Chapter Twenty-Nine

"W hy are you on the floor?" Clay asks, with laughter in his voice.

"Because it's easier to look at the bottom shelves if I'm down here," I say without looking up but holding out my hand.

He slips a cup into my hand. "Be careful, it's hot."

"Thank you," I tell him as I set it down next to me.

Clay moves his big body until he's sitting on the floor next to me. I look over at him and smile. "Just because I'm on the floor, doesn't mean you need to be."

He shrugs his big shoulders. "I like being where you are. Sue me."

Looking away, I shake my head and try to hide my smile. "You're ridiculous."

"Ridiculously handsome, you mean."

I laugh but don't deny it since he's not wrong.

"Already starting a pile, I see," he says as he grabs a book that's stacked on top of another next to my hip.

"I can't help myself." I sigh as I place a book back on the shelf. "I have to make sure I limit myself to six. Otherwise, Peyton will complain that I'm filling our dorm room with dead trees."

"You know, if you want more than six, you could always keep the rest at my place."

I whip my head away from the shelf and look at him. "Are you serious?"

He shrugs. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be? It's not that big of a deal."

"But to me it is," I tell him quietly.

"I like it when you come over, so if holding a few of your books hostage makes you spend more time with me, I'll gladly hold on to them for you," he says, making me smile.

"You need to stop being so perfect."

Clay laughs softly and shakes his head. "We both know I'm far from perfect, babe. Now tell me, what do you think I should read?"

"That depends. Do you want fantasy with action and romance, or do you want just fantasy and action?"

He shrugs. "I'll read either. I can't promise I'll like it, but I'll give it a try."

Biting my lip, I turn back to the shelf and look for the book I've heard people rave about. I pull it off the shelf and hand it over to Clay.

"What do you think of that one? It's been on my Tbr for a while."

"Tbr?" he asks as he takes the book and turns it over to check out the back.

I nod. "Tbr is what we call our to-be-read list."

The corners of Clay's mouth tip up. "Makes sense. You said you want to read it?"

"I do."

"Then let's each get one so we can read them together."

I suck in a breath. I thought he was just amusing me, I didn't expect him to actually follow through with reading a book.

"You want to buddy read with me?"

"I mean, we don't have to if you don't want to," he says as his cheeks turn a light pink.

"Oh, I want to," I say quickly before he can take his offer back. "Honestly, I've always wanted to read and then discuss books with someone in person."

"Then I'm your guy," he tells me as he sets the book next to him.

"I think I love you," I blurt out.

Clay's nostrils flare as he sets his cup down. He leans forward and grabs me by the back of my neck, pulling me into a kiss that leaves me breathless. When he pulls away, he grazes his teeth over my bottom lip, making me whimper.

He leans his forehead against mine. "Two things: the next time you tell me you love me, make sure you know it for a fact and not think it. Second, make sure we aren't in public."

"Why?" I whisper against his lips.

"Because one, hearing those words roll off your lips made me hard as a fucking rock, and it's awkward as hell in public, and two, I have a feeling we will end up naked in bed when I say it back."

"Sounds like you've thought about this."

Clay smirks. "You have no idea."

"What else have you thought about?" I ask as I lean farther into his touch.

Clay's fingers flex on the back of my neck, and he opens his mouth to say something but is cut off.

"Excuse me, I'm going to have to ask you two to separate. This isn't a place for hooking up, and while you're at it, get off the floor."

We turn and see an old woman with silver hair and sharp eyes glaring down at us.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, my girlfriend had something in her eye, and I was just trying to help her," Clay lies smoothly.

The old lady scoffs. "I might have been born at night, young man, but not last night. No more canoodling until after you leave."

"Of course, ma'am. My apologies." He nods as he stands.

"I'll be watching you two," she says before walking off.

"She was a basket full of fun," Clay says under his breath as he pulls me off the floor.

"Something in my eye, really?"

Clay smirks as he leans down and grabs my stack of books. "Hey, it was the best I could do on the fly, and it worked, didn't it?"

"Uh-huh…"

He nods to the shelf. "Don't forget to grab a copy for yourself so we can read them together."

I grab the book off the shelf with a smile on my face, and he takes it from me, adding it to my small stack.

"Are you done, or do you want to keep looking?"

"I'm good for now."

I fall into step next to him as we make our way to the checkout counter. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch him walk so confidently with a stack of smutty books, and it makes me smile.

One thing is for sure, I don't think that I love him, I know that I do. Now it's just a matter of telling him.

I pace as I walk up and down the hall in front of Coach's office. All I have to do is go inside and give him my answer.

An answer I've already decided is the right call. I can do this. It's nothing.

I stop my pacing and come to a stop in front of the door and raise my hand and knock.

"Come in!" Coach barks from inside his office.

I open the door and peek my head inside. "Hey, Coach, do you have a minute?"

He raises his head from the paper in front of him. "Clay, come on in."

I walk inside and shut the door behind me before taking a seat across from him.

"How are you doing, Coach?" I ask as my knees bounce up and down, unable to keep still.

He raises a brow as he clocks my movements. "I'm good, you?"

"Fine."

"Have you worked out yet?"

I shake my head. "That's actually my next stop after this."

Coach nods as he leans back in his chair, giving me his complete attention. "What brings you to my office today?"

I shrug. "I just wanted to talk."

He hums. "Talk, huh? Does this talk have anything to do with your decision on entering the draft or not?"

I take a deep breath and run my hands over my thighs. "I've made a decision."

The corner of his eye twitches as he braces himself. "So what's it going to be?"

"Well, if you'll have me, I was hoping I could stay and play with you for my senior year."

A slow smile creeps over his face before he starts to laugh, shaking his head. "I was hoping you would say that."

"So that's a yes?" I chuckle.

Coach leans forward and rests his elbows on his desk. "Kid, it's a hell yes."

I lean back and look at the ceiling. "Thank God. I was worried you had already found my replacement."

"I might have a person in mind, but waiting a year won't make a difference. What made you change your mind?"

"It wasn't necessarily one thing. Someone close to me pointed out that outside of financial reasons, there is no real reason to rush into doing it. It made me realize, if I enter now and leave school, I can never get this time back. My friends would be making memories without me, and I'd miss out on it all."

"You're not wrong. I see it all the time. Guys get dollar signs in their eyes and jump right in without thinking it through fully. Besides, why rush to grow up when you don't have to?"

I feel the corner of my lip twitch. "I thought I was already grown up."

Coach rolls his eyes. "You know what I mean, kid."

I laugh. "I do."

"Seriously, though, kid, you don't know how happy this makes me. We have a good thing going between you and the boys, and I wasn't looking forward to that ending."

I nod. "We work pretty well together."

Coach slaps his desk. "Well, is there anything else you need to talk to me about? Any concerns about the team?"

"I don't think so," I tell him as I stand.

"Good. Get out of here and go get your workout done."

"Thanks, Coach." I move to the door and stop. "Wait, one thing. The guys and I were talking the other night, and we realized that we haven't had a team bonding night yet this year. Do you think it's too late to organize one?"

Coach smiles. "As long as it doesn't interfere with any of our games, you can do it whenever. Just let me know if you need anything from me."

"Will do. The guys and I will get together and make plans. I'll see you at practice," I tell him as I leave his office and make my way back to the gym.

"Hey, where were you?" Beckett asks when I step into the gym.

"I had to stop and talk to Coach."

Concern covers his face. "Everything okay?"

"Everything is great, and hey, while I was talking to Coach, he gave us the go-ahead to plan a team building night."

"Sick. Brett will love that."

"What will I love?" the man in question asks as he walks over to join us with Wyatt at his side.

"I met with Coach, and he told me that we can do the team building night."

Brett slaps his hands together. "Hell yeah, this is going to be epic."

I raise my hand and cringe. "Let's not do anything too crazy, okay?"

"No, we need to go all out. This could be your last season with us," Brett says.

Wyatt's eyes narrow. "What was that?"

"What was what?" I ask.

He points at me. "What was that face you just made?"

Beckett's eyes narrow. "Have you made a decision?"

I rub my jaw as I debate if I should tell them now or if I should wait until I've told Grace.

Grace should know first. She's my girlfriend, and they trump best friends, right?

"Spit it out," Beckett demands.

"Look, I have made up my mind, but there's someone else that I should tell first."

The guys nod in understanding and say in unison, "Grace."

"Grace."

"Well, whatever your decision is, just know that we support you," Wyatt says as he slaps me on the shoulder.

"Thanks, man."

Brett snaps. "I have an idea for team building night."

"What?" Beckett asks, taking the bait.

"What if we go to the strip club?"

The guys and I groan.

"Absolutely not," I say.

"Fuck no," Wyatt hisses.

"Not what I had in mind." Beckett winces.

Brett tosses up his hands. "Come on, it's a solid idea. Besides, I doubt the freshman have ever been to a strip club. It's basically a right of passage."

"One we won't be partaking in. Now come on, let's get our workout done, and then we can start making some real plans."

Brett salutes me. "Sir, yes, sir."

"You're fucking ridiculous," I mumble under my breath as I make my way to the treadmill.