Cam slaps Billy on the back. “Ignore him. What Billy means to say is that instead of having to share a room at the football house, we get our own rooms here and private bathrooms, all of which is great. It’ll be quiet, and we’ll be able to study in peace. Plus, Olly told us we could borrow his landing pad whenever there’s a party, so if there’s a pretty little filly who wants to keep us company…”
He lets that statement hang, and I chuckle. They don’t call it the Stallion Station for nothing. “So you have a love shack for hookups if you need one. Is that what you’re saying?”
“As long as we promise to wash the sheets, Olly said it wasn’t a prob, since he’ll be here with you on those nights.”
Olly really is a great guy. The better I get to know him, the guiltier I feel for all the shit I gave him over the years.
Cam steals a blueberry and pops it in his mouth. “And since housing is maxed out this semester, it was easy to get your place approved for funding, so you’ll get paid.”
I’m not going to try to talk them into only giving me half, like I did with Olly. I’m not an idiot. I need the money. It’s a huge relief to have that income. I actually might be able to pay my January property tax bill without working myself into an early grave.
Olly stomps in. “What’s the holdup?” He lifts his white shirt and wipes his face, and I’m treated to his ripped, tan stomach.
“The guys were just telling me how excited they are to bang their girlfriends on your bed.”
He makes a face, and I laugh.
Olly points at Billy. “Swear to God, I’m buying a blacklight to make sure you assholes wash the sheets.” He hooks an arm over my shoulders and wipes his sweaty face on my neck. I squeal and shove him away, but he pulls me back. “Don’t even pretend you don’t like it when I’m sweaty.”
His sexy, gravelly voice makes goosebumps break out on my arms. I let my head fall back on my shoulders as I look up at him. He tilts his down and grazes my lips with his.
“Going to miss you,” I whisper.
“Yeah, training camp is gonna suck. You have all of our phone numbers if you have an emergency, right?” He rubs my belly, and I smile. My back is to his friends, so they can’t see. I’m really starting to show, and I know we’ll have to tell them soon. Baggy clothes will only get me so far. I’m guessing he trusts his friends can keep a secret, or he wouldn’t have let them move in here.
I nod. “I have them in my notebook and on my phone. Plus your parents’ numbers. God help me if I have to call them.”
“Sheesh, you guys.” Billy gags a little, the jerk. “He’s only going away for training camp, not to Albania. You’ll see him in a week.”
I’ll see Olly on Sundays, but for the next three weeks, he has camp, and I’m twisted up about the whole thing.
Olly didn’t want to move out. I didn’t want him to go either, but I feel like the deck is stacked against us this fall. I know when I’m swimming upstream. Why make our lives more difficult than they already are?
“Who wants pizza?” I ask as I get the ingredients out of the fridge.
“Homemade?” Billy asks as he rubs his hands together.
“Yup! My mama’s recipe.” The dough is made from a box, but he doesn’t need to know this.
Olly crosses his arms. “That’s another thing. You two need to keep the fridge stocked. I don’t want Maggie going hungry because you two or your friends decimated her supplies. You feel me?”
Cam pats Olly on the back. “Don’t worry, bro. We’ll watch out for your girl.”
That night, the guys gorge on homemade pizza with all the fixings, and then Olly and I curl up in my bed. He might be officially living at the football house, but he has clothes and toiletries here too, so he can stay over anytime.
“Sorry I didn’t finish cleaning out your basement,” he mumbles against the back of my neck. I love when he spoons me.
Things were weird after the barbecue at his parents’, but once we discussed it on my porch, I felt better.
Which reminds me that I need to talk to my mom and brother. Bash loves Olly. I don’t see how us being together will upset him. As for the babies, well, he’ll just have to suck it up and accept our situation.
“You got a lot done. I hate going down to the basement, and if it were up to me, there’d still be a million boxes of Uncle Hidalgo’s stuff, collecting dust and spiders.” I shiver.
“It’s weird that you have a basement. Most Texas houses don’t.”
“Please don’t say that. I already feel like a demon is gonna pop out of that closet in the corner by the washer and eat my innards.”
He chuckles and pulls me closer. As he does, his big hand rubs up and down my stomach. “Wait until I’m home, and I’ll do your laundry. You don’t have to go down there. Fuck, I should’ve added a better handrail for those stairs.”
