Page 52 of Teach Me How

“So, you wouldn’t mind if I dated Mitch?”

His hands sail up over my butt. “Would you mind if I started dating Parker?”

I try to picture him with my sister, and jealousy surges through me. “Ew. No.”

“No, as in, you don’t mind?”

I toss the washcloth aside. “No, as in, don’t even think about it.”

“Okay.” He grins, pulling me onto his lap so that I’m straddling him. “Same goes for Mitch.”

“It wouldn’t have been an issue ifsomebodyhadn’t been ignoring me.”

His hand slips under my hoodie and traces up my spine. “This again.” He ducks his head, brushing his lips along the column of my neck. “I was trying to keep it on the low.”

“Because you’re ashamed?”

His head pops up, and he waits until I meet his gaze. “No. Not even close. Why would you even think that?”

I pull my gaze away, focusing on the way his dark hair curls by his ear. “I don’t know.”

“Babe.” He says that one word in a throaty, deep way that vibrates right through my chest. “The only family in this county who is nosier than mine is yours. And we happen to be in a house full of nosy, well-intentioned family members. Unless you want to explain the finer details of our arrangement…”

“God, no.”

He chuckles, pressing his lips to the top of my head. “Then you’ll have to forgive me if I try to avoid drawing attention to the two of us.” His thumb traces the line of my jaw. “They wouldn’t understand, Reese. You know that.”

He’s one hundred percent right about that. In the past, that might have sparked doubt in me. Intellectually, I can recognize that the agreement Skyler and I have is going to wind up hurting someone. Maybe both of us. But the idea of cutting out now, before we see it through, is too painful to even consider.

Skyler ducks his head, lips hovering over mine so that I feel the soft brush of his breath feathering over my skin. Scooting closer on his lap, I press my mouth against his and part my lips for him. He groans quietly. I think I sigh, too.

Whatever this is, it’s too good to give up.

Not yet.

34.

Skyler

In Nebraska, the week is divided into two periods. Football Saturday and waiting for football Saturday.

The waiting would have been a piece of cake if Reese had given me the time of day.

But she’s on the job hunt and didn’t have time for our ‘lessons’. That was her excuse, anyway. But that conversation in Josh’s house has been haunting me. She’s been the fearless leader in this little arrangement between the two of us. I figured she knew what she was doing. She certainly expressed herself well enough.

But that little show of vulnerability, the fact that she thinks I’d be ashamed of her, of us, reveals a crack in this whole thing. Maybe that should be my sign to back off, but I don’t have the heart to disappoint her. And I’m just not ready to have her leave my life. It’s just going to be up to me to make sure I’m doing a better job of taking care of her.

And I can’t do that if I can’t see her.

I finally twisted her arm, demanding she give me a practice date.

I could give a damn about practicing for the next woman, I just wanted some of her time.

And if I could combine spending time with Reese with one of my favorite things in the world, football, that’s a win-win.

Lincoln’s a cool enough city on a normal day, but on a game day, it’s electrified. I love the atmosphere. The fall air, the excited hum of the crowd as people converge on the stadium. You can hear the pep band in the distance, drums going rat-a-tat-tat.

On a game day, the stadium becomes the third most populated place in this state. They’ve had a sixty-year sellout streak. Normally, I get pretty caught up in that tradition, feeling like I’m a part of something big and storied.

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