Page 266 of One More Kiss

Chapter3

I glancearound while I’m securing my flag belt around my waist. Most of my former teammates are standing on the field. They really did drop whatever they were doing to come here and play a reunion game with Colton. How we managed to pull this off in a few days amazes me. But it’s Colton and these are his brothers. They would do anything for each other.

The sun is shining and there is a light breeze brushing against my skin. Perfect weather for a game of flag football. I can’t help but watch Colton reminisce with our friends. He was the only one to go on to the NFL from our high school team and yet the guys still treat him the same.

Colton’s wearing a pair of shorts that hit just above the knee and he’s discarded his sweatshirt. I had hoped he would keep it on, because seeing the muscles bulge underneath his fitted t-shirt is making it hard for me to focus.

Allie saunters over at just that moment, catching me staring. “So, what have you two been up to these past few days? You’ve been pretty quiet.”

While I would have loved to give a play-by-play to Allie of everything we’ve done, there wasn’t anything exciting to talk about. We did what we always do together. Cooked dinner and caught up on everything happening in our lives. Made popcorn and watched movies. He even helped me fold laundry, which horrified me when he tackled my pile of underwear.

We talked about next season and if he thought he would still be with the Rams. He said there were some things in the works, but he wouldn’t elaborate any more than that. It was strange. He never kept things about his career from me. Until now.

“There’s not much to tell, Allie. We are like a boring old couple. No clubs for us. Just a night in, watching a movie.”

“Eww. You two are old. Did you at least fall asleep in his lap? Nuzzle the giant dick that I know he’s hiding behind those baggy shorts?”

Heat floods my cheeks. It wasn’t his lap but was just as intimate. At some point in the movie I must have fallen asleep. When I woke up, Colton had shifted us on the couch so that we were lying down, and I was sprawled out on top of him. I’d even left a drool spot on his shirt.

Allie gasps and points a finger at me. “You did! You naughty girl!”

“Shh.” I glance around to see if anyone overheard our conversation. “I didn’t nuzzle anything. But I did fall asleep on him.”

“Girl, you’re crazy. You fell asleep on him and didn’t use that opportunity to pretend to feel him up in your sleep?” She flings her arm toward Colton. “I mean, look at him? He’s tall, sexy, and has a smile that makes women drop their panties. He’s also compassionate and funny . . . hey!”

I grab Allie by the shoulders, cutting off the rest of what she was going to say, and steer her away from the group. She seriously needs to work on how to be discreet. I already know all of these things about Colton, which is why I’m in love with him. “I told you nothing is going to happen between us, so fixate on someone else’s love life.”

Allie huffs out a breath and crosses her arms. “I still say you two are perfect for each other. But I will stop butting in if that’s what you really want.”

My posture relaxes and I smile at her. “Thank you. You have no idea how stressful these past few days have been. I just need to move on and forget this childhood fantasy of us ever being together. I think maybe I should sign up for one of those dating apps.”

“No!” Allie gasps, her eyes round in horror. “Those things are creep central. If you’re really serious about dating again, there’s this guy in my office who’s single. He’s good-looking, has his shit together, and doesn’t annoy me like most of the people I work with.”

“Sounds great,” I reply with zero enthusiasm. Maybe this guy can make my pulse race and my body flush anytime he’s near. And make my shitty day better just by hearing his voice. And my skin tingle from just a single touch.

My attention shifts back to Colton and I catch him watching me. He’s all of those things I’m looking for in a life partner and more. He smiles and waves me over. Allie was right, he does have a smile that can make a girl’s panties drop. Or, in my case, combust.

Allie slaps me on the ass. “Show ‘em how it’s done, girl.”

I glare at her, rubbing the cheek where she smacked me a little harder than necessary. As I walk toward the guys, I flip her off over my shoulder.

“While you ladies were gossiping,” Troy says, “we chose teams. You’re on Colton’s, though that shouldn’t come as a surprise.”

Colton hands me the ball, and I’m sucked ten years into the past when he first placed the ball in my hands.

I yell for the guys to huddle, and Colton calls the play. When we break and are back on the line, I bend over with one arm braced on my knee and one hand on the ball. Colton steps up behind me, and as he leans in, his hands skim my ass before settling right below it. I jerk at the contact and heat zings straight to my core. In the two years that Colton and I had played football together, he had never touched me like that. I mean, he’s touched me. It can’t be avoided when his hand is right below my ass waiting for me to release the ball. But never in a way that made me want to clench my thighs together, trapping his hand so he can finish what he started.

“You okay?” Colton asks. The guys on the line are all studying me with various looks of confusion on their faces.

Hell no, I’m not okay, but I can’t tell him that. “Uh. Your hands are cold. You could have at least warmed them up first.”

He’s got me so flustered, when I snap the ball I miss his hand and fumble it. I close my eyes and shake my head.

“A little rusty, Ashford,” Mark calls to me from down the line. “You’ve never missed an under-center snap before.”

“Not as rusty as the dick in your pants,” I reply, and all of the guys laugh and cheer while Troy fist bumps my hand. Mark’s teasing is mild compared to the trash talk I dealt with for the two years I played football. Opposing teams loved to try and get a rise out of me and I managed to put them in their place every time. I’m not one to back down at a challenge, but I definitely had to grow thicker skin every time I took the field.

Colton hands the ball back to me, and when I turn around, I swear I hear him say, ‘that’s my girl’.

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