Chapter 5
"What were you doing sleeping on the couch last night?" Reed asks, padding into the kitchen while rubbing his eyes.
It's after six in the morning. We leave soon for our strength and conditioning practice, and I'm too exhausted to get deep with my answers.
I nod, taking a sip of my coffee. "Friend of mine. She'll be here for a bit while she waits for her apartment to free up. I let her take my bed."
Reed studies me quietly but doesn't say a word.
It's not like he can argue with me. It's my house. Passed down to me from my father when he passed away. It sat empty for a couple of years. Since my parents were divorced, there was nothing my mom could do about it until I was eighteen.
Reed heats his oatmeal and grabs a bottle of water before disappearing down the hall to his room, leaving me alone in my thoughts again.
I was up most of the night, tossing and turning. It's not like sleep will come easy when you're six-foot-five and pushing three hundred pounds. I have no business sleeping on this damn pull-out, but all that flies out the window when Ava comes strolling into the kitchen.
Her hair is up in one of those messy buns, heavy on the messy. Strands hang down around her face, some that appear to have fallen out too.
She's wearing one of my T-shirts I loaned her and a pair of shorts, which you can barely see beneath the length of the top. Damn, does she look fuckin' good wearing my clothes, though.
"Mornin'," she greets me, her eyes heavy but her voice light and sweet. Everything I've come to expect from Ava.
"Mornin'," I mutter, turning to open the cupboard and pull out a mug for her.
She whispers a low thank you, lifting the coffee pot to pour herself a glass.
"Sugar?" I ask, and she hums, smiling up at me.
She tilts her head for a moment, and for a second, I wonder if she even heard me until I lift the packet in front of her.
"Oh, I thought you were—" She stops herself and shakes her head.
Her face heats, and I smirk, connecting the dots that she thought I was calling her sugar.
"You are as sweet as sugar, but I was offering you some." I chuckle, and she ducks her head, rolling her eyes as she takes a sip.
Her long blond hair falls wildly around her. Her skin is tan, and I can picture her having spent days out in the sun. Her long lashes fan out along the apples of her cheeks dotted with freckles.
Don't get me started on those plump lips. I've been fighting against the urge to kiss her since we stood in this same spot last night, but I don't want to move things too fast.
I played with fire by offering her a place to stay. When the guys discover who she is, I don't doubt they'll give me hell for it too. She took me up on the offer, though. I guess it's more appealing than staying with Alec.
I'm sure the fact he lives thirty minutes away, on the other side of the Savannah River, in Georgia, has something to do with it too. Not exactly a far drive but not close either.
"How'd you sleep?" I ask, grabbing the paper I picked up off the front step and pad over to the dining room table.
Ava studies me for a quiet moment before she follows, claiming the seat next to me.
"Probably better than you did." I exhale a chuckle and shrug. "No, but your bed is comfortable. Thank you again."
I nod, unfolding the newspaper and laying it flat on the table. Call me old-fashioned, but I enjoy sipping my coffee and reading the paper.
Sure, I could pay for the subscription on my phone, but that's not my style. I'm not big on cell phones or technology in general. I leave that all to Reed.
"You bet. As long as you slept well, that's all that matters."
She takes another sip and nods. "I was actually going to talk to you about that." She hesitates. "Are you sure you're okay with me staying here? I wouldn't mind taking the couch, ya know. Or if you want, we could drive to a store in Lancaster and pick up one of those air mattresses or something."
"I'm not letting you sleep on the couch or an air mattress when there's a perfectly good bed in my room."
She presses her lips together and shakes her head. "Yeah, maybe, but what about you? No offense or anything, but a man of your—" She stops, not sure how to say it. "Your stature shouldn't be sleeping on a couch, Colter."
"We've already been over this. The only other option would be for me to sleep next to you, and I'm not sure that's a good idea."
She nods, lifting her mug to take another drink.
"If it becomes too much trouble, I can figure something else out." I reach out and grab her forearm, and she stops, dropping her eyes down to where I'm touching her.
"It's not too much trouble. I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want you to be here." It's true. I can't describe this need to be near her, to want to take care of her. "If you need somewhere to stay, you're welcome here as long as you need. Or if you'd prefer to stay with your brother or get a hotel, I understand that too. Whatever you want."
She shakes her head. "I want to stay here. I feel comfortable with you."
Hearing her say those words out loud tightens something in my chest.
Since I grew up with my younger sister, you could say I'm used to the caretaker role. It was my job to look after her and protect them, and I can't explain it, but I feel the same about Ava.
It's not some hero complex either, seeing a vulnerable girl needing help and thinking it's my job to swoop in to save the day.
Hell, if I saw someone try to pull the same shit with my sister, I'd be quick to put them in their place. I guess that's part of why I don't want her to feel pressured to let me sleep next to her. I'd want someone to give the same respect to Wyatt if she were in her position.
"All right. Then I guess it's decided. You'll stay here, and you can take my room." I nod.
I'm not going to argue with her about the bed situation. Though when she mentioned the air mattress, come to think of it, I'm sure I have one packed away with all my camping gear from over the summer. If anyone is taking an air mattress, it'll be me.
"Before you take off for football, do you mind if we get in the truck and see if I can find a box with some of my clothes? I only packed enough to get through the first couple of days, and well," she says, holding her arms up to reveal how she's practically swimming in my shirt.
"You bet. Give me a minute, and we can head out there."
I finish the rest of my coffee and fold up the paper. It's not that important, and whatever I planned on reading can wait until later.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot the bright pink nail polish on her toes. Even her toes are tiny, and I start to think about how easy it would be for me to lift her into my arms and hold her.
I shake myself from those thoughts, feeling crazy for how quickly I've progressed from meeting her to picturing all the ways I want to touch her, devour her.
She's waiting for me near the door after I change into something to wear to practice. If she was trying not to be obvious about the way her eyes roamed over my body, checking me out, then she failed.
"Ready, Sugar?" I ask, jogging down the steps.
With a giggle, she presses the handle to the screen door and steps outside, the warm summer heat hitting me in the face as soon as we pass the entryway.
Mark seemed a bit concerned when I told him I was keeping one of the trucks at my place yesterday. He immediately called me after he read my text message, questioning what we would do with one of our trucks tied up for the week.
Braysen students flooded campus as they returned to class for the fall semester. I knew he wouldn't be happy being down a truck, but I promised to make sure it wouldn't be a problem. If worse came to worst, we could move her stuff into my garage, but I didn't want to have to do that to her.
Slipping the key in the padlock, I unhook the hatch and push the door up, revealing the stack of boxes.
"Any chance you know which one it might be?" I ask, looking over the writing on the side of the boxes within my view, searching for any that might contain her clothes.
She reaches for my shoulder, using me to hoist herself up as she climbs into the back. She steps around the boxes and bags of stuff until she finds what she's looking for.
I'm about to offer my help when she lifts the bag, carrying it over her shoulder like she's Mrs. Claus, and watch her as she shuffles her way toward me.
"Be careful," I mutter, and she laughs and shakes her head.
"I got it. I got it."
She drops it on the floor of the truck and jumps down, once again using me to help herself down.
I take the bag for her, though, carrying it with me as she walks behind me into the house and down the hall to my room next to Beckham's.
Beckham moved the rest of his stuff from East Tennessee last week. We're still getting to know each other, but I've started to pick up on the similarities and differences between him and Hayes. I'm not talking about their looks either. I know Hayes is happy to be playing with his brother again, and he deserves to have something positive to look forward to after his tough year.
"You got any plans for the day?" I ask, setting Ava's bag down near my desk.
She crawls onto my bed, looking right at home, her legs crossed beneath her and shrugs.
"I was thinking I should do something with myself, so I'm going to head into town and see if any places are hiring."
I tilted my head, nodding slowly.
"When we were driving through downtown yesterday, I noticed there's a dance studio hiring." She waves her hand. "I didn't say this before, and I'm not sure if you picked up on it the other day, but I'm on the dance team for Braysen."
I figured she was after our first run-in after practice the other day. My eyes drop to her legs. Without a doubt, she has the body for it.
"So I guess you'll see me more at your games too, ya know, since I'll be performing at them."
The mental image of her in her dance uniform, the way her body would move, has my dick waking up. I clear my throat, attempting to force myself off the road my thoughts are traveling on.
"Well, I look forward to it," I grunt, shaking my head. "Seeing you, watching you. I'm sure you're great."
The words rattle out of my mouth, and it takes longer for it to hit me. I've made myself look like an idiot again by shoving my foot in my mouth. She presses her lips together to fight off her grin and nods.
"I look forward to watching you play too." She giggles.
I clap my hands and look around, not sure what to say next. All I know is the energy in the room, having her here, is like having all the oxygen sucked out of the space.
"Well, I gotta get going. Got practice at eight. Like I said last night. Feel free to use whatever of mine in the shower." I motion to the en suite of my room. "There are washcloths and clean towels, and I'm pretty sure we have extra toothbrushes beneath the sink if you need one. Help yourself to whatever." I wave my hand.
She smiles. "Thanks again, Colter."
"My pleasure," I blurt out. She leans back on her hands and tilts her head.
The sight of her sitting on my bed, the look in her eyes.
Yeah, I'm fucked.