Grasping my shoulder, he squeezes. “I’m just kidding. This is going to be good for all of you. And who knows, maybe you’ll actually learn to get along with each other again.”
I let out a low huff of a breath. “You are really laying it on thick for a guy who refuses to tell the woman he’s obsessed with how he feels.”
With a step back, he turns and picks up a dish. Then he busies himself wiping down the counter, even though it’s spotless. “I’m just being a good friend. She doesn’t need anyone sniffing around her like that right now.”
“Ah, so you’re gonna play the role of her guard dog. Make sure no one else dates her rather than just telling her how you feel. Smart, smart.”
My usually jovial friend scowls.
I glare back.
The two of us are hopeless. Neither of us can admit how we feel about the women in our lives.
Though saying Adeline is a woman in my life is a dramatic overstatement. Once upon a time she was my best friend. Maybe more. Now? She’s my coach and my roommate. And if she had a choice, she’d be neither.
Our phones both buzz again.
Theo: Weird. Is there a specific color she wanted?
Finn: Pink. And don’t worry, I’ll get her some.
“Because youloveher mother,” I singsong as I head for the stairs. “See you tomorrow. Lock up when you leave.”
Avery went upstairs a while ago with Hope and her girls. Since Hope is sharing a room with her two youngest, she moved into theowner’s suite, and the girls begged all the way through dinner to use the jacuzzi tub in the connected bathroom. And because Hope is the sweetest, gentlest soul, who never says no, she took them all up for baths.
Figuring I have a little while before I have to put Avery to bed, I head toward my own room. I showered in the locker room after practice like I always do, but I usually take another at home. Showering with a bunch of grown, sweaty men doesn’t leave me feeling clean.
I head into my room, yank a pair of sleep pants out of my dresser, then knock on the bathroom door. When I’m met with silence, I head inside, then turn the shower on. I’ve just grasped the collar of my shirt, ready to take it off, when Declan runs into the bathroom from my room. “I gotta poop.”
“Don’t you have a bathroom?” I ask.
The kid pushes down his pants and hops onto the toilet.“Get out, pervy old man. You can’t look at my penis.”
Eyes squeezed shut, I whip around and search blindly for the doorknob.
“Fuck.” I slam the door and drop my head into my hands. “Why the fuck did we move in here again?”
“Why the hell are you in my room?”
I groan. “Shit, I must have gone out the wrong door, sorry.” I straighten and drop my hands.
Instead of finding a pissed-off Adeline—that, I’m used to; she’s always pissed off at me—I discover a sight that shocks the absolute hell out of me. While it’s possible that her face is screwed up in its normally irritated way, I wouldn’t know because Adeline Langfield is not wearing a lick of clothing. And my mouth has gone dry as I stare at her miles of creamy skin.
She slaps a hand over what I imagine is an absolutely delicious pussy and hisses. “JJ.”
My focus jumps but still doesn’t reach her face. No, there’s no fucking way I’ll make it there once I catch the swell of her breasts.
And her nipples. They’re pink and pointed in my direction.
“Hello! Stop staring at me.”
Finally I force myself to look at her face. Just as my attention lands on her lips, a pillow comes hurtling at my head.
“Get out,” she shrieks.
Maybe the pillow knocked some sense into me because I finally stumble toward her door.
“Don’t use that door,” she hisses.“I’m naked.”
