Page 108 of The Late Hit
“Look at me,” he demands, but I don’t move. “Dammit, Brynn, look at me,” he demands again, only this time he brings his hand under my chin and tips it up. Umber eyes bore into me, and I swear he is imprinting himself into my soul. “Your love is not toxic. Your love will never kill me. And I’m tired of you feeling that way.”
“How can I not feel that way when your own mother thinks so,” I scoff. “And then we finally say ‘I love you,’ and thenbam, down you go. How am I not supposed to feel like my love is cursed?”
“Your love is a goddamn gift, and anyone who is blessed to feel your love is the luckiest son-of-a-bitch in the world. And as for my mother, it’s not a ‘you’ thing, it’s a ‘her’ thing.”
“Oh yeah, I’m so sure about that.”
“Would you stop being so fucking stubborn? Christ, woman.” I can’t help the chuckle that escapes. I missed this. I missed the combative conversations that get both of us fired up. And then the next thing I know, we’re both fighting with our bodies and not our words. “Are you thinking about me ravishing you right now? Is that why that beautiful golden skin I love so much is tinged pink?”
I just nod. He groans, reaching down to bring my face to meet his lips. But we don’t get too far before a knock interrupts us as someone is opening the door.
“Ah, I’m interrupting,” an older Indian man says. “I’m Dr. Patel. You must be the girlfriend?”
“Yes, I’m the girlfriend,” I answer the doctor before sliding off the bed and adjusting my overalls.
“Good news, Mr. Boyd. You can go home today,” Dr. Patel announced.
Quinton finds my hand and gives it a squeeze. “It’s about damn time, Doc. I’ve got a lot of time to make up with my girl,” Quinton replies as a blush coats my skin.
A chill spreads down my entire body before landing at my core. And I swear my pussy lights up like fireworks on the Fourth of July.
Fourweekshavegoneby. Our semester ended, we won the conference championship game easily, and Brynn and I have been inseparable.
It took a little while to get back to normal after I was released from the hospital. She was in a vulnerable state, and I was focusing on my recovery. Her ghosting everyone, especially me, really hit me.
I love her. There’s never been any denying that, but there’s always that worry in the back of my mind that she’s just going to up and leave because she’s scared something is going to happen. But we’re working on ourselves in the midst of everything else we have going on.
We’re on Christmas break, and I’m still insanely busy with football, especially since we’ve got playoffs approaching. Brynn is doing an apprenticeship at a local youth counseling program. It’s been exciting to come home after our long days and watch her body light up when she tells me about her day. She hears a lot of bad things that happen to kids, but seeing her get excited to help kids who are struggling is pretty remarkable. There are days, though, when she’ll come home and crash into my arms, letting tears fall from some of the stories she hears.
I wish there would’ve been someone in Brynn’s corner when she lost Bryce and Asher, encouraging her to get help. But I think helping others is helping her heal.
Not only is she doing her apprenticeship, but she’s been hanging out with Kari and Tanner, the mom and son duo from the pep rally. She spends time with them, helping Tanner work through his grief. After Brynn sent Kari that photo, the two of them continued their conversation, hitting it off. It’s been really good for Brynn too. She’s able to work through some more of her shit while helping Tanner.
Christmas is tomorrow, and this year, we decided that we would spend it with just the two of us. Mom was pretty pissed when I told her. It led to an even bigger conversation, one that I wasn’t going to get into with her. But it came down to either she backed off and accepted that Brynn was going to be the girl that I married, or she risked losing me forever.
The ultimatum pissed her off, and we haven’t spoken in almost two weeks. She’ll either come around or she won’t, but it’s time that I start living for me and not being influenced by her, or my dad’s decisions.
“Hey babe,” Brynn says from the doorway of my room.
Turning, I find her a bright, chaotic mess. I could live off her beaming smile, never needing to see the sun again. She’s my sunshine, the light on my darkest days, the little spark that brings me a hit of serotonin. Her arms are full of bags—an overnight bag, shopping bags with wrapped gifts spilling out of them, and grocery bags. Tendrils spill from where her hair is gathered in a large clip. Her face is flushed as her chest heaves. She takes my breath away.
“What’s all this?” I ask, standing and striding toward her, reaching out to take some of the bags from her.
Shrugging, she lets me take her overnight bag. “Just some stuff to get us through the weekend.” She carries the rest of the bags over to my bed, dropping them when she gets close enough. “Holy shit, that was heavy.”
“You could’ve called me,” I suggest. “Or you could’ve taken two trips?”
“Two trips are for pussies,” she states, turning her back to the bed before collapsing onto my mattress.
Chuckling, I come up to lean over her. And then collapse on top of her, arms catching my weight before crushing her. Finding her mouth, I give her a searing kiss. “Missed you,” I say, pulling back. “Merry Christmas Eve.” Planting one more quick kiss on her lips, I pop up.
“Merry Christmas Eve,” she replies, sitting up on her elbows, watching me riffle through my drawers.
I need to change out of my sweats and into something a little nicer. Tonight, we are celebrating with some of our friends.
Coach gave us Thursday through Sunday off for Christmas. Since our season is extending—thank God—he wanted to make sure everyone had plenty of time to celebrate Christmas with their families. But come Monday, all of our asses better be at the training facility by five a.m. ready to get focused. Our first playoff game is on New Year’s Eve in Atlanta, with the National Championship game being in Arizona nine days later.
Grabbing a pair of underwear, I head into the bathroom for a quick shower. Pausing at the doorway, I glance back to a sprawled-out Brynn, eyes closed. She looks sexy as fuck all laid out for my eyes to wander. Dressed in tight brown plaid trousers and a cropped sweater, I can’t help but stare at the skin that’s exposed at her waist from her arms stretched over her head.
