Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 131821 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131821 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
“What if what I want to say will upset you?” she whispers.
My pulse pounds harder, and I try not to overthink that. Try and fail. “Say it anyway.”
“Are you sure?” She bites her lip.
Shit. Am I? The fuck is this twisty shit going on in my stomach right now?
I shift her, putting her back to the bridge, her front to me, suddenly needing her to say whatever the hell is on her mind. “Say it.”
She nods, looking away, then peeks up at me through her lashes. “I…”
Here we go.
“I think the other team had better uniforms.”
I tense and then throw my head back on a laugh, Payton joining in at the same time.
“You should have seen your face.” She giggles. “You looked like you were expecting me to say the end of the world was coming and you’d never get your day in the big leagues.”
“That’s baseball.” When her mouth tugs to one side, I narrow my gaze. “But you knew that…”
“I did.” She smiles, proud, her blue eyes shining.
Before I can stop myself, before I even realize what I’m doing, my knuckles are sliding across her cheek.
Payton’s lips part on a gasp. It’s soft, nearly unnoticeable, but it happened.
Heat zips through me at the sound, and I tense.
Our gazes lock, and she smiles timidly, her hard belly pressed to my abdomen. Slowly, the hand that was holding on to hers rises once more, but before it reaches its destination, my eyes snap to hers for permission.
Payton nods, pressing on the back of my hand until my palm meets the cotton of her shirt.
I hold her eyes a moment, then drop them to the contact.
“It’s…”
“Weird?” she impishly adds.
“Nah,” I whisper, sliding my hand along the perfect curve. “I guess I thought it would feel hard, and it does, but it’s also, I don’t know. Soft?”
“You should feel him kick.”
I smile at that, looking back at her for a long moment, overcome with concern. “You’re getting close, huh?”
She nods, then stiffens, making me more uneasy. “December’s not so far away anymore.”
“Tell me what you need.”
Her eyes pop up.
“Tell me what you need,” I repeat.
Payton’s grin is soft then. She shuffles a bit so she can step away, and my hands fall from her. She starts walking back the way we came, and I fight the urge to hold her still.
I don’t want to go back inside.
I don’t want to share her with the guys.
It’s irrational and ridiculous, and I roll my eyes internally.
“I’m good, Mase. Nothing to do but wait for him to be ready to meet the world.”
There’s a sorrow in her tone I don’t like, so I wrap my arm around her shoulders and tug her close.
“Well then. In the meantime, let’s go back to our earlier conversation where you tell me how awesome I am at football…even if I’m the second-string quarterback and only played for two minutes the entire game.”
Payton laughs loudly, and when she looks up at me with those big blue eyes, I can’t look away.
“Well, go on, then. Talk me up.”
“You’re insufferable.”
“I think you like that about me.”
Smiling, she shakes her head and faces forward. “I think you’ve got a big head.”
“I most definitely do.”
She looks down, humor shaking her shoulders. When she finally glances back, I give her an expectant expression, and she sighs.
“Fine.” She tugs away, clearing her throat as she makes a fist, bring it to her mouth as if it’s a microphone.
I chuckle, and she covers her face.
“OMG. I can’t do it if you tease.”
“Okay, okay.” I raise my palms, clamping my lips shut.
Her eyes narrow, then she clears her throat again.
“Avix University took the win tonight, a feat that wouldn’t have been possible without the one and only Mason Johnson!” She speaks animatedly, flinging her free hand all around. “Mason played like he was made of magic. He’s like no others we’ve seen, with an effortless elegance about the way he moves. The man is fluid in every shift of his body. Precise in every intention. He’s what dreams are made of, Avix U’s very own Greek god!”
She’s laughing by the end of it, this time covering her rosy-red cheeks with both hands.
“Damn, woman.” My grin spreads. “I’m impressed. You know jack shit about football and made that sound good.”
A shy sort of smile curls her lips, and she lifts a shoulder with a shrug. “I wanted to be a reporter when I was younger. I might have spent a lot of time practicing in front of the mirror.”
“Obviously.” She scrunches her nose in a feisty little scowl, and I keep going, liking how playful she’s being tonight. “And, hey, you nailed everything about me. I actually am the shit…again even if all that wasn’t true and I only played for two minutes.”
“There were only four touchdowns made tonight, Mase. It took your team the entire game to make three. You made one in less than two minutes.” She glances my way. “That’s something to be proud of.”