9. Tanner

NINE

TANNER

"You can't just eat a bag of candy for breakfast, Bunny. You need nutrients," I say, pulling my bowl of oatmeal out of the microwave.

She scoffs. "I'd hardly call," she pauses, turning the bag of Sour Patch Kids so she can read the back, "twenty-nine grams of carbohydrates innutritious . That's eleven percent of my daily value, thank you very much."

I cock my head to the side, perplexed. "I'm not sure you understand any of what you just said." This girl is cute as hell and smart as a whip, but she will go toe-to-toe with anyone who tries to separate her from that disgusting candy.

"Sure I do," she replies, popping a red one in her mouth. "It means I could eat like, eight more bags of these today and still be fine."

"Riiiiiight," I say, giving up. This is a battle I know I won't win. Sitting down beside her at the island, I stir the boring ass food in my bowl and take a bite. It does taste like shit, but eating healthily is a priority right now so my body is ready when we start two-a-days next month. This is my last chance to show the Blizzard that I'm the absolute best choice for their organization. Next April, I can't imagine any other team saying my name at the draft. This has been my dream since the first time I set foot on a football field, and I'll do whatever it takes to get there.

"What do you have going on today?" she asks, brushing the sour sugar from her hands.

I swallow the almost flavorless mush before speaking. "Hanging out with you. What do you want to do?"

A blush creeps over her cheeks, and I can already tell what she's thinking. She wants to head back upstairs and fast-forward to the kinky shit. Call me crazy, but I actually like taking it slow. It's building tension, and when I finally do sink into her, it's going to be amazing for her. And for me, if I'm being honest.

I know everyone has their own thoughts on what their first time should be like. Mine was forgettable. In fact, I can't even remember the girl's name. I was a sophomore in high school, and we were at an away game. It was an overnight trip and some of our guys snuck the opposing team's cheerleaders into the hotel. One of them was super clingy with me and when she asked to go somewhere private to talk, we went to my room. One thing led to another, and I came in approximately two pumps.

Not my finest thirty seconds.

Grace claims that losing her virginity is the means to an end, but there's no way I'm just going to go through the motions. I plan on making it special for her even though we aren't actually together. She deserves to be treated like a fucking princess, and that's what she's going to get. That's why it's so important for me to spend time with her when we aren't getting down and dirty with each other.

Believe it or not, boyfriend energy doesn't come easily to me. I had a couple girlfriends in high school, but as soon as I realized how much time I'd need to devote to football, I decided to be upfront with any of the girls I spent time with. I wanted to make sure they all knew going into our hookups, that I couldn't offer them anything more than sex and maybe me staying the night after. But once the sun came up, I left and didn't go back. Sleeping with someone more than once can result in blurred lines and hurt feelings, which I don't want. Every day, I'm closer to my goal of being in the NFL, and I can't fumble on this. No pun intended.

But this is different. This is just an arrangement between me and Grace. We're both very clear on the rules, and we both have a lot to lose if we don't follow them. First and foremost, Riggs would be pissed at us both. Me, especially. Then, there's our whole future. She's going off to college across the country. Tying herself down to anyone is a bad idea when she should be focusing on her career in fashion design. Not to mention, being with a professional athlete is emotionally draining, from what I've heard. I'm not even in the pros yet and women still throw themselves at me regularly. Even if I didn't take them up on the buffet of pussy that's constantly being offered up, anyone I'm with would have to be at home, worrying every time I walked out the door.

So even if I did, by some crazy stretch of the imagination, want to be with Grace, I could never do that to her. She deserves better, which is why it shouldn't be hard for me to do this and let her go in a few months, knowing we tried everything she wanted to.

"Want to go to the movies?" she asks. "We can go to the one right outside Boston and see a matinee, so there are less people around to see us together."

I cock a brow. "You embarrassed to be seen with me, Bunny?" I tease. We've hung out all our lives, with and without her brother. Everyone in town has seen me walk down the street with Grace tucked under my arm, and they wouldn't give it a second thought if they saw me drop a quick kiss to the top of her head. It's just… us . So, I'm wondering what's making her say this.

She shrugs, looking down at her hands, which are fidgeting in her lap. "Not at all. I just didn't know if you'd want people thinking something is going on between us."

I bring my bowl over to the sink, rinsing it and placing it into the dishwasher before walking back over to where she sits on a backless barstool. From behind, I drape my arms around her, pulling her into my chest and kissing her jaw. She tilts her head, giving me easy access to her neck. I run my lips down past her ear, sucking the sensitive skin as her breathing quickens. "They won't," I say, trying to reassure her. "And even if they do," I pause to lick along her neck, "who cares? I want to take you somewhere." I should care, but we've been out together plenty of times. If people were going to suspect anything, they'd have done it already.

"Mmm," she mewls at the feel of me lightly sucking on her heated flesh. "Okay."

"There's my girl," I say, sneakily darting my hand forward and swiping the bag of candy that sits in front of her. "But you aren't bringing these. Eat some Sno-Caps like a normal moviegoer."

She reaches for the bag, but I pull it away, holding it high above my head.

"Tanner!" she whines, making me laugh. "Give me my kids back. I can't just leave them behind! We're a package deal, so get over it!"

I shake my head, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips before giving her the bag back. She looks inside as if I've injured her precious babies before looking at me with a scowl. "It's hard out here as a single mom."

"You're so weird," I reply, giving her ass a playful tap. "Let's get ready to go."