Again I look to JT, but he’s still not giving anything away.
Kay’s feet shuffle along the carpet until the blue cotton of her socks touches the tips of my white Nike Uptowns. I focus on her adorable compulsion to match her wardrobe, too afraid of what I’ll read on her face if I meet her gaze.
“Mase.” Her soft voice soothes me like Gatorade after a game. “Mase, please look at me.”
As if my eyelids have kettlebells hanging from them, I struggle to lift them to do as she asks.
“I’m not running.” She fiddles with the object she’s holding, and I finally notice it’s a ring box—a familiar ring box. “Quite the opposite.” Her thumb slips into the seam, and I can’t help but notice her nail is also painted blue as the lid opens with an audible snap.
The sight of the peridot ring nestled inside the black velvet has me sagging back in my chair.
She kept it.
She has it with her here.
My breathing grows erratic, not wanting to get my hopes up only to have it fall short like an incomplete pass. “You brought it with you?”
“That’s not the only thing of yours she brought with her,” JT says.
“Aren’t you supposed to be my friend?” Kay whips around to face JT only to find him looking at the ceiling in an effort to play innocent.
“What else of mine did you travel with, Skittles?” I reach out to take her hand, linking our fingers together to bring her attention back to me. Her body turns, but the floor once again becomes her focus.
“Oh, you know…” A singsong lilt enters JT’s tone. “Only your t-shirt, your hoodie…”
“Oh, really?” I should probably curb my instinct to smile, but I can’t help myself.
“Don’t gloat. It’s not attractive.” Kay’s ponytail flops forward as she drops her head. “And you”—she thrusts an arm out, pointing an aggressive finger at JT—“so aren’t my favorite Taylor anymore.”
“Lies,” he says with confidence.
“I’m not gloating,” I claim, only to receive an eye roll. “Okay, maybe a little.” I pinch my thumb and forefinger together. “And I’m always attractive.”
Kay makes that face where she can’t decide if she wants to hit me or kiss me. You know the one: lips pursed, mouth moving side to side, nose twitching like a bunny. God I love her.
While she debates what to do, I liberate the box from her grasp, taking out the emerald band and slipping it on the thumb of her right hand then freeing mine.
As I take her left hand in my right, her jaw drops, eyes flaring wide as my thumb runs along her bottom knuckles. Placing the ring in front of her finger, I don’t blink as I slide it home. We still have a long way to go in terms of how to handle the ongoing social media attention and Liam Parker, but like when she wears my hoodie to my games, knowing she will allow me to claim her in this way is enough for now.
#Chapter37
When I left Mase and JT alone earlier to shower, I had legit worries about the two of them coming to blows. They are two of the most important men in my life, and they’re both alpha and fiercely protective. It was a tossup how things would play out.
I wonder what Mase would say if he learned JT was actually his biggest advocate these last couple of weeks. Hell, even I’m surprised by how adamant JT is that Mase is the right guy for me.
Now, with those light green eyes looking at me with awe and a kind of love I’ve only ever witnessed between E and Bette, all the broken pieces of my heart start to fuse together. I’m still not convinced I’m the best person for him, but if Mase wants to love me, I’m going to be selfish enough to let him.
Leaving my hand in his, I spin and settle myself back across his lap. The automatic way his arm comes around to tug me a few millimeters closer brings an instant smile to my face.
“I know the whole reason I’m down here is to see you”—I glance at my best friend, a look of approval on his face as he watches the subtle ways Mase and I interact—“but why are you here? I figured we’d meet you at the gym later.”
With there being no game on the schedule for the Blue Squad, our plan today is to finish up choreographing JT and Rei’s routine.
“I asked him to come,” Mason answers, holding out my phone, and this time, the sight of a text from an unknown number freezes me in place. “I wanted him to be here when I showed you this.”
Those all-too-familiar doubts start to creep their way back in. Can I do this? Can I really? The back and forth of Mase’s thumb over the band representing his place in my life grounds me in the here and now.
“I heard everything you and the others said to me.” He releases my hand to cup my face, his thumb now brushing along the apple of my cheek. “I want to be the one able to help you when you get overwhelmed by the bullshit. Who better to teach me than the expert?”
“I do so enjoy being recognized for my expertise.”
I roll my eyes at the smug expression on JT’s face and the way he’s buffing his nails against his University of Kentucky Cheerleading sweatshirt for effect.
Doesn’t Mase see? He’s already turning into that person. There’s no panic churning in my gut or cold sweat breaking out along my back at the fact that the bubble of anonymity I thought we had being in Kentucky has popped. I’m not drawing away or running to hide and put as much distance
