Because seriously, did last night actually happen? I felt like I was in a dream.
I’d already missed my first class, but if I hurried, I could still make the last two. I moved to get out of bed, but a glance at Carson stopped me. Not able to resist, I trailed my fingers along his arm then leaned down to press my lips on his hand. I repeated the gesture with the other one. As I pulled back to admire him in all his shirtless glory, I realized I was being totally stupid to let him sleep. If I was missing stuff, so was he.
I gently shook his shoulder. “Carson, you should wake up.” He didn’t wake. “Carson,” I said a little louder. Suddenly his hands shot out and grabbed me. He flipped our positions before I even registered what had happened, caging me against the bed with his arms.
A lazy grin formed on his face. “Good morning.”
“Is that a smile or a smirk?” I teased.
“A smile. It’s always a smile where you’re concerned.”
I shook my head. “That’s not even true.” I could list the times I’d irritated him over the years, but I wasn’t going to go there.
“You’re right, but I have a feeling that will change from now on.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because I’ll never have to watch another guy hit on you again.”
Oh, really? I wasn’t a guy magnet, but I cleaned up well enough when I wanted to. I stuck my chin out. “I’m hot enough, so—”
His smile widened. “Yeah, you are.”
I ignored him. “Guys are still going to hit on me.”
“And now you can’t argue when I hit them.”
My eyes widened. “Don’t hit anyone. Promise me you won’t.” Shit. I hadn’t anticipated that if we were together, he would feel even more entitled to turn into the Hulk. The teasing look on his face made me sigh with relief. To be fair, he’d never actually laid a hand on anyone. Well, at least not where I was concerned.
He didn’t make any promises, instead pressing his lips to mine in a chaste, pre-toothbrushing kiss. Then he rolled to his side and pulled me against him, nuzzling his face in my hair.
Sighing, I closed my eyes and let myself enjoy the moment. But as freaking wonderful as it was, we both had shit to do today.
“Carson, I’ve got class. And you’ve got… I don’t know what you have, but something.”
“I know.” But he didn’t move.
I wriggled, trying to maneuver out of his arms. I never thought I would be doing that.
He groaned. “You might want to stop doing that.” He paused. “On second thought, never mind. Keep doing it.”
Gasping, I stilled, suddenly realizing the reaction in him I had unwittingly invoked. Good morning to you too. I rotated my hips again, this time slowly and with purpose.
Carson groaned again. “You are killing me.”
It was a weird feeling to know I had that kind of power over him. Who knew? I sure as hell hadn’t. But I was going to have to exert my power another time.
“Seriously, we need to get moving. Do you have practice?”
He sighed. “Yeah. In fifteen minutes.”
I jumped up. “What the hell, Carson? You need to go! You can’t miss practice the day before a game!”
He moved to a sitting position. “I know. But I’d much rather stay here with you.” He stood and walked over to me then tilted my chin up so my eyes met his. “You know that, right?” His expression was strangely serious, just like it had been last night.
I could ask him to skip practice for me, and he would likely do it. But I would never ask that of him. Once he came to his senses, he would surely resent me for it. Besides that, I wouldn’t want him to give up his passion for me.
But if I’d had any doubt in his sincerity, this moment would have erased it. “I do now.”
***
CARSON MANAGED TO make it to practice on time because all he’d had to do was brush his teeth and walk out the door. Hopefully the fact that he hadn’t had breakfast wouldn’t affect his performance too much. At least he’d been in a fantastic mood. That had to help, right?
I’d personally never slept so well in my life. My body fit against his perfectly, and when he’d thrown his arm over me, I’d never felt more safe and secure. I never would have pegged Carson to be a cuddler. That was probably the least surprising thing from the past twenty-four hours, though.
I couldn’t figure out what had opened Carson’s eyes—my getting injured, being picked up for a date from his house, or a combination of the two. Had I known what it would take, I would have given myself a concussion ages ago. A tiny voice inside me whispered that everything had fallen into place too easily. It was like I was waiting for the catch. Please don’t let there be a catch.
I made it to my last two classes, and though I had trouble paying attention, I was glad I’d gone. Fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on how I looked at it—the game this weekend was in Boston, so I would have plenty of time to get caught up. The first order of business was going to my apartment to retrieve some things. I wasn’t ready to go back, but I didn’t want to put it off any longer for precisely that reason.
I parked outside my building and watched my neighbors go about their business like normal. A tiny bubble of fear took root in my chest, so I exhaled and tried to talk some sense into myself. It’s broad daylight. There’s no reason for the guy to come back. There are plenty of people around.
Still, I would feel much better when the cops caught the guy. So far, the police hadn’t had any luck, and my father was sure as heck getting daily updates. At least the perp hadn’t struck again. Maybe running into me had scared him enough that he wouldn’t break into anyone else’s place. Not likely.
Clutching my bag of dirty laundry, I climbed the stairs to my apartment. I unlocked the door and pushed it open, not realizing until I saw the empty living room that I’d been holding my breath. Exhaling, I entered and closed the door behind me then slid the deadbolt home. Not going to make that mistake twice.
After I dumped a load of laundry into the machine, I headed to Lucy’s room to survey the damage. Her drawers were open, and some of their contents were spilled onto the floor. The only thing she’d had of value was a couple hundred dollars in emergency cash, which she kept in her nightstand. The best I could tell, that was the only thing that had been taken. It could have been so much worse.
Not wanting her to come home to such a mess, I gathered up all of her clothes and sorted them into loads. I was going to wash every piece because that was what I would have wanted if the burglar had had his hands on my things. It felt good to be putting things right.
With the laundry all sorted, I made myself some dinner: soup from a can, the dinner of champions and poor college students everywhere. My phone rang, and I smiled at the caller ID. “Hi, Carson.” Unfortunately, I hadn’t gotten to see him before the team left for Boston. He’d told me before that he didn’t like away games. The farther they had to travel, the more of a pain in the ass it was.
“Hey. What are you doing?” In the background, I heard his teammates and what sounded like road noise. He was probably on the bus on the way to the airport.
“I’m in my apartment, doing laundry and getting caught up.”