She runs her hands up and down my arms, nodding her head. “You’re my first, Rhett.”
I blink slowly, absorbing her words. “God, I love the way that sounds.” I’m so drunk on Kinsley, I can’t even wrap my head around the fact that she’s all mine.
“You do?”
“Sunny, I want to be all your firsts.”
“I don’t want to take you home,” I whisper against the smooth skin of her neck. “I wish we could stay like this until morning.” My Sunny’s lying on top of me. We’ve been cuddling on the living room couch for almost an hour, alternating between kissing and talking.
All of this may be new to her, but the way she’s looking at me right now isn’t the way she was looking at me when we left school today. For the first time, I feel like she truly trusts me—that’s she not holding back, or keeping any secrets from me.
We’re finally on the same page.
I kiss the top of her head and she holds onto me a little tighter like she doesn’t want to let go either. “I wish we could stay here, too. I like when you hold me.”
“You’ll see me after the game, and be right back in my arms. I promise.”
She lifts her head from my chest, staring at me. Twice she blinks before she says a word. “Have you guys watched a lot of film on this team? They’re going to play dirty like they always do, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I love it when you talk sports, Sunny.”
She laughs and nips at my lips, “Wyatt taught me a lot over the years.”
“We probably shouldn’t talk about him while you’re lying on top of me.”
“We probably shouldn’t talk at all.” She leans forward, finding my lips again, sucking on the bottom one to the point I can barely stand it. More than anything, I want to show her how much I want her, but there’s no way we can do anything other than kiss.
“Sunny, I want you so bad.”
She nods her head, but jumps away from me when her phone buzzes in her front pocket. “I should see who that is.”
I give her one last kiss before she pushes off of me, and sits up, straddling my hips. After swiping her finger across the screen, she reads the message and types one back. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. It’s Carson.”
I sit up as soon as his name leaves her lips. “What does he want?”
She shows me the screen on her phone.
Carson: Where are you? I ordered pizza.
Kinsley: At Rhett’s. I’ll be home in fifteen minutes.
“Not going to lie, Sunny. I don’t like you going home to him. It seems like a date.”
“I promise you have nothing to worry about. He’s just looking out for me. That’s all.”
I want to believe her. In fact, I do. It’s him I don’t trust. I saw the way he was looking at her when I was taking her to school this morning. He wants her. “If you say so.”
“I want you, Rhett. Nobody else.”
I press a kiss to her forehead, holding onto the fact that we’re new. We have a long way to go, and neither of us plan on going anywhere anytime soon. “Come on, I’ll take you home on my way back to school.”
“But you didn’t eat any dinner.”
He chuckles at the mention of food. “You’re all I was worried about.”
“I’m sorry. We can stop and pick something up, or you can have some pizza at my house.”
“You’re cute when you ramble, Sunny, but don’t worry about it. I don’t think Carson wants me intruding on his dinner plans. I’ll grab something on my way to school. Plus, there’s always food in the locker room.”
“You wouldn’t be intruding because I invited you, but it’s your call.” She has a wicked gleam in her eyes again. One that’s going to get her in a lot of trouble if she doesn’t cut it out.
“I’m positive, but we’re going to end up back on the couch if you don’t stop looking at me like that, Sunny-girl.”
She giggles, letting me pull her out the front door, and into my truck. The ride to her house isn’t long enough, and before I know it, we’re in her driveway.
She turns toward me, “Good luck tonight, Rhett. Watch out for number ninety. He likes to take cheap shots.”
“I won’t need any luck with you wearing my jersey. Meet me outside the locker room after the game.”
She runs up the stairs to her apartment door, and just as she’s putting her hand on the knob, the door opens. Carson’s standing in front of her, without a shirt on. It takes all I have not to put my truck in park to tell him what I really think of him. He needs to learn to respect my girl and what we have.
But there’s no use causing trouble for no reason. Until I have something to worry about, I’ll let it slide. Tonight, all I’m worried about is impressing Kinsley on the field. I’m already confident in what we have off of it.
THE STANDS ARE practically shaking as the student section goes crazy. Rhett just scored his fourth touchdown of the night. Each time he crosses the line into the end zone, where a good portion of the entire student body is sitting, my classmates high five me, like I’m responsible.
“Kinsley, he’s never played this good! This is all you, I know it,” Becca gushes from her spot on the hard, metal bleachers. If my ass wasn’t already numb, I’d think it fell off.
“He’s having a good night, that’s all.”
“Pfft. Whatever. They’re all playing well, but this is something special.”
It’s been awesome watching Rhett play, even if I’ve cringed every time he’s taken a hit. When dirty number ninety gets near him, I can’t even look at the field. But after three more plays, our defense intercepts the ball, ending the game with a bang.
My eyes are glued to Rhett as I watch him celebrate the 42–7 blowout win. He hoists his helmet in the air, thanking the crowd for their support, but what he does next, surprises me. He faces the end zone where I’m sitting and points directly toward me, publically acknowledging that I’m his and he’s mine.
Becca sighs next to me with a wistful gleam in her eyes. “What I wouldn’t give for someone like him.”
“Um, hello? You have Jake.”
“No, you’re right. I do have him, but Jake doesn’t do that. Look at him.”
I snort, realizing the night and day differences between our guys. Jake’s running around half naked like the Incredible Hulk, his shoulder pads and helmet lying on the ground near the forty yard line, in a heap. “He’s excited, that’s all.”
“If we weren’t at a football game, everyone would think he was on drugs, Kins.”
“Then why are you into him if you don’t like the way he acts?”
She shies away from the question which isn’t like her at all. “What is it?” Staring at the bleachers in front of her, she’s hesitant. It makes no sense considering we’ve never kept anything from the other—especially where guys were concerned. She’s known my crushes for as long as I can remember. Even if none of them ever amounted to anything.
“Because he’s here. He likes me. And he’s really hot.”
“There are so many things wrong with that statement, Becca.”
“Oh, who really cares. Come on, Kins. Lets go see the guys!” Becca grabs my hand and tugs me toward the fifty yard line. Most of the student section is already crowded around the team like they’re a bunch of celebrities—and they are. That’s how big football is in this town.
Swallowed up in a sea of maroon and gray bodies, the stench of sweat mixes with the mild September air. It’s not my favorite combination, that’s for sure. It’s like being stuck in the locker room surrounded by smelly socks.