“Babe.” I kiss her forehead. “Mags. We probably need to get up.”
I can hear my phone buzzing on the nightstand. How it made it there, I’m not sure. Last night is a blur of sex and champagne and laughter.
Christ, last night was incredible. In between all the sex, Maggie and I talked and talked. It felt like a dam unleashed in my chest to finally connect with this woman.
“I can’t move,” she rasps against my chest. “You broke me.”
“Are you sore, sweetheart?” She feels so damn good in my arms. I’m loath to move.
She grinds on my thigh and lifts her head. “Not that sore.” With a mischievous grin, she reaches under the sheet and takes me in hand.
A loud knock on the door has us both jumping.
“Olly, dude! Get your ass up,” Sebastian shouts. “Your girlfriend’s here.”
I freeze, unsure what troubles me more—having Maggie’s brother on the other side of that door while his sister was seconds away from jerking me off, or Vanessa returning. Why is she back? I thought we were done.
“You said you broke up!” Maggie whispers as she yanks the sheet to her chest.
“We did. Boy Scout’s Honor.” I hold up three fingers. I’m an Eagle Scout. I take that shit seriously.
Bash bangs again. “You up, man? Let me in. We gotta talk.”
My eyes widen. He might have said he needed to let his little sister grow up, but that probably doesn’t mean he wants to walk in on her naked in his best friend’s bed.
“Your brother is gonna kill me, Magnolia. Get up.” I leap out of bed, freaked out by the twinge in my knee. Did I overexert it last night? Jesus, how hard did I thrust? “What the hell did I do?”
Gingerly, I test my knee. I’m pissed I lost my head in a frenzy of lust. Is there anything more important than my recovery? As amazing as last night was, if I fuck up my knee, my football career is over. All of the plans I’ve made for my future and the future of my family are over.
Bash is mumbling about Coach Nicholson, but once I make sure my knee is okay, just a little sore, I start running toward the bathroom. Maggie’s got a wild-eyed, panicked look in her eyes that needs no explanation. I motion over my shoulder in what I hope she understands is a signal for ‘I’m gonna wash off the smell of sex before your brother kills me and buries me in a field.’
I race into the bathroom and take the world’s fastest shower. I don’t even wait for the hot water to engage, just pour soap all over myself and rinse it off. I’m out in sixty seconds—after I’m sure I no longer smell like Sebastian’s little sister.
I’ll tell Bash what happened, but I need a day or two to process everything. I’m not good at spur-of-the-moment decisions. Wrapped in a towel, I step back into the bedroom, ready to tell Maggie that maybe we should wait until we’re back in Charming to tell Sebastian about us, but she’s gone, the door to her room closed.
Even better. I’ll deal with Bash, get rid of Vanessa, and then I’ll hunt down Maggie. She’s probably more freaked out by her brother showing up first thing in the morning than I am.
I open my door, and Bash laughs at me. “Put some clothes on, you savage.”
He hands me a coffee and strolls into my room. Panicked, I look around, eyes widening when I realize the headboard is sitting askew and there’s an empty condom wrapper on the bed. I need to get him out of here, because there should be two more of those, and I have no idea if they made it to the trash.
“Sebastian,” I say to get his attention. Fortunately, he turns toward me and away from the bed. “Let me dress, and I’ll meet you downstairs in ten.” He gives me a look, probably because he’s seen me naked in the locker room plenty of times. There’s no room for modesty in there. I make a face. “Gotta floss. You really shouldn’t neglect your gums.”
“Just thought you might want to talk about the Coach Nicholson news.”
What news?
Before I can ask, he pats me on the shoulder. “And by the way, while we’re alone, just wanted to thank you for hanging out with Maggie last night.” Guilt settles in my gut like a boulder for not coming right out and telling him I have a thing for his sister. “I know she drives you batshit. Thanks for doing me that favor.”
Internally, I wince. Thank God Maggie already went next door. Who knows how she’d interpret that? I need to tread carefully with her. We’ve antagonized each other for years. It’ll take time to build her trust in me, and if she hears her brother, it might undo some of the headway we made this weekend.
I’m two seconds from confessing all of my sins, in the most G-rated form I can manage, when someone else knocks on my door.
“Olly, it’s me.” Vanessa’s voice settles over me like the call of doom.
Why is she here? We said all we had to say the other night.
And then it hits me. How I tried to let her down easily by saying if she wanted to talk some more, we could meet up again. I meant back in Charming. Not here at my sister’s brunch.
