Page 124 of The Secret We Keep
He pulls the back of his neck. “Sorry, Mrs O, I think I baggedmyself a date.”
Mum beams at Danny. “Bring her along. The more the merrier.”
Morgan chuckles and it makes me relax.
“Morgan?” Danny queries, as she swings her head to look at him, her plush lips rolling together. “Do you think she’ll come?” he asks hopefully.
Pulling out her phone, Morgan starts tapping the screen. “I’ll ask her.”
“Excellent,” my mother chimes, turning her back to the three of us, ushering my old man and Evie to leave.
“I’ll grab a shower back at mine then head over,” Danny tells me, giving me another pat on the shoulder.
“Right,” is all I reply, watching Morgan with a little more composure than I had a few minutes ago.
Once Danny’s gone, and it’s just me and her left standing by the edge of the pitch, the way she’s looking at me makes my heart ache. It’s longing and deep.
Knowing that I simply care too goddamn much for this girl, I ask, “Will you be okay getting home?” hoping and praying that she doesn’t think I’m a knob for trying to protect her. I can’t let her get too close, even though being close to her is the only way I know I can help her.
Her lips part, but she doesn’t say a word.
I force myself to keep going, “Because I can give you a lift if you need one?”
Morgan’s wounded look is enough to let me know I’ve said the wrong thing. “You don’t want me to come for dinner?”
Of course I do.“Do youwantto come for dinner? When I didn’t hear back from you this afternoon, I figured it’s probably best I stay away for a while.”
Her rippling ocean eyes bounce between mine. “Only if you want me to. Otherwise, I can go home with Holly. She won’t have got far.”
I inhale deeply. “Of course I want you to come for dinner, curly fries. I just don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.” Looking down her body, I feel my dick harden in my shorts.
She smiles, throwing me off balance when she tilts her head in a bold move unlike anything I’ve seen on her recently. “You’re the only one who looks uncomfortable right now, Paddy.”
Give me strength.Willing my dick to stand the fuck down, I blurt out, “You’ve got legs, Morgan.” My eyes flit down to her ankles, and the sweet laugh, followed by her snort has my cheeks pulling high on my face. “You know what I mean.”
Her eyes eat me the same way, dropping down my thighs. “You certainly pull off those shorts better than number seven did, Paddy O’Keefe.” She giggles again, tucking both hands into the pockets of her jacket.
“Well it’s not hard when your teammates are twice your age and size.”
“That’s mean.”
“It’s facts,” I tell her grinning. After a beat, we both stare at each other, both noticeably feeling the heat between us. “So, you’ll come to dinner?”
There’s a moment of silence, but when Morgan replies, it’s with confidence and affection. “I’d love to.”
“Staring at her like that won’t make her like you,” I affirm, shooting Danny a look from my seat beside him.
He continues staring at Sarah. “Seems to work for you.” He nods to Morgan, who’s eyeing me from her place in the kitchen.
Those who were invited back for dinner have eaten. Now we’re sitting in my parents’ living room watching a game on TV. I run a hand down my face before taking a sip of my beer.
During dinner, I felt desperate. Sitting next to Morgan, all I wanted to do was reach down a hand and touch her. Feel her soft skin. Anything to get a fix. I tried not to overstep any invisible line, but it was so fucking hard to ignore the delicious curves of her body and the swell of her breasts pushed up behind her top.
Tonight was an improvement on earlier, when Morgan looked so lost and confused being dragged away from me. I want to ask her what changed, but I can see it in how she is with Sarah.
Having her friends is what’s helped.
“You not going to talk to her?”
