Chapter 32

My hands just want to keep touching her. I can't help but feel territorial over this woman lately, even more now that we've experienced each other this way. If any part of me thought sleeping with Summer would be awkward, I couldn't have been more wrong. Being with someone has never felt so goddamn right.

I glance at her from the corner of my eye, her bare chest rising and falling with deep breaths. She runs her fingers over my thigh and I let out a sigh at the touch.

"I've always wondered what this whole thing looked like," she says as she turns on her side to face me. Her breasts fall in front of her and it takes extreme self-control to not put my lips on one.

"I want to add to it." I touch the ink on my skin as she traces the lines.

"What do you want to add?"

"I want to add an anchor near the compass. And the coordinates need a touch up too."

She nods at me, but her eyes still remain glued to my leg.

"I've only ever been able to see to the bottom of the compass." She laughs to herself, skimming her fingers up my thigh toward the ship I have tattooed. "The ship and the coordinates are new to me."

There's a pink tint to her cheeks when she finally glances up to me. I run my hand down her body, pulling her thigh over my leg, feeling the warmth between her legs on my skin.

Summer pulls the blanket up over both of us, snuggling herself closer to me as she does. She smells like coconuts on the beach as she nestles further into my body and my arms wrap around her.

"These are all for your dad, right?" she asks, her head resting on my chest as the fan spins above us.

"Yeah."

"But you have them in a place that almost no one will ever see?" she questions.

"I guess they're for me. My way of… grieving."

I feel her nod against my chest.

"I can understand that. He warned me about you, you know?" She chuckles, and I pull my head back a little.

"What? When? And why?"

She laughs again as she trails her fingers over my chest. "At the party you had before you went to college. I was only fifteen, I think. But everyone knew I had a major crush on you. I never tried to hide it, though. So I guess that part is on me."

I try to think back to that summer before I left for college, but truthfully it's in bits and pieces.

"Your dad came up to me while I was sitting on the porch watching all of you guys play football in the backyard. He handed me a bottle of water and sat down right next to me. He was making jokes as you guys all ran around, telling me who he thought out of your friends might get drafted."

"Who'd he say?" I ask, curiosity needing to know where he was wrong since I'm the only one of my friends who actually did.

"None of them," she whispers. "And he didn't say it in a rude way. More just like a scout, observing, you know? He said Randall was good, but had no discipline. Vick was smart, had potential, but probably wouldn't stick with it long enough to make a real go at it…"

"What about me?"

"He said you'd be a first round draft pick."

A labored chuckle leaves my chest as a small lump forms in my throat before I force it down.

"I challenged him, of course. Said he was just saying that because you were his son, but he threw it right back to me. He said you had a lot to learn, a lot of growing up to do, he had a whole list of things you needed to do before you'd be ready. But he was sure you'd do them all."

I pull Summer closer to my chest as we lie in bed and my memory races through my time in college in a flash. Every workout, every meal plan, every practice and game. All the nights I said no to parties, to dates. The weekends I would come home for a quick visit and my dad wouldn't mention a thing about football, he'd let me be home, he'd let me rest and recharge. He always told me that my home should be my safe space. The place I would refocus my mind and recharge my body. I still try to abide by that even today.

"Jack," I whisper, shaking my head, and Summer laughs.

"That day he also told me that boys are stupid." She taps my chest and I feel her breath against me as she giggles. " He's not ready for you yet, Summer Rose. " She whispers the words.

"He said that?"

Her head nods up and down against my chest. "I remember it like it was yesterday."

"I'm sorry," I say, pressing my lips to the top of her head.

"Why?"

"Because I was stupid." The words are slow to fall from my lips while I hold her.

"Yeah. But that's okay."

Since I've known Summer, I've never given her much of a second thought. Her crush was always just that to me. A simple crush, by a silly little kid who probably didn't even know what she was feeling. But I was wrong. God, was I so fucking wrong.

I pull her leg closer to me, pulling her on top of me as we lie here talking about the past. About moments where I should have noticed her. Her body stretches out and she lays on top of me. It doesn't feel sexual, even though neither of us are even dressed, it just feels intimate. Close. I tuck a piece of hair behind her ear as she rests her head on my chest on top of me. I can feel every curve of her body on my skin and the way she fits so perfectly.

"You are your name, that's for sure."

She laughs and I can feel the rumble in her chest against my abdomen.

"Hot and unpredictable? Yes, I know."

"Yeah, that… and…" Laughing to myself, I keep my hands roaming her back. "I don't know, I just want to make my time with you last. Lately, every day feels like the best day and it just reminds me of when you're a kid and it's summertime. You just always want it to last. The days are long and full of fun. It's the thing we all always look forward to."

"I think that might be the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me." She giggles, resulting in a smile as she pushes her face toward mine and kisses my lips softly. "I know you can't stay overnight, but five more minutes of naked cuddling?"

I grin at her, reaching down and pulling her up closer to me. "Six," I whisper against her earlobe.

Alexa pops up with a reminder this morning for the captains' meeting I have with the coach in an hour. In other words, though, it's basically me and three of my closest friends in a room together talking about the rest of the season and then the playoffs. Something we would be doing either way.

My mom is here for one more week and then she'll be back home. It's always nice having her around and I know CeCe loves it, but she did ask the other morning if Summer would be coming over to play. I had to laugh at the way she worded it. But I also appreciate it. With Summer, CeCe never feels like she's being babysat, she looks at it as someone who just comes over to hang out with her and I fucking love that Summer has made her feel that way.

I've been talking to Summer every single day since our date. Whether it's been quick texts in the morning and at night or full blown conversations throughout the day, I've loved it either way. A new feeling of hopefulness fills my chest as each day passes. Officially making her mine is something that has consumed my mind for a while now and my mood feels like it's shifted drastically even in just a few weeks. I don't feel as burnt out and having someone around to talk to at the end of the day has felt good. But before I make anything official with Summer, the first girl I want to talk to is CeCe.

"Morning, Peanut." I slide a paper plate with a muffin on it in CeCe's direction. She's been sleeping in my bed with me while my mom's staying in her room. It's been hard to get a good night of sleep with a three-year-old tossing and turning every hour, but I've managed.

"Morning," she mumbles through a yawn and pulls herself on to the stool.

"I have a question for you," I say, leaning my elbows on the counter across from her.

I watch as she pulls the muffin apart, starting with the top pieces first.

"Would it be okay if I spent more time with Summer? I know she's your friend."

Her face perks up and her eyes widen as she licks the chocolate from her fingers.

"That's okay." She nods. "You can be her friend too."

"Yeah?" CeCe's fingers push her hair from her face, coating the strands in chocolate as she does. "What if she was my girlfriend? Would that bother you or would that be okay?"

Part of me feels ridiculous asking my child permission to date someone, but I know it's the right thing to do. My decisions aren't just mine anymore. Everything I choose in this life affects CeCe, and having her input on this is important to me. I know Summer would think so too.

CeCe sits there for a moment, chewing her muffin as I stand here waiting for her to answer.

"What's that?" Her head tilts as she chews.

I guess I should have anticipated her not exactly understanding the concept of what a girlfriend is.

"Well, I'd take her on dates. She'd probably spend more time with us."

Before I can think of other ways to describe it, she starts to nod her head up and down and then puts another giant piece of a muffin in her mouth.

"I think it's okay." Her words are muffled by the food, but I'm able to make out what she's saying and it sends a sigh of relief through my body.

My mom walks inside from the balcony just as I'm about to kiss CeCe goodbye and she offers me a small nod with a smile before I leave.

"How was the date?" Nate's the first one to enter the conference room after me and doesn't waste any time trying to get the gossip.

"You mean your wife didn't tell you?" I joke.

"She did. I just want to hear it from you." He chuckles, tossing his notebook on the round table between us.

"It was fun."

"Where'd you take her?"

"I tried Antonio's… but it just wasn't us. Ended up getting Louie's and going back to her place."

Liam and Ford walk in the room in the middle of their own conversation before taking a seat as well.

"And?" Nate urges.

"What are we, fifteen?" My brow raises in his direction.

"I think we all just want to make sure you… you know, it's been a while for you, big daddy." Liam's head jerks back and forth as his eyebrows wiggle, assuming our conversation.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to draw the line there, man. Some things you just don't get to know." I shrug, taking a sip from the coffee cup as we wait for Coach Aarons to join us.

"Means they did." I hear Liam whisper to Ford next to him, and all I can do is roll my eyes.

The moment Coach Aarons enters the room, it's all business and Liam's game face is perfectly plastered on his face as we discuss the rest of the season.

The air is finally cool and crisp when I leave the facility. Christmas is fast approaching and I've spent every free moment on my phone or computer ordering all the gifts CeCe has been casually mentioning she wants. The other day it was a unicorn puzzle, then she wanted this new doll she saw on a commercial. Last week, one of the other girls in her gymnastics class was wearing a leotard that had a bunch of princesses on it, so, of course, she wants that too.

"Anyone here?" I call out when I step inside my apartment and don't hear a sound. I wouldn't be completely shocked if my mom had decided to take her for a walk downtown.

She's been saying for years that I should move somewhere that CeCe has more space to be outside. And while I don't disagree with her, the housing market is fucking insane right now and the thought of moving and uprooting the life we have here feels exhausting and intimidating. I'd also have so much to consider too, I can't just decide to up and move.

"We're in here," my mom calls out, and I head to CeCe's bedroom.

When I walk in, CeCe is sitting on the side of her bed wearing one cowboy boot, one sandal, a princess tiara, and some kind of feather scarf draped around her shoulders.

"What's going on here?" I ask as I take in the sight of complete chaos.

"Cleaning!" CeCe shouts as she waves a wand around in front of her.

My mom just looks up at me from her spot on the floor with an overwhelmed expression on her face. "I seem to have started a project that is taking longer than I thought it would." She laughs but then shrugs her shoulders.

"Mom, you don't have to do this. You shouldn't be sitting on the floor sorting through her clothes."

"Am I too old to be sitting on the floor?" She eyes me.

"That's not what I meant," I say with a sigh.

"I'm fine, really. We've been having fun. If you have anything more you need to do today or anyone you want to see, take advantage of me being here and do that. I'm going to take her to Abby's in a bit, so we won't be in here much longer." She smiles at me in a way that only a mother can when they know what you've been up to.

I didn't have to tell her that I was taking Summer out the other night. She's known that Summer has been helping with CeCe lately and when I told her I was going to dinner, she simply smiled, patted my shoulder, and told me to take care of Summer.

"Maybe I'll just get in a quick workout downstairs," I offer as I stand in the doorway. CeCe's completely consumed by all the clothes around her, trying everything on at once—she barely notices I'm here.

"That sounds like a good idea."

When I walk out of CeCe's room, I pull my phone from my pocket. Learning Summer's routine has been tricky, considering she doesn't exactly have one. She isn't like me in the sense that her days are relatively similar each day and her plans are written down anywhere. She flies by the seat of her pants in a lot of cases. But one thing she did let slip is that she enjoys working out in the afternoons instead of the morning.

Hi

Summer

Did you implant a GPS tracker on me? I just walked into your building.

I'll never tell.

Summer

Can't say I'd be that mad if you did.

Heading to the gym?

Summer

Walking in now.

Good, I'll come meet you.

Summer

Didn't you workout already? You don't need to pull a double.

If you're going to workout, I want to workout with you.

Summer

Come find me then.