Becca laughs it off, but my mom would flip her shit if she knew a football player spent the night in my apartment. I can’t deal with that right now. I’ve got enough on my plate without adding her disappointment.
“My lips are sealed.” She presses her lips flat, but it only lasts for maybe half a second. “But, um, what do we do now?”
“I guess we go wake him up.”
I gesture for her to lead the way, but when we get to the living room, it turns out Baxter’s taken it upon himself to rouse our guest, giving Reid an up-close-and-personal wakeup call. The dog is giving him a total tongue bath, but Reid takes it in stride, stroking Baxter’s head before sitting up and moving out of his reach.
Sometime during the night he must’ve stripped off his button up, leaving only a tight white T-shirt that shows all the muscles. My pulse thrums at the sight of all that masculinity and puppy-loving goodness and I hope like hell my roommate can’t hear it.
“He’s a dog lover,” Becca whispers. “Could he be more perfect?”
I don’t answer. I can’t. Because seeing Reid all sleep rumpled and adorable? It’s almost more than my ovaries can handle.
“Morning,” he says when he sees us hovering in the hall. He rubs the back of his neck, completely oblivious to the fact that his hair is sticking up at odd angles. “Who’s the little guy?”
“Oh, that’s Baxter,” Becca says, flouncing across the room to scoop the puppy up. The little guy was asleep in my room when Reid showed up last night, proving he has zero future as a guard dog. “You’ll have to excuse him. He’s not used to male company. It’s been ages since Kennedy’s brought a guy home.”
What the hell?
Heat blazes up the back of my neck and fans out across my chest. I give my best friend the side-eye—I’m so going to kill her—but she ignores me. No doubt thinking she’s being helpful by making it painfully obvious I’m single. And have been since New Year’s when I called it quits with Two-Minute Mike, unable to bear the thought of even one more sloppy gropefest.
Don’t get me wrong, he was a nice guy, but the sex?
It was like getting humped by a dog.
My gaze slides back to Reid. What would sex be like with him? Judging by the way he kisses, incredible. I resist the urge to touch my lips, remembering the way his kisses felt like being at the center of a supernova, white-hot and explosive.
“So what did you two crazy kids get into last night?” Becca looks from me to Reid, the picture of innocence, although there’s a spark of amusement in her eyes.
Traitor.
“We just watched some TV,” Reid says casually, the words falling from his lips smooth as silk. He steals a glance my way and when he smiles like we’re sharing a private joke? I swear my stupid heart skips a beat. Not good. Time to wrap this up. “Hey, did you notice Baxter and Coop have the same smile?”
His question is so unexpected, I laugh out loud. It feels good, like a release valve for the tension that permeates the air. “Right? I had the same thought the first time I met Coop.”
Reid stands and slips on his shoes. “I should probably go and let you ladies get on with your day. Thanks for letting me crash on your couch.”
Before I can formulate a response, Becca’s given him an open invitation to return. “You’re welcome anytime.”
I’ve got to give Reid credit; he seems to be taking Becca’s antics in stride. This sort of thing probably happens to him all the time, because he just shakes his head and gives a half-smile. Then he moves to let himself out and I follow.
So I can lock the door, not because I’m checking out his ass. Obviously.
He turns and stuffs his hands in his pockets. “I guess I’ll see you at practice.”
“Sure. Practice.” Okay. This isn’t awkward at all. Are we just going to act like the kiss was no big deal? Or maybe he was so drunk he doesn’t remember it? But no, he wasn’t drunk. Pretending he was would be an easy excuse, a way to explain our actions, but it would be bullshit and I’m not in the habit of lying to myself.
He rakes a hand through his hair, and for a second I think he’s going to bring up the kiss, but he just says, “Until tomorrow then.”
“Until tomorrow,” I echo as he turns to go.
Maybe I’m overthinking it. It has been a while since I’ve been with a guy and it was just a kiss. A super-hot, panty-melting kiss, but a kiss just the same. Hell, I should be glad he doesn’t want to talk it out. It just proves we’re on the same page, that it was a onetime thing, right?
Chapter Eleven
Austin
I reset the game tape and settle in to watch the footage of last week’s Pitt game. I’ve already watched it twice, and most of the guys have called it a day, but Pitt beat us last year. There’s no way in hell I’m going to let it happen again. They aren’t even in our conference.
I press play and the players on the screen leap into motion. It’ll be a tough game and Coach has reminded me every damn day that there will be scouts present, like I could possibly forget. I just need to get my head in a good place. Half the game is mental, but knowing that doesn’t make it any easier, and I’ll be useless to the team if I can’t learn from last year’s mistakes.
I’m watching Pitt execute a perfect zone blitz when the door clangs shut. I turn in my seat and spot Carter at the back of the dark auditorium.
“Sorry to interrupt,”
