…what happened again?” He leaned over, cupping a hand behind his ear and waiting for my reply. Instead, I stuck a finger in my mouth and shoved the wet digit in his ear, causing him to yelp and knock over his half-empty glass. I cracked up at his appalled expression.
He gave an exaggerated shudder. “That was uncalled for…and unsanitary.”
“Kind of like after I bent over and proceeded to projectile vomit on the field right as the ball was passed to me?” I asked wryly, a shiver of revulsion sliding down me at the mortifying memory as he laughed.
“So much for blocking it out,” Theo chortled. He glanced at me as his laughter died down, his gaze turning wary. “Speakingof football, I wanted to ask you about something I noticed at the game today.”
“What was that?”
“A couple times when the cameras caught you, you looked…well, hot as fuck, just to put that out there, but also kind of…empty. Like you wanted to be anywhere but there.”
His words struck me like a blow to the solar plexus, knocking the wind out of me. I had tried to smile big every time I knew the cameras would likely be pointed at me, hiding the soul-deep exhaustion I felt while playing. It evidently still hadn’t been enough.
“I’m almost positive no one else saw it, babe. I swear.”
“You did though,” I pointed out. Theo shrugged.
“I’ve always seen the real you.”
That had been true from the beginning. Theo had looked past what others had dismissed as weird or aloof, taking the time to peel away the layers and find the real me, even when I made it damn difficult sometimes.
“I don’t want to play professional football,” I began slowly. “I love the sport and all, it’s just not what I want to do with my life. But every time I play, I think about how I’m letting down my coach and disappointing Dad and Grandpa, and it’s starting to get to me.”
Theo scooted closer until we were connected from shoulder to ankle, side by side, leaning his forehead against mine.
“What do you want to do instead, Mercury? What do you see when you think about the rest of your life?”
I thought about all the plans I had for the music industry and building something so others could connect with music the way I had growing up. However, there was only one answer that came to mind.
“You. You’re what I see, Theo.”
He moved back just enough to pierce me with those brilliant pools of blue.
