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Bash smacks the back of Murphy’s head. “Identical twins look the same. Same-sex. Two girls. Two guys. Fraternal twins don’t. Try paying attention in biology this year.” “Yeah well, we can’t all have photographic memories, asshat,” Murphy answers, glaring.
She leans against the counter and glances at me again. “Cooper and Declan both bow down to the altar of the football gods. I don’t get on my knees for anyone.”
This time when Brady smiles, it’s crooked and sexy. This is his real smile, not the practiced one for everyone else. This smile is a danger to my heart.
“I’ll lift you if you need somebody to help you out there, Little Sinclair.” No sooner does Murphy utter those words and wink before he gets two pillows to the face, and I think Brady might have actually growled. Yeah, that was hot.
As the two of us start to walk away, Chloe turns around and locks eyes with Cooper. “Have fun, Cooper. Don’t forget, babies grow up in eighteen years, but herpes lasts forever!” Yup. I found my first friend in this town.
“Ice cream,” Brady speaks slowly like I didn’t understand him. “Mine’s vanilla with rainbow jimmies.”
Cooper would fucking kill me if he knew how much time I spent tonight thinking about how easy it would be to untie that knot, to untie her like she was my favorite birthday present. She may have been showing less skin than most of the girls at the party, but she was sexier than all of them.
If Darby hooked up with someone else this weekend, would I be upset? I don’t know that I would be. But if Brady hooked up with another girl . . . I get irrationally annoyed just thinking about that. “Shit.” Chloe turns her head to face me. “Didn’t like the thought of that, now, did ya?” Nope. Not at all.
The football field might be the alter I worship on, but the beach is my happy place.
When the song ends, Bash kisses us both on the tops of our heads and then whispers in my ear, “Point one to you, Little Sinclair. You’ve got his attention.” Huh. Guess Bash is on my side too. Am I that obvious? Wait . . . do I have a side?
There is no mistaking the strained look on Brady’s face. “Oh, Nat. There are so many things I want to show you.”
Tiffany jumps all over that statement. “You should be able to walk on a beach with a guy without having to worry about whether he’s going to hurt you. You didn’t do anything wrong, and screw anybody that tells you differently.”
Tiffany raises her voice, sounding annoyed. “Chloe Ryan, do not take any of the blame here. This is not your fault, and it’s not Natalie’s fault. This happened because Darby Stafford is an overgrown toddler in a man’s body who doesn’t know what the word ‘no’ means. No one should be taking any ownership of what happened tonight besides him.” She sounds like a pissed-off schoolteacher, and I feel bad for judging her when we first met. I hold my arm out for Tiffany to join our girl hug, and the three of us huddle there for a few minutes.
I do that a few more times before making eye contact with Brady. He gives me a small, sad smile, and for reasons I’m not ready to unpack right now, that smile gives me the extra strength I need. Okay. I can do this.
“Cooper . . .” Pleadingly, I place my hands on his shoulders. “Coop, look at me. I remembered everything you guys taught me. I kept my thumb on the outside. I pulled back and aimed for his nose. I hit him as hard as I could. Then I ran away. I need you to see that you and Declan saved me. “Even if you weren’t standing right next to me, you were with me, and you saved me.” I feel tears welling up in my eyes but refuse to let them fall. I will not give that asshole another tear.
She pushes the door completely open, and I swear to God, my crazy-ass friend is wearing one-piece, footie, unicorn pajamas.
“Nattie, your brother is my teammate and has become one of my best friends. I’m not asking for permission, but I don’t want to feel like I’m doing anything behind his back either.” He stands up next to me, forcing me to look up at him. “Because I don’t plan on hiding how I feel about you for anyone’s sake. Not once you realize you’re already mine. And make no mistake, sweetheart. You’re mine.”
“Seriously? That’s it? I thought you were going to rip that lifeguard’s arm off and beat him to death with it when he tried to touch her ass yesterday.” “What you didn’t see when that happened was the look on your face. You also didn’t see it last night when you took care of her before you even considered yourself. You could have ended your season with that hit last night, QB. You know that, right? Of course, you fucking know that. The consequences could have been fucking catastrophic if you broke your hand while breaking his face, but you didn’t hesitate to protect my sister. There aren’t a
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QB Hilarious, smart ass. You need a ride to school tomorrow? Nattie Nope. I’m catching a ride with Coop. QB You’re breaking my heart. Nattie I doubt that. See you tomorrow, QB. I’ll be the new girl.
“Have fun at dance. See you later.” The look Brady gives me makes me wonder if he’ll be seeing me in person or in his fantasy, and damn, I like the idea of him getting off thinking about me.
Natalie Sinclair is standing on the sidelines, about twenty-five yards in front of the flag, next to her father. Her back is turned toward me. RYAN is printed across her small back in block letters. Where it stretched shoulder-to-shoulder on me, it practically hangs off her body. But it’s my jersey. That’s when it clicks. At that moment, with my name on her back, I decide she’s going to be the girl who wears my jersey for the rest of her life.
“You told me I had to let you know when I was ready for more, Brady. This is me telling you I’m ready for everything.” He’s on me instantly. This isn’t a sweet kiss. This is a claiming.
“I love you, Brady. When you were hurt yesterday, I lost my mind. I only just found you. You aren’t allowed to go anywhere. Not without me. Got it, QB?” “I’ve got you, sweetheart. I wish you didn’t have to go through all the craziness yesterday, but if you did, I wish I could’ve been there to help shoulder some of it. I’m glad Cooper was able to help, but it should have been me. I love you, Natalie Sinclair.”
