Page 63 of Falling Offsides

A slow ache builds in my chest. Something warm and dangerous.

Gently, I tilt my head and press a kiss to her forehead. Then higher, brushing my lips to the healing scab where I nailed her with a puck on her first day.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper, so quiet I’m not even sure I meant to say it out loud.

Courtney doesn’t stir until I shift, easing her head off my shoulder and onto my lap, brushing her curls out of the way so they don’t catch.

Sammy crawls right on top of her, nuzzling into her chest.

Lucky bastard.I ruffle his ears at the same time as Court mumbles something, half-asleep, and I stroke the back of my fingers across her cheek.

“Go back to sleep, Snow,” I murmur, voice below a whisper. “I’ve got you.”

Courtney sighs. Settling deeper into me.

I don’t move.

Not for hours.

Just sit here, fingers tangled in her hair, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest. The way her lips part in sleep. The way her arm drapes protectively over the puppy now curled into her side.

She’s soft in sleep. So different from the fire she throws at me when she’s awake. Still the same girl. Still the same energy.

Just quiet.

Open.

Unguarded.

And I get to be the one who sees her like this.

When her breathing deepens again and her body goes completely slack, I move.

Carefully.

Gently.

I lift her into my arms, whispering a half-hearted curse at how goddamn perfect she fits into my chest and feels against me.

Courtney murmurs something into my shoulder as I carry her to the bedroom and then lay her down. Slowly, I pull the blanket up over her, so not to disturb the way Samson curls up beside her again like a little sentinel.

And then I just stand there for a second.

Watching. Like an idiot. Like a guy who doesn’t know how the fuck we’re meant to just stay friends.

Finally, I lean down. Pressing my mouth to her temple one last time.

“Good night, Snow White,” I whisper.

And then I walk out before I do something stupid.

Like stay.

THIRTEEN

COURTNEY

The morning startsthe same way it always does now—Auguste waiting outside my apartment like it’s the most casual thing in the world.

---