Page 30 of Sinful as They Come
“But it doesn’t even talk about me, right?”
“Well…” My voice trailed off, my mind racing as I thought of ways to please him, to ease his sadness. “Look, it’s just one article. It doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t make you a bad captain just because another player got all the focus.”
“Don’t you care about how I feel? I’m yourboyfriend, Holly. You tryna upset me?”
“No, of course not. Never.”
“So why aren’t you on my side? Do you wanna be on someone else’s side?”
Those blue eyes seemed to be filled with total pain, and it was all my fault. What was I doing? What was I doing picking someone else over my boyfriend?Sawyer’scousin of all people. I practically rushed over to Carter, straddling him. I needed him close. I needed him to know that I wasn’t going to choose anyone but him.
“I know how much pressure you’re under,” I whispered, pressing my forehead to his. “The guys… Maybe they don’t show it enough, or appreciate you enough. But I don’t want to be like that. I know how hard you work. How much you give to the team, to everything.”
“You do? Sometimes I feel like you don’t show it.”
“I can try harder. I will. I swear I will.”
“Do you want us to break up?” he asked. “Is that it? That’s what this feels like.”
My eyes widened, my heart suddenly in my throat. “No, Carter. I don’t want that at all.”
“Are you sure?”
“I love you. You know I do.”
“Show me, Holly.”
“… I… Okay… I’ll show it. I will. I promise I will. I’ll… I’ll cut the story.” Even my heart ached a little at what I was saying. But Carter needed it. Maybe it would be motivation for him. Something to strive for. Goals were important to him.
“You will?” His blue eyes shined. “Completely?”
I had to think about it for a second. “Yeah. Totally and completely. It’ll be like it never happened.” It was such a bad thing to do. Probably the meanest thing I had ever done. Brodie was so nice… And his writing had been clear and concise. But… Carter came first. He was my boyfriend. Whywouldn’the come first?
“Cool,” mumbled Carter. “And what about next week’s game?”
“What about it?” I frowned.
“If that little prick writes about the next game, he’s just gonna say more stupid shit about me. And I don’t want that. And you don’t want me to kick his ass.”
Instead of telling Carter that Brodie didn’t even say anything stupid about him in the first place, I just ran my hands across his cheeks. If he didn’t want Brodie to write about the next game as well, that would involve either me reassigning Brodie to a totally different section or kicking him off the paper.
And I couldn’t do the second one.
“Don’t worry.” I smiled at Carter. “I’ll handle it. All of it.”
He raised his blond eyebrows up at me. “Promise?”
“Promise.” I nodded.
“Great.” He pecked me on the lips, his hands lowering to squeeze at my ass. “So, my mom’s gonna take off in a minute. It’ll just be you and me…”
Instantly understanding what he was saying, I realized then where I was. Right there on Carter’s lap. With his eager hands on me. I let out a little laugh.
“Well, I actually brought some snacks over. I was hoping that we could spend the rest of the day eating chips and watching TV or something.” I shrugged, hoping he would leave the other idea alone. Because I really, really wasn’t ready for that. Not yet.
I could practically feel the disappointment pouring out of Carter. He grunted, lifting me off his lap and on to his bed.
“Are you mad?” I asked worriedly. Please don’t be angry. Please, please, please. Not after everything else.
