He cupped the back of my neck and brought me closer. “I want us all to be okay, and I don’t want to run from myself anymore. I especially don’t want to run from you.”
I gripped his broad shoulders, drawing reassurance from his steadiness. “I don’t want to run from you either. Whatever kind of love you think yours is, it’s the most generous and considerate I’ve ever known, and all I want is to love you back for as long as I can. Because I love you too.”
Not the way I did when I was ten and dreaming of a bubbly, pink, perfect picture of a princess and her hero where they were always happy and nothing bad ever happened.
This love knew sorrow and doubt. It knew vulnerability, longing, and heartbreak. It was the safe space to hold each other in and find our way through.
And it was better than anything I’d imagined as a kid.
“Then it sounds like we want the same thing,” he said before dropping his lips to mine.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and tried to kiss him back, but my smile got in the way. His grin matched mine as we broke into laughter.
“What about this place?” I asked, scanning the room. “Are you saying goodbye?”
“Yup.” He nudged his gym bag with his foot. “I grabbed my stuff. The rest will be cleared out once the sale is finalized. Probably another month or two.”
“Coach Lou accepted the offer from that developer?”
“Yesterday. Got an extra ten grand out of them because they worried he’d hang onto it longer to see if the value would go up.”
I rubbed his chest, imagining the ache he must feel at having to let this place go. “I’m sorry. I know how much you wanted it.”
“It’s okay. Coach got more out of it than I could have given him, even if I won the prize money. He deserves to cash out and relax.” His hand covered mine and held it over his heart. “I’ll have other chances. Find another building I can afford, and if it does well, I’ll upscale when the time is right.”
I rose to my toes and kissed him again, loving I could just because I wanted to. “Well, in the meantime, my bed is big enough for us both if you need a place to sleep.”
He grinned against my lips. “God, that sounds good.” His hands slid to my ass where he gave a teasing squeeze, and I wondered if we had time for one last go on the mats as a final send-off to this place.
A buzz came from his bag.
“That’s probably Coach Dotson,” he murmured. “He was going to let me know when his meeting finished.”
I forced my feet flat. “I can give you a ride. I have to bring the van back to the kitchen.”
He clasped my hand, and we meandered toward the front door. “Want to come to my dad’s house for dinner after? Evan and my dad are cooking.” He flashed his brows. “We can make out in my room until it’s ready.”
I laughed, joy reverberating up my arm from where our hands were joined and bursting through me like bubbles. “You’re about to make all my high school fantasies come true.”
“Good. When we’re done with those, we’ll get back to your current fantasies.” He squeezed my hand. “Same rules apply. You tell me what you want, and I’ll give it to you.”
Heat flashed low in my belly. “Okay, but only if it goes both ways. I want to give you what you want too.”
He leaned down to kiss to my lips, then moved his mouth to my ear and whispered, “Anything you want, greedy girl. It’s yours.”
Epilogue
Aubrey
Eight Months Later
“Yes,”I gasped. My hand tightened in Gabe’s hair, the strands long enough for me to tug on now, and I stifled a moan as his tongue swirled my clit. My other hand clenched the edge of the bathroom counter so hard I worried it might snap, but loosening my grip wasn’t an option. Not with pleasure gripping my muscles as my orgasm hurdled toward me like a speeding train.
Sounds from the party we’d snuck away from reached us through the kitchen on the other side of the wall. Gabe had barely been on his knees for more than a minute, but I didn’t need much longer. It turned out sex in a public bathroom was a major turn-on for me.
He slid one finger inside me as his lips latched onto my clit?—
“Ohshit, I’m coming—” I slapped a hand over my mouth as my back arched and my hips jerked, his hand on my thigh the only thing keeping me from slipping into the sink once the orgasm locked me in its hold. I tried to catch my moan in my throat as it broke, and a low, deep hum radiated from my chest, the residual pleasure washing over me like a warm shower.
