Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

LETTIE

" T hree orgasms during sex. Three," I whisper-shout with so much excitement, Brooke shoves me into the bathroom.

"What? With Dane? Why didn't you text me?"

"There was no time. It was dinner, dancing, and a little petting before he gave me oral in the elevator. It was straight out of one of your romance novels. Did you give him a blueprint? Because he is highly skilled with his tongue."

"Okay, okay. I get the idea. So, then what happened?"

"I returned the favor. Oh my God. Can you believe it? And we ended up having sex that I didn't know existed—it was so sensual. He never took his eyes off me. Most guys just do their business, and I have to fake it… but not with Dane." I hop up and down with joy, and Brooke has to cover my mouth. I shriek so loud.

"How much time have you two wasted? I've been telling you for a long time that he looks at you as if you're the best thing since the invention of shaved ice." She pulls me into a hug.

"He does love Icees." I wiggle my brows and pause as she waves her hand, gesturing for me to continue. "The next morning when I woke up, he wasn't in the bed, which sucked. I checked my phone, and there wasn't a message from him either. And we always send a morning text." I show her today's morning texts. "Then I found him eating breakfast with another girl like nothing happened."

"What? No. That doesn't sound like Dane."

Brooke folds down the toilet seat and sits, so I hop up on the sink, blowing out a breath. "No, I blew it out of proportion. It was easily explained, and we're new to having a relationship."

"Hold up. Are you in a relationship?" she asks, corkscrewing her mouth to one side.

"I have no idea but after an argument, we had earth-shattering sex. Then we went to Granny's and snapped beans. It was the best forty-eight hours of my life."

She grins, grabbing my hands, asking, "The sex or snapping beans?" Brooke lifts a brow, not understanding what snapping beans means.

"Both because it meant that we would still be the same best friends."

There's a knock on the door, and when I crack it open, Presley, Flynn's new girlfriend, has her legs crosse d. "Sorry, I really have to go. Is there enough room for three?"

Although I've only known her a month or so, she's my kind of girl. Flynn and Presley moved into Brooke's old apartment, and roommates have turned into more. She's so All-American with her fresh face and soccer body.

When we exit the bathroom, Dane, Reed, Logan, Flynn, and Mac Callaghan are standing around the kitchen island. Mac uses his beer to point to us. "Why do girls go to the bathroom in pairs? It's weird." His date smacks his arm as she walks in with Harper.

"A better question is why do hotels put full-length mirrors in front of the toilet? Who wants to watch themselves poop?" I ask.

"I love your observations." Dane walks up behind me, massaging my shoulders, then he whispers in my ear, "Did you tell Brooke?"

"Tell her what?" I try to act unaffected despite my whole body tingling from his breath.

He turns our bodies, so his large frame hides me. "They're our friends; we should tell them."

"We never decided what we are... exactly." This conversation makes me anxious, which is why I've danced around it. The last thing I want is for him to declare we're friends with benefits.

"How about we show them?" His hands travel up my arms and land on my face. His lips move in closer, and it's almost like a first kiss. Everyone disappears and fades into the background when his long fingers thread into my hair, and his lips touch mine. Melting into him, he mutters into my mouth, "I love how your body responds to me."

When he breaks the kiss, our friends applaud, and Reed says, "It's about damn time."

Dane's lips curl into a smile. "It sure is."

Mac catches the spectacle. He knows every athlete on campus because he's a dual sport athlete, playing both baseball and football. He's tight with this group, having been roommates with Logan and Hagan a couple of years ago. "Logan, you owe me fifty bucks."

Logan pulls his wallet from his pants, shuffles through his money, and hands Mac fifty dollars.

Dane asks, "Why?"

Logan slaps Dane's back with a close-lipped smile. "Mac bet me how long it would take for you and Lettie to get together. I said never because you didn't want to lose your friendship. Mac said this semester before the NBA comes calling. He won fair and square."

Mac counts his money and pushes it into his shorts.

As all the guys head toward the patio, I hear Dane say, "How long have Lettie and I been the topic of conversation?"

"Since you stayed with Lettie at Brooke's place last year. It was so fucking obvious," Flynn says, "Almost as obvious as Reed trying to hide the coach's daughter from us."

Brooke shak es her head as we climb the stairs to check on Evy, Harper and Logan's baby. It's just Evy tonight since Brooke's dad is watching Caleb, wanting to get in as much time as possible before hockey practice gets in full swing.

Evy's lying on her back, kicking her feet, and reaching for Harper. She's wearing a onesie that says, "Cute as a button," and the little leggings have multi-colored buttons printed all over. And when she lifts her up, she has three rows of ruffles on her bottom.

We pass her around, but I win the lottery, getting to carry her downstairs. When we get outside, Dane, Logan, and Reed are easy to spot. Dane's the tallest but only has a couple of inches on Logan and Reed.

Logan moves toward me with his arms out, and Evy instantly knows it's her dad and reaches for him.

"No fair. I wanted to play with her," I say, spinning away from the guys, but Evy finds Logan over my shoulder, and she tries to raise her head.

"Who loves their Daddy?" Logan says in baby talk. This big professional football player is like a pile of goo over this baby. "Sorry, but it's Daddy's only day off, and he needs to spend it with his girls." He easily transfers Evy into his muscled arms as he kisses Harper and then Evy on the cheek.

I glance at Dane, who's smiling and doesn't even know it. He always says when he's established in the NBA, he wants to have three or four kids.

After we ea t, we team up for a cornhole competition. These boards are nothing like what we have at Granny's. These are highly lacquered with a big Stallions logo in the center. Every time I throw a bag, it goes sailing over it. Finally, I sink a beanbag into the hole, and Dane picks me up and swings me around, making me feel like his girlfriend.

The final throw is a bust, ending our brief but exciting session in the couple's cornhole competition. As we collapse onto the plush patio couch with a fire pit of coals at its center, I can't help but feel a twinge of disappointment that it's not cold enough to snuggle by the flickering flames on a date with Dane.

Dating Dane?

He adjusts the floral pillows so that he leans back and pulls my side into his chest and drags my legs over his thighs. "I'm going to miss you. What time do you have to leave for training on Thursday?"

His fingers pull strands of my hair, letting it fall but doing it again. He has touched me in a lot of ways but over the last week, and I'm seeing more sides of him.

Always thoughtful and respectful to everyone, but there's a possessiveness in the way he touches me now, wanting everyone to know I belong to him.

But I need more than tender touches. I want to hear him say we're exclusive.

"Before noon. The horse van picked up Diamond Mine earlier today," I say tipping my chin up to look at his gorgeous face. "You've always been fine. Don't b e getting sappy on me." I say, attempting to play down my feelings.

He tugs me upwards and kisses me, wrapping his strong arms around me. "The last time you were gone for ten days… this timing is shit."

It is, but maybe it's what we need to think this through.

"I'll miss you too."

Time may be what we need to think through the changes in our relationship.