SCARLETT
“Why is everyone staring at us?” I whisper as Leo tightens his grip on my hand to keep me next to him.
“Probably because I just told them all I was in love with you and going to win you back.”
“What?” My voice is shaky as I look up at him. He grins, waves at the reporters, and pulls me farther down the hallway to a quiet area that’s off-limits to the media.
The smell of his soap is like a hit to the memory bank, unlocking all the feelings I’ve tried to repress since I last saw him.
“You came,” he says, and his gaze drops to take in my jersey.
“Of course I did.”
“None of this matters without you.” He fists the material at my hip. “I’m sorry that I didn’t do a better job of protecting you. And I’m sorry if I scared you or embarrassed you by hitting that guy. I’ve spent the last few days going over it and over it.”
“And?”
“I still want to hit him.” One side of his mouth lifts in a rueful smile.
“I love that you stood up for me, but I hate that you needed to. I don’t want to be the person that causes the drama and distractions in your life.”
“Too late,” he says and leans in close. “I’m officially distracted. Besides, everyone deserves to have someone risk going to jail for them. I love you, dream girl. I have a lot of bail money.”
“I love you too.” So much. “I want to be good for you.”
“You are.”
We have things to figure out, but I know I want to find a way to do this.
“Say it again.”
“I love you, Leo Lohan.”
His grin is slow, and he’s quiet for several seconds like he’s soaking in my words.
Blythe steps up to us out of breath. “You two might want to take security when you leave. They’re camped out waiting for another glimpse of you.”
“I’m sorry,” Leo says to her. “No comment would have made things easier, huh?”
She laughs. “What fun would my job be if you always did what I said?”
I’d been standing with Dakota and Jade when I was waiting for Leo, and they find us, bringing along Maverick, Ash, and a few other guys from the team.
“Dude. That was amazing.” Maverick slings an arm around Leo’s shoulders. “We have to celebrate.”
“Wild’s?” Ash asks.
“Nah.” Leo looks at me. “Party at my place.”
Ash chuckles. “For real? Hot tub?”
“Yep.” He pops the p. “You’ll let the boys know? I need an hour’s head start.”
Jade hugs me and makes her excuses to find Sam, so they can talk about her, or I guess, their engagement.
I ride with Leo to his place. The team won’t be far behind, even with the hour warning, but neither of us cares. He drags me upstairs to his room, and his mouth slants over mine. Oh, how I missed this.
“I’d go to jail for you too,” I say, and we both burst into laughter. “I meant it to sound sweet.”
We start laughing again so hard that tears form in my eyes.
“Let’s try to stay out of the clink.” His hands cup my ass through my jeans. “I like sharing the same air as you.”
“And the same bed.” We both eye the king-size mattress. There are things to discuss, but I’ve missed him so much.
I thread my fingers into his thick hair at the nape of his neck and lift onto my toes to kiss him. Our mouths linger there, the smallest contact, reveling in the feeling. We’re so good like this. We’re good, period.
“I want this to work,” I breathe him in.
“It will.” He lifts me into his arms and places me on the bed.
Slow isn’t working for either of us anymore, and I scramble to undo his pants as he kicks off his shoes and basically rips off my shirt.
His big hands go straight for my boobs, and he squeezes them together like he’s refamiliarizing himself with my chest. His trance continues until I wrap my fingers around his shaft. His lids close, and he lets out a low groan.
“Need you,” he mutters.
We hurry out of the rest of our clothes, and he quickly pushes inside, like waiting another second might physically harm him.
“Oh goddamn.” Leo rests his forehead against mine.
There is no other feeling like this with him. We fit together so perfectly.
I’m certain if I could bottle up this feeling, this connection with another soul, I could solve all of the world’s problems.
“Love you, dream girl,” he whispers.
The next morning, we’re downstairs, and I’m in my favorite spot on the couch next to Leo.
Dakota and Maverick ended up crashing here, so did Tyler.
Ash comes through the front door in sweats and a t-shirt, bags looped over each arm and a tray of coffees in one hand.
“Wow,” I say. “Where was this service all the other times I stayed over?”
He hands me a coffee first. “Dick over donuts.”
“Oh my god,” Dakota mutters. “What does that even mean?”
“Since it seems you’re sticking around, I thought I’d get on your good side,” Ash says. “We need to talk about scheduling, Miller.”
“Scheduling?” I quirk one brow as I take a sip of the coffee. It’s too early for Ash.
Leo’s chest rises and falls with silent laughter.
“Yeah. My boy disappeared for the past month. It got lonely over there.”
“I see.” I really try to keep a straight face, but damn, is it hard. “You can have Tuesdays and Thursdays.”
“And Sundays during football season,” Ash counters.
I bite my lip. “Sure.”
Ash nods, obviously pleased with our arrangement.
“You gave up half the week just like that?” Leo asks. “Man, I see how it is.”
I lean forward and place my lips over his. “I’ll sneak back over when you’re done having bro time.”
We enjoy a lazy morning. Eventually, everyone leaves, and it’s just the two of us. Neither of us got a lot of sleep last night, so we nap, and I wake up to Leo hovering over me with a camera.
“What are you doing?” I ask, hiding my face.
“You’re ruining my shot,” he whines.
I peek out between my fingers, and he takes another.
“I didn’t know you had a camera.”
“I don’t.” He places it on the bed beside me. “It’s for you.”
I sit up and take it in my hands. It’s a small, simple black Canon with only a few buttons and settings. “It looks like my very first camera. I loved that thing.”
He smirks, and it hits me.
“You already knew that. How did you already know that?”
“Your dad told me the story once, and I had a little help finding one that was similar.” He shrugs. “I know it isn’t as fancy as your other one, but I thought you could leave this one here. We can start our own photo book of memories.”
“I love that.” I hold the camera out in front of us and then kiss him as I take the picture.
“And, uh, maybe you want to leave a few more things here too?”
“I will bring my toothbrush back, so I don’t have to use yours again,” I say. The man is super protective over his toothbrush. “Are my drawers still available?”
He nods slowly. “And half the closet, or an entire closet in one of the spare rooms if you want.”
“I don’t think I’m going to need that much—” I stop.
He grins. “Move in with me?”
My heart races. “Really?”
“Yeah, I mean, it’ll make it easier for you to sneak into my room on Tuesday, Thursdays, and Sundays.”
