Page 38 of The Only Shot that Mattered

He pulled her into him by her waist, allowing the box to stand on its own while he tended to his new obsession. “Fuck a distraction. I need you up under me tonight.”

Kenna chewed on her bottom lip before exhaling. “Okay, but let me go home and pack a bag first.”

“Bet. I’ll call you when I’m on my way home.” Damien leaned down and stole a kiss from her. “Now let me go set this up and play a game with lil man real quick so I can get home to you.”

Kenna giggled before stepping aside to let Damien in. “Tell Cam to bring his ass.”

Damien poked his head into the house and chuckled. It seemed Cam and Skylar got comfortable with each other fast because they each had one end of a plate holding a mound of cookies, fighting over them. He glanced at Kenna’s retreating back before heading further into the house to play referee.

In the back of his mind, he knew before he left that he also needed to convince Annalise to take the check in his pocket to cover Alanzo’s basketball expenses and anything else they may need. That was the true mission of the day, and he hoped she didn’t give him a hard time about it.

Coming backto Damien’s house was not on Kenna’s bingo card for the day, but she couldn’t say she was upset by it. Butterflies danced in her belly as she parked her car and grabbed her overnight bag before getting out.

The door to the massive house opened before she could even make it to the doorstep. Damien stepped out in nothing but some black basketball shorts with The Infernos logo. His torso was completely bare, and it caused her steps to falter slightly. That man was so damn fine.

Kenna felt shy as she approached him, heat rising to her cheeks. The last time she had been there, she left in a flurry of pure embarrassment. She knew that night they would have to talk about that incident.

“Hey, beautiful,” Damien said, pulling her into his arms as soon as she was within reach.

“Hey.” Kenna buried her face in his chest and breathed him in. He smelled like home, and she couldn’t believe she caughtfeelings for this man so fast. She also couldn’t believe that she had been so nervous to see him earlier when Annalise told her he would be stopping by. Her insecurities suddenly seemed stupid because the reality of the situation was that she wanted to be around him as much as possible.

“Let me get you inside.” He grabbed her bag and led her into his house. “You hungry?”

“I ate already,” she responded as they walked. Food was honestly the last thing on her mind. She wanted to be up under Damien, and that was really it.

Damien placed her bag by the stairs before they walked into the living room. When they sat on the couch, Kenna wasn’t shy about sitting as close to him as possible.

“You missed me or something?” He grinned down at her as he put his long arms around her, allowing her to cuddle into him.

“I guess I did.” She pulled away so she could look into his eyes. “I think we should talk about yesterday morning.”

“We should. I wanted to apologize to you again on behalf of Skylar. I talked to her, and we came to an understanding… I think.”

“You think?” Kenna cocked her head, worry filling her. The last thing she wanted to do was get close to Damien and then lose him because they couldn’t get Skylar on board.

He nodded. “Teenaged girls are unpredictable, baby. She knows you mean a lot to me. I think that should be enough for her to at least try to get to know you.”

Kenna chewed on her bottom lip as she looked into his eyes. “What are we doing exactly? I… I don’t really do things like this, so I want to make sure we’re on the same page.”

He chuckled and rubbed her waist soothingly. “I like you. A lot.”

His admission made her heart flutter. “I like you too.”

“You tryna be my girl then or what?” he asked.

Kenna pulled away from him and looked at him wide eyed. “You don’t think it’s too soon? We’ve only known each other…” She paused to think. “Not even a week.”

It felt like a lifetime though.

“It’s happening quickly, yes, but tell me it doesn’t feel right.” He pressed his forehead to hers.

“It does, but I don’t know. If I’m being honest, I’m scared.”

“Of what?” He pulled away from her and looked at her with concern. “The last thing I want is you to be afraid when you’re with me.”

She diverted her eyes. “I’m afraid of falling for you and losing you. I haven’t let anyone in since my brother died. It’s already bad enough that I have to worry about losing Cam or my parents. I never wanted to add another person to that equation, but then I met you. You feel dangerous to me because I know what it’s like to love someone and lose them. I can’t live through something like that again.”

In response, Damien cupped her cheeks and kissed her tenderly. When they pulled apart, he pressed his forehead against hers once again. “Thank you for your honesty.” They stared into one another’s eyes for a moment before he continued. “How about this? How about we agree to date exclusively. No titles or none of that. Let’s just get to know each other, let me finish out the season, and then we can go from there.”

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