through his teeth.
Jared took my hand and led me through the stragglers that still meandered around us. He stopped at the door of Andrews as he opened it for me. “Claire is close. I’m going to run home…get a shower. I’ll catch up with you later.”
I eyed him suspiciously. “You’re sure you’re going home?”
Jared smoothed his features and chuckled. “Yeah, why?”
“You’re not going to go find Ryan or anything, are you?”
His jaw tensed. “No. But if Claire wasn’t his…he gets under my skin.”
I leaned in to kiss him. “I’ll talk to him.”
Jared nodded and gave me an anxious look. “You’re staying at Andrews tonight?”
I fidgeted, trying to decide if my unwanted independence was really more important than Jared spending the night in his vehicle to watch me.
Jared’s eyes were suddenly bright and hopeful. “Second thoughts?”
“No. I mean…I don’t know,” I said, unable to focus with the encouraged look on his face.
I couldn’t deny that I would rather stay with him, and he was more than willing for me to change my mind. When I slept at Andrews, Jared was stuck outside in his SUV listening for trouble. I cringed at the thought. On the other hand, it was what he was used to, and by his own words he didn’t mind.
Beth expected me home. When I stayed with Jared, she stayed with Chad, which is where everyone knew that was where she would rather be.
When my mind drifted to Ryan, I winced. I had already told him that staying with Jared was temporary. The thought of his reaction to my new living arrangements made my stomach twist with a sick feeling. I wasn’t sure why I worried about Ryan’s opinion so much. Something about hurting him just didn’t feel right.
“Wow, you’re all over the place,” Jared said, visibly confused.
“Call me later?” I asked. It wasn’t exactly a subtle evasive tactic, but it would serve its purpose.
Jared was resigned. “Of course.”
“I’m looking forward to more games. I’m sure Josh will want a rematch.” I smiled and leaned toward him, staring at his lips.
Jared wrapped his arms around me, smiling at the thought. “It was fun. I’m not sure about more games, though. I didn’t mean to cause a scene.”
“When you play like a professional football player, Jared, you’re going to draw a crowd.”
Jared shrugged. “I couldn’t help myself. Every time I heard you cheering, I stepped it up a little more.”
I raised a dubious eyebrow. “You could hear me over your groupies?”
Jared smiled, pecking me on the lips. “Besides the fact that I could feel how proud you were,”—he kissed me again—“I could hear your voice from the stands in a stadium…at the Super Bowl.”
He kissed me again, but this time his lips parted and he caressed my tongue with his. I tasted the combination of sweet and salty on his mouth, and when he pulled back, I licked my lips before pressing them together.
“Please don’t do that,” he pleaded, staring at my lips.
“How do you expect us to live together if you can’t handle me licking my lips?” I teased, watching him scan my face with the same hunger in his eyes from before.
“I’ll find a way. I’ll sleep on the floor if I have to.”
“If you sleep on the floor, I’m sleeping on the floor with you. I want to wake up where you are.”
Jared smiled. “I wish that were true.”
My mouth fell open. “It is true! You think me staying here during the week means I don’t want to stay with you at all?”
Jared grimaced, shaking his head. “No, I don’t think that. I shouldn’t have said that, that’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean?” I said, bracing myself for what he might say.
“It’s going to be hard getting used to the way things used to be, that’s all.”
“You meant more than that.”
Jared looked straight into my eyes. “Let me move your things, then. I’ll have you moved in by the time you finish up at the Rock.”
I looked down at my feet. “I don’t know, Jared. I need some more time to think.”
The answer should have been simple. I wanted to be there, he wanted me there, and we loved each other. But normal was here. I wasn’t ready to give that up, yet.
Jared smiled half-heartedly. “That’s what I meant.”
I narrowed my eyes, irritated that he had proved his point in that way. “That’s not fair.”
He leaned his forehead against mine. “I’d better go. I’ll see you soon.”
“Sooner than I’ll see you,” I grimaced.
“You could change that if you weren’t so worried about what everyone else thinks,” he said, trying to keep the disappointment from his eyes.
“I told you that isn’t the case. Well, not entirely.”
“I know. I understand,” he said. He kissed my forehead again before he left me to walk to my room alone.
I felt wretched. We’d had a horrible morning, a heated afternoon, and then I’d ruined it with my stupid, selfish, stubborn theories on normal. There were other reasons, but I couldn’t pin point what they were. I just wasn’t ready.
I walked into my empty room and sighed. I had a few hours yet before study group. Both Jared’s and Ryan’s sweat were on me, a scent mixed between Ryan’s salty boy smell and Jared’s salty angel smell. It only confused me more, so I made a bee line for the showers.
Under the steaming water, I couldn’t help but think of Jared’s shower. The water pressure was better, the smell was certainly better, and I didn’t have to wear flip flops to walk around in it. I sighed again, knowing nothing would make me happier than to call Jared and give him the green light to move my things. I couldn’t help but smile at the sound of his voice when I broke the news to him, and how I would feel walking into the loft, knowing I was home.
As I walked down the hallway in my robe, I tried to come up with more pros than cons for staying at Andrews. I focused on what my father would want; at first I reasoned that he would want me to stay, but then my thoughts drifted to the fact that Jack would want me to be where I was the safest. And I was definitely safer in Jared’s arms. Loft…I meant the loft.
I closed the door behind me and pulled off my robe. There was a knock on the door and I automatically tightened my towel around me, anticipating Jared’s smiling face at the other side of the door.
When I pulled on the knob, Ryan stood before me, clean and dressed. He gave me an once-over as I stood in front of him shocked and still dripping.
“Well, hello,” Ryan said, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.
I slammed the door in his face.
I pulled on a pair of jeans and slipped on a random pink t-shirt before hearing a knock on the door once again.
“Nina?” he said in a muffled voice.
“Just a minute!” I called, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks. I opened the door once again, “Sorry,” I breathed. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I see that. Can I come in?”
“I needed to talk to you anyway,” I said, stepping to the side.
“Uh-oh. Hubby’s jealous?” he smiled, strolling past me with his hands in his pockets.
I closed the door behind him and picked up a brush, raking it through my hair. “This isn’t about him, it’s about me. You can’t kiss me like that, especially with Jared right there. Did you honestly think that was okay?”
“No, I just wanted to do it.”
I threw my brush onto my desk and glared at him. “But you can’t just do it. It makes things more difficult.”
“For Jared?”
