I open the bag and take one look at my clothes and holler Noah’s name out the cracked door.
“What?”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
I throw on the clothes he packed and twist my hair into a quick side-braid and walk out into the living room. Both men instantly crack up laughing when they see me dressed in short spandex volleyball shorts and a sequined cheer top which is basically a glorified bra.
“Really, Noah?”
He shrugs, takes a bite from his slice of pizza, and talks through his food. “I felt like a fucking weirdo going through your drawers.”
“Yeah, you’re even more of a weirdo for picking this, you sicko.”
“Here, I’m going to shower.” Tuck gets up from the couch and puts his empty pizza box to the side. “I’ll get you a t-shirt.”
I follow him back to his room and watch him dig around his drawer. He pulls out a long sleeve black shirt and silently seeks approval.
“Thanks.” I snatch it from his hands, and of course make sure to make contact with his flesh.
“Go eat while I shower.”
I wait in his room, hoping like hell he will pull his shirt over his head and I can finally see those defined abs, but he just walks into the bathroom and comes back with the grocery sack and my gym bag.
“Thank you.”
I hear the bathroom door shut and the shower turn on, so I go to the living room.
“Noah, I’m going to kick your ass.”
“Blue.” His laughter fills the room again. “I’m sorry.”
“You look so sorry. Did you pigs leave any food for me?”
“On the counter.”
Noah took me to his favorite pizzeria two times for lunch, so he knows exactly what I like on my pizza and ordered me a whole one. I’m sure with the intentions of him and Tuck polishing it off. I throw a slice on a paper towel while still talking to Noah. Their living room and kitchen are pretty much one big room with no barriers besides a low bar.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me you lived with Tuck?” I flip open every cupboard and finally find one filled with plastic tumblers from the dollar store.
“You never asked.”
“Is your water safe to drink?”
I can’t see Noah’s face, but can hear his chuckles.
“In the fridge.”
“Thanks, jerk.”
It takes me a few minutes to get settled on the couch on the opposite side of the living room from Noah with my pizza on my lap and glass of water by my side. We sit staring at each other for a long time before either of us is willing to talk. The sound of the shower fills the room. I have questions and want them answered now.
“Tell me about him.” My words are the first to break the silence.
“I’ve told you. He’s a good guy.”
“Noah.” This time my voice comes out a bit too whiny.
“Tuck is closed off. A shut book. A simple guy. He goes to school, plays football, and goes home for the holidays.” Noah leans forward on the tattered red fabric recliner. “Want to know how many girls I’ve seen him talk to in three years?”
“How many?”
“One. Want to know who?’
“Me.” I take a bite of pizza. “Well, is he gay then?”
“Tuck, gay?” His laughter this time is uncontrollable.
“I mean, I have great tits.” I set my pizza on the couch and cup them for emphasis. “And I’ve all but thrown myself at the man.”
“Blue, if you really like him, you have no idea how much he’s already given you.”
“Then why is he so quiet and reserved? And scared of me?”
“Not my story to…”
I cut him off and mimic the rest of what he’s going to say. “…to tell. God, I can’t stand your damn brotherhood of football.”
“It’s called best friends, Blue. I love him like a brother, and I can tell you’re special to him. I just don’t know.”
“Don’t know what?”
The bathroom door opens and our conversation is over. I try to peer down the dim hallway in hopes of getting a view of Tuck, but he’s too swift.
Chapter 11
“That was a bullshit call.”
A loud voice jolts me from my sleep. Looking around, I see football film still streaming through Tuck’s MacBook to their television. I fell asleep listening to Noah and Tuck talk football after I filled my stomach with pizza and drank a couple of beers. A total no-no, diet-wise, but my give a fuck button is busted.
Somehow I managed to curl up in a ball on the couch using Tuck’s thigh as a pillow. Mentally, I curse myself for startling awake, because this is a position I don’t want to leave.
“Sorry.” Tuck pats my hip.
“What time is it?”
“Past ten.”
Noah’s lean body stands up and points at the paused screen. “See that son of a bitch right there? That’s who you need to get by in our game opener and you’ll be racking up the yards.”
“Yeah, if your greedy ass isn’t passing the ball all over the field.”
“Fuck off.” Noah turns the TV off. “Blue, your phone has been going crazy.”
“Where is it?” I mumble, half asleep.
I feel my head being mashed between his thigh and rock hard abs and again can’t complain.
“Here.” My phone is placed in my hands and roll onto my back to see my screen filled with frantic texts from Sophie.
“Everything okay?” he asks.
“Yeah, just my roommate freaking out. Funny she even knew I was gone. She’s never home, and I mean never. She’s always out fucking Lane somewhere.”
“So, you sit in your dorm alone?”
“No, I have my stuffed animals.”
“Funny, Blue.”
Tilting my head back on his thigh, I look up into his face and don’t break eye contact. “No, I go to class, work out at the gym, spend three hours at cheer practice, eat dinner and do homework, and then I go on a glorious nightly run. I only sleep there.”
I want to add and pine over you and our shared kiss.
“Jay’s worried about you.”
“I know,” I say, rolling my eyes and typing out a quick message to Sophie.
“You need to slow down a bit.”
“Whatever. I bet your day is the same as mine. I could tell you the same thing, Tuck.”
“You’re a stubborn shit.”
“Not as stubborn as you.”
Another cellphone goes off in the quiet, dimly-lit living room, and I look back up to him.
“It’s mine,” he replies while digging into his pocket.
“You can answer it.”
“Nah, it’s fine.”
I give him a moment to silence the call.
“Hey, Tuck.”
“Yeah,” he answers, and I can tell he’s distracted by whoever is calling him.
“Ask me what my favorite part of my day is.”
He looks down at me with a crooked eyebrow.
“Blue Williams, tell me your favorite part of your day.”
“My nightly runs. I feel free and optimistic and it’s the only time in the day when a sense of completeness fills me.” I raise my palm to cover his cheek. “It’s you, Tuck.”
“Blue, I…”
I push my finger into his lip and shake my head, not wanting to hear his excuses, and then get up from the couch.
“Thanks for feeding me tonight, and, well, kicking that guy’s ass.”
I shove my feet into my tennis shoes and look for my bag, then finally spot it at the end of the couch. Walking over, I don’t look back at Tuck as I bend over and grab it. My hand grips the brass doorknob and I still don’t have the urge to look back. The creak of the door as I open it is deafening in the small house.
I’m pulled back into Tuck’s hard chest as a low growl fills my ear. My body gives in to him and allows him to drag me about the house. My bag is thrown on the couch as I follow the gravity. I’m so attracted to Tuck. He spins me into his room and I back up as he flips off the lights. The backs of my legs hit the edge of his mattress as he pushes me all the way back onto it, and I hear Ed Sheeran fill the room, and the words couldn’t fit this situation more perfectly.