22. Everly

CHAPTER 22

EVERLY

" S o will you?" I asked after I'd become uncomfortable with the silence.

Urban sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Sure. Not here, though."

I swallowed hard and wrung my hands together. At least he was willing to hear me out. That was something. "OK. Where do you want to go?" I'd have to call for a ride, but I'd meet him anywhere.

"My place?" he asked.

Relief washed over me once again. He didn't want to do this in public. That could've been a good sign or a bad, but I took it as a good one.

"I'll be there."

When I turned to walk back out the way I'd come, Urban grabbed my arm to stop me. "You were with your friend and Camden. Do you have your car?"

"No, but I know how to call a ride share."

He furrowed his brows. "Are you fucking kidding me? You think I'm going to have you call a car when I can just drive you?" His jaw tensed and he shook his head before sighing. "Come on."

The thing was, I hadn't thought he'd let me take a car if he'd known I hadn't had one. That wasn't Urban. I just hadn't wanted to assume. He was really upset with me. I'd likely fucked this whole thing up and would have to do some apologizing and explaining. I didn't know if that meant he'd want to be cooped up in a car with me right now.

We were silent on the drive to his apartment. Given that it'd only been days since I'd last seen him, the fact that I felt like it'd been months said something that I could no longer ignore. It wasn't until we were inside his apartment with our shoes off and him heading the kitchen that he said, "Go ahead."

"What?" I'd been too distracted by the way his shirt hugged his broad muscles. Shoulders that I'd hung on to more than once. He was strong everywhere. Probably a byproduct of playing a sport professionally. Whatever it was… I loved it .

"Go ahead," he said again as he pulled the fridge open. "I'm going to make a sandwich. Do you want one?"

I furrowed my brows in confusion. He was going to eat while I poured my heart out to him? Then I realized, this might have been his way of protecting himself too. After all, I'd been the asshole here.

"No thank you," I told him then took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I ran away that day in your hallway." He put his hands on the counter and looked up at me. "That wasn't fair. But I saw… what I saw and something inside me clicked. I had to get away as fast as I could."

"You could've asked what the hell was going on. I would've told you."

All of a sudden, to me, there was too much space between us, so I stepped to the side of the island where he was making the sandwich. Though almost everything was on the counter not being touched. At least I was close enough to touch him if I wanted to.

"I know you would have, but at the time, I couldn't trust myself to tell whether or not what you said was the truth. "

"I've never lied to you," he snapped, causing me to close my eyes then open them again.

"I know," I whispered, then I cleared my throat. "But others have and that scared the hell out of me. You were standing there almost naked with a beautiful woman…" I shook my head. The memory of that was worse than the memory of anything else I'd been through. That was how I'd known how I felt about him.

Urban moved a came closer to me, putting a hand on the counter on each side of me and leaned down so that we were eye to eye. "Do you want to know why I was almost naked in my hallway?" No, but I nodded my head slowly anyway. "Because when I heard the knock on the door, I thought it'd be you, so I didn't bother getting dressed thinking that I might just have to get undressed again." He stood up taller and stepped back to lean a hip on the countertop. "That woman was someone I used to see. Not a girlfriend or any of that shit, no matter what she thought. We'd fuck." I winced but hoped that I hadn't shown it. "She heard about my grandpa and came here. Uninvited."

"So you were telling her to leave." I finished the thought for him because now it was clear that was what he'd been doing. Once I allowed myself to think about it, he hadn't looked happy to be standing there. His grip on her wrist was strong but he hadn't been holding onto her as if she was someone special.

If I would've looked longer, I was sure I would've seen more clues.

"Yeah. She touched me, so I grabbed her hand to move it away. You showed up." He wet his lips then went back to pretending to make a sandwich by pulling bread out of the package. "I didn't want her touching me. And don't think I didn't see you flinch when I admitted I'd had sex with her before I met you. We both have pasts. I have to do my job with part of yours."

Yeah. That was right. He had to work with a guy I'd hooked up with, so I could deal with seeing him with one of his, especially since he hadn't wanted her there.

"I'm sorry, Urban. This is all on me, I know that. If this is fucked up with no hope of being fixed, that's on me." I swallowed hard before I said words that I swore I'd never say again. "I fell in love with you probably after the first week but was so afraid that I let this get out of control. I'm so sorry. I'll never ignore your calls again."

Slowly, he set the butter knife down on the counter and turned to look at me, his hands still on the counter. "What'd you say?"

"That I'm sorry. If you forgive me, I won't ignore your calls again. Hell, I won't ignore them even if you don't forgive me."

One corner of his mouth turned up. "You know damn well that's not what I'm talking about."

At first… I didn't know. Then I did. "Oh, that I fell for you after the first week?"

He moved toward me, grabbing my hips when he got close enough and walking me back until I hit the cabinet behind me. "Say it, Everly." The demand in his voice made me catch my breath and caused an aching that only he could relieve. "Say it. Because I promised you I wouldn't until you did."

I bit into my bottom lip with my heart racing and my breath coming quickly. "I love you, Urban Briggs."

I'd barely gotten his name out before his lips crashed into mine. I wrapped my arms around his strong shoulders so that I could lift myself a little more. Urban's hands slid down my body until he cupped my ass and I moaned into his mouth.

It'd only been days since he'd last touched me and I'd missed it as much as I would've missed air. The intensity between us was something that I'd ignored until now.

I pulled at his shirt so he'd yank it over his head and I could run my nails lightly down his chest. There wouldn't be marks, but I'd know that I'd done it. Made sure that he knew he was mine and I'd be his.

Urban cupped my cheeks as his tongue slid into my mouth, stroking against mine. He walked us to his bedroom, where he gently pushed me back onto the bed. I missed having the contact with him, but when he jerked my shorts and panties down my legs, I realized it had been for a good cause. He shed his pants and boxers quickly then flipped me over.

"You're wearing my name and number on your back." He ran his hands up the backs of my legs and dug his fingers into my ass cheeks.

"I bought it at the game today."

"You should wear something with my name and number on you to every game." He pushed my shirt up, trailing kisses up my spine.

I dropped my forehead into the mattress and allowed the warmth to spread across me. Him. He was the warmth as he hovered over me, his hard cock bouncing against my ass .

"You like that?" I asked once I remembered he'd said I should wear the shirt to his games.

"It's sexy as hell."

I turned so that I could look at him over my shoulder. "Lots of women wear your name and number on their back."

His hand fisted in my hair. "I don't care about lots of women." He moved closer and whispered in my ear, "I love you. Not them."

Closing my eyes, I hoped no tears of relief would fall. It'd send the wrong message but I was so overcome by all things Urban that I couldn't be sure it wouldn't happen. If he was telling me he loved me, then he had definitely forgiven me and that was all I wanted.

Well… maybe not all I wanted.

Urban flipped me onto my back then hovered over me briefly before leaning down to kiss me again. His mouth was warm and his kisses almost brutal, yet I would've taken so much more. The only spot where we were touching was our lips and that just wasn't acceptable.

I slid my hand over each side of his jaw then down his neck to his shoulders. He moved so that he could put all of his weight on one arm. My nails dug into his shoulders when his other hand slid between my legs. He stroked me once gently. Then he worked a finger inside of me.

My head fell back and I groaned.

"All those noises you make are so fucking sexy." His lips met mine again. "You're so fucking sexy."

I didn't need the words, but they didn't hurt.

Urban continued pushing and pulling his finger in and out of me, adding a second and pressing his thumb to my clit. That was all it took. My orgasm hit me as if I'd never had one before, crashing down over me in waves of more pleasure than I'd ever felt before.

"Move up," he told me, so I scurried to the middle of the bed, where my head could rest on the pillows, and watched as he slid a condom down his erection.

Then he was back above me, pushing into me.

Our hands reached everywhere that they could, we kissed and when we needed breath, he'd kiss down my neck, suck softly, or scrape his teeth against my skin. I trailed my nails down his back, making him shudder.

When he stopped, he pressed his damp forehead to mine.

"We need to clean up," he said, sounding as breathless as I felt .

Pushing myself further into the bed, I said, "I don't think I can move."

Urban chuckled then climbed off me, but he pulled me along with him. "You can."

Soon after, we were in the enormous bathtub in his apartment. He was sitting with me between his legs, my back to his chest, trailing the hot water over my skin. He'd asked how hot I liked it, and I told him as hot as he could stand. I was more relaxed with him in that bathtub than I had been anywhere else recently.

"My sister said she'd start looking for a place for me." His chin brushed against the side of my head as he spoke. "You should help her. If you have time."

I leaned back to look up at him. "You want me to help your sister pick out where you're going to live?"

He chuckled. "I'll decide which one. She's going to narrow it down. I don't have the time. But I want you to like whatever I get."

He wanted me to like where he lived. I dropped a kiss to the corner of his jaw then snuggled back down in his arms. "I'll help her. My camp schedule is changing to two days a week. I'll have the time."

"Why is it changing? "

I shrugged. "It's just the camp schedule. Happens every year. Normally, I get another job to fill in the days until they need me five days again."

"Don't," he said, then he squeezed me harder.

I snickered. "I have to. I have bills to pay." Then I sighed. "I'm uncomfortable not making as much money as I can be." Memories began flooding through me but I shook my head and shrugged. "It's a left over thing from my childhood. I know it doesn't make sense. I make decent money. I just feel like something's going to happen and I'll need more then I'll kick myself for not working as much as I can."

Urban nudged me so that I'd move away from him, then he turned me toward him. Knowing that he wanted me close, I climbed onto his lap, straddling him, and placed my hands on his shoulders. His cock hardened beneath me to half capacity. "Don't." He said again, then he nipped at my lips.

Technically, I could choose not to have the summer job. My family's money problems were why I thought I needed to be working every minute. But I had savings and I set up my teacher pay so that I was still getting paychecks in the summer. I'd just have to convince myself that I'd be OK when logic said I would. It was a fear, possibly irrational, but a fear none the less.

There was only one question.

"Why don't you want me to?" I brushed his hair back near his ears.

"It's selfish." He wet his bottom lip. "If you're not working full-time, we'd be able to be together more often. Maybe you could come on a road trip. Even if we can't stay together on the road, we could still spend time together."

Now that was an interesting thought. Camden had tried to convince me to come on more than one road trip.

"OK." I shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal but inside I was freaking out. "I won't take on another job."

His hands cupped my ass and squeezed when his mouth met mine. Once he brought the kiss to an end, he said, "I wasn't sure if I should tell you this. Didn't want to freak you out." He ran his fingers down my hair until they met the ends which were wet from the water. "I'm having Camden look for a house instead of an apartment."

I cocked my head to the side. "Wouldn't that be a pain when you leave at the end of the season?" An idea that burned a fiery hole in the pit of my stomach. We'd figure it out, I told myself but it was just another anxiety that I'd have to work through.

As his hands trailed up my back and his arms pulled me closer. "I'm not going anywhere at the end of the season."

My eyes widened. That was something I knew he didn't want to do. "You don't have to stay here for me, Urban. We'll figure it out." Though me moving would mean I'd have to get relicensed in whatever state he ended up in. If he wanted me to come with him at all. We'd stay together no matter what, but he might prefer to focus on the game during the season and just have visits with me. I didn't know.

"Baby, this isn't a hardship. You're here." His hand held the base of my head. "My mom's going to throw a shit ton of money at me to stay. There's no losing with this."

"Only if you're sure."

"Never been more sure about anything."

Soon, all the conversation about houses and being traded and all of that was forgotten so that we could get lost in each other again.

With Urban, getting lost was my favorite thing. I hoped no one would ever find us.