Page 38 of The Love Playbook

Now, his eyes go to my lips, and the look that takes over his face can only be described ashungry.

Dipping his head, he leans in close to me, his breath fanning over my lips. But then he lifts his head a fraction, his eyes tracking around the people here, like he just realized we aren’t actually alone.

When he refocuses on me, he swallows hard. “Let’s go to my room.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Jackson

Autumn’s nostrils flare and her eyes widen, her chin lifting like she’s accepting a challenge. And from the way her pupils dilate, she’s turned on. “Tell me where to go.”

In answer, I set my hands on her hips, giving them a quick squeeze, then spin her around to guide her to my room.

Once inside, she steps away from me, turning in a circle to take everything in. I glance around too, trying to see it through her eyes.

It’s not a very exciting bedroom. Not that I need it to be. There’s a queen-sized bed, neatly made with the light gray comforter that my mom picked up on clearance somewhere. I only have the one pillow, though, because it’s just me in my bed, and it sits in the center at the head of the bed on top of the comforter. The open closet door reveals my shirts hanging in a row, organized by use and color—T-shirts on the left, moving to button downs on the right, with my game day suits nearly hiding behind the edge of the wall. The dresser sits against the adjacent wall, with a tray on top where I dump my keys, wallet, and phone when I’m home, though my phone usually makes its way to my bedside table to charge overnight. Only when we have a really early wake up time do I leave it on the dresser, because then I have to get out of bed to turn off the alarm.

Autumn strolls around the room, pausing in front of the closet and looking down to take in the neat row of shoes. Casting a glance at me, she moves to my dresser and slides the top drawer open a couple of inches. Her nose wrinkles and a smile hitches up one side of her mouth. “You have a sock drawer organizer,” she murmurs. “Because of course you do.”

Sliding the drawer closed again, she meets my eyes. “No wonder you were having a conniption in my bedroom.”

“I did not have a conniption,” I protest immediately, heat rising up my cheeks as I stuff my hands in my pockets. Though that was really only because I kept a tight rein on my feelings. There was just so much … stuff. Everywhere. Her room is overflowing with things, jammed in cheek by jowl, no rhyme or reason to any of it. How does she find anything? How does she know where to put her things when she’s finished using them?

Of course the answer is that she just puts them wherever. Obviously. How else does it get to that level of chaos?

I don’t think I could live that way, though. Not for any length of time. Eli isn’t as precise about his stuff as I am, but he’s gotten into the habit of putting away the consoles and controllers in their appropriate spots, and the only other items we really share are the dishes, which has never been an issue. We created a chore schedule when we first moved in together a couple years ago, and it’s served us well the whole time.

Autumn steps closer to me, her hand going to my chest again, and she presses up on her toes to brush a kiss on my lips. “Maybe conniption is the wrong word. But you were clearly dismayed by the lack of organization in my room. Otherwise why would you offer to help?”

“As you can see, organization is one of my strong suits.”

She hums her agreement, her hand still on my chest. “Is that why you invited me into your room? To show off your organizational abilities?”

I finally remove my hands from my pockets and bracket her hips with them again, taking note of the smile that comes to her face. When I give a squeeze, she lets out a contented hum and leans into me, her arms coming up and looping around my neck.

“There we go,” she murmurs. “This is more like it.”

“Oh yeah? What do you want to do?”

She arches an eyebrow. “You’re the one in the driver’s seat here. You tell me. I’m up for pretty much anything. Your limits are the ones we need to navigate.”

My blood rushes south so fast I get a little lightheaded. The promise of sex, any way you define it, has me hard and ready in seconds. I suck in a breath, trying to find my bearings. How far do I want to go? Especially here, now, with a crowd in my living room and probably someone wondering where one or both of us is by now.

I don’t usually dip out on my host duties on game nights. And maybe her friends aren’t too worried about where Autumn might be given her reputation, but … someone’s surely noticed.

Autumn lets out a low chuckle, then pulls my mouth to hers.

Apparently this is what it takes to get my brain to stop churning constantly, calculating and wondering and worrying about all the possibilities and probabilities and who might figure out that Autumn and I must be together.

So what if they do?

The spicy floral scent of Autumn fills my head, her tongue filling my mouth, coaxing mine into hers. She lets out a soft sigh of satisfaction when I follow her lead, and she sucks on my tongue in a way that makes me groan in response.

My hand slides up her back, finding its way under her hair to cup the back of her head. She seems to melt against me, pressing closer, her hands roaming my shoulders, my back, my sides, then sliding under my shirt to press against my skin.

I break away from her with a gasp, reach behind my neck and pull the shirt over my head, dropping it on the floor next to me.

With her lower lip caught between her teeth, she looks me up and down before reaching for me again, her gaze still on my torso.

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