Chapter 12

TWELVE

“I really thought once you found Lexi, you wouldn’t be constantly glued to your phone anymore.”

A smile tugs at my lips, but I don’t look up until I finish texting Lexi. “Sorry not sorry.”

Dom chuckles. “What are you? A teenage girl?”

“Oh, please, like you don’t jump as soon as Alayna calls you.”

He holds up his hands. “Guilty as charged.” He takes a seat next to me in the locker room after our practice. “You seem happy. Things going good?”

I spin my phone in my hands. “Slower than I’d like, but that’s my own fault.”

“She’s still keeping you at a distance since she told you she was pregnant?”

“Yes and no. We’ve been on a couple of dates since then, and she lets me kiss her, but she’s still not as comfortable with me as she was before.”

He shrugs. “Maybe the chemistry was just that night cause you guys had been drinking.”

I shake my head. “We didn’t have that much to drink that night.”

I know the problem. She let me in and I treated her like shit. My reaction to her pregnancy announcement haunts me, and even though she lets me kiss her, I know I haven’t fully earned her forgiveness just yet.

But I will. I’m not giving up on her—on us. No matter what hoops she makes me jump through to prove it. And maybe that’s why I’ve brushed off Tanner’s continued suggestions that I get a paternity test done. I’m not willing to risk the progress I’ve made with her even if I can’t deny his doubts are valid.

“Honestly, I can’t tell if it’s her holding back because of how I reacted to her pregnancy announcement or me holding back because I’m afraid she’s exactly who my brother thinks she is.” I’d told the guys about Tanner’s plea that I get a paternity test. They were much more supportive about it being my choice, although they didn’t argue that a paternity test is the smart move to make given how little we know each other. I’m still torn about how to approach it because smart or not, I know without a doubt it’ll derail any progress we’ve made, and I don’t want that either.

My phone pings in my hand and I look down, frowning when I read her text in response to me asking her if we were still on for tonight.

Lexi

Can’t tonight. Today was rough and I don’t feel good. Maybe after you get back from Atlanta.

I leave tomorrow afternoon for our next away game. Tonight was my only chance to see her because of some teacher training classes she had earlier this week after work. It’s been five days since I’ve gotten to touch her, and I’ve been looking forward to tonight all day.

“I gotta go,” I say to Dom and then throw all my stuff in my bag and head out.

I make a pit stop at the store on the way to her place, which takes me longer than expected when I have to field some autographs for fans. The benefit of living in a place like LA is that they’re pretty used to celebs here. Most of the time I don’t get bothered when I’m out and about. So of course, I’d run into a tourist group filled with football fans on the one night I’m in a rush to get to my girl.

By the time I knock on her door, it’s been two hours since she texted me. Movement inside can be heard from where I stand outside her door, looking around at the apartment doors in this hallway. It’s not the worst neighborhood—in fact it’s relatively safe, considering—but I hate that she lives here.

When she opens her door, her ocean-blue eyes hit me like a punch to the gut. Fuck, even tired and looking a little green, she’s fucking gorgeous. She parts her lips, her brows furrowed in confusion, and I hold up the bag in my hands. “You said you didn’t feel good.”

I took Romel’s advice and learned on our last date what her food triggers were and what snacks were working for her. One of those was eliminated the other day when she ate it right before someone walked into the lunchroom with a hot dog and she had to race to the bathroom to throw up. Now she can’t have wheat crackers or even look at the box without thinking about that hot dog smell.

A soft smile lifts the edges of her lips and she moves aside, allowing me to enter. I drop a kiss to her forehead as I pass her, unable not to touch her when I’m this close and it’s been so long already. Placing the bag on her kitchen counter, I start pulling out the items I got for her—Fruit Punch Gatorade, Tim’s Cascade Original potato chips, Cheez-Its, pomegranate juice, ginger ale, and a frozen cheese pizza.

She leans against the doorframe leading to the kitchen, her head resting against the wall and her eyes tracing over each item. Her body seems to relax with every breath she takes, and her eyes soften when she looks at me. Her look tugs at something deep in my chest—something so much deeper than just wanting to bury myself inside her.

“Thank you,” she says, her voice low but filled with gratitude.

This woman has no idea what I’d do for her—the lengths I’m willing to go.

Unwilling to stay away from her any longer, I move toward her and wrap my arms around her waist. Without hesitation, she leans against me, her arms wrapping around my neck. Her lips meet mine, and all at once, everything is right in my world. This right here is all I need.

“Is it your morning sickness?”

She tucks her head against my chest, and warmth moves swiftly through my entire body that she’s seeking comfort from me.

“You mean all-day sickness?” she murmurs. “I swear it’s gotten worse this week. I think I’ve just done too much the past few days, and I’m paying for it.”

“How can I help?” My lips brush against her black hair.

She lets out a contented little sigh. “This is kinda nice.”

I tighten my arms around her. “I’m happy to provide this whenever you need.”

“Mmm.”

I pull back enough to see her eyes closed as she rests against me. This close, it’s impossible to miss the bags under her eyes. Has she not been sleeping well?

Bending down, I sweep my arm under her knees and lift her up. She gives a little mumble of protest, but her eyes remain closed, and her arms tighten around my neck. I don’t bother stopping in the living room but head straight to her room, placing her gently on her bed and then covering her up with a soft fleece blanket from a small chair in the corner of the room.

When I move to go grab some of the snacks I brought to put on her nightstand, she grabs my hand, stopping me. Her tired blue eyes blink up at me, and there’s a faint hint of vulnerability in her gaze. “Will you stay with me?”

“Yeah,” I croak, unfamiliar emotion and need hitting me from all sides. God, I’d stay with her every night if I thought she’d let me. The fact she’s asking me to now, and I have to leave her tomorrow, is already killing me.

I kick off my shoes, then climb into bed with her. She instantly curls into my side, her head resting on that spot between my shoulder and chest, her arm draped over my waist. She tucks her nose against my shirt and inhales. I wince, imagining that I probably smell like sweat since I didn’t bother to shower before heading over here. Luckily we were only doing light drills today or else I would stink.

A deep sound escapes her throat, and her whole body seems to melt against me. “You smell so good.”

I close my eyes and drop a kiss to the top of her head. “Glad you think so.”

Her breath evens out quickly, sleep pulling her under, and I don’t know how long I watch her, my heart aching with how badly I want her to want me like this all the time. How much I want her to let herself rely on me. How much I want to let all my own doubts go so I can really enjoy the feelings this woman evokes in me. Eventually, my eyes start to grow heavy as sleep drags me under, all my tight muscles loosening the longer her lavender scent hits my nose.

It’s the best night of sleep I’ve ever had.