The Hook Up (Game On, #1)

by Kristen Callihan

“Never force something, Drew. A bolt, a pass, a game, whatever.” His dark brown eyes hold mine. “Force it and you’ll lose. Patience and persistence is how you win in life. Take your time, look for the solution, and if it doesn’t come to you, fall back, reassess, and try again.”

And I’ll miss mine so fucking badly that I can’t breathe.” “I wish you could go home again,” I say, wanting to cry. Drew’s eyes lock onto me. “I do too. But I think we have to make our own homes.” Looking at him, gilded by sunlight, his expression tight with weariness but earnest as he watches me, I think that I could love this man. I could love him forever. My breath grows short. “When I do find my own home,” I say, “I’m never letting it go.”

“Not when I want everything.” He says it so deep and strong, a staking of a claim. “And I want everything with you, Anna.”

Her expression eases into something soft. “I like you just the way you are, Drew Baylor.” Poleaxed. Again. My throat closes too tight to find my voice. I swallow convulsively. “I like you just the way you are too, Anna Jones.” I’m crazy for you. I fucking adore you. “Go put your damn hair up,” I tell her instead. “And we’ll get you some coffee.”

I finger a price tag. $1,500 dollars. As a rule, I don’t spend much on myself. On Anna? I wouldn’t balk at $15,000. Does that make me insane? I don’t care. Making Anna happy makes me happy.

But my home isn’t a place anymore. I’ve realized too late that it’s a person. And I’ve torn him from my life.

What do you get the guy who doesn’t seem to want anything? I figured a bit of the past might be good. Happy Birthday, Drew. — Anna My fingers clench the book so hard I hear the spine creak. Pressing my forehead into my raised knees, I take deep breaths to keep it together. Doesn’t want anything? Is she blind? I want to tear out of the house and hunt her down. Just so I can take her by the shoulders and shout, “You! I want you, you stubborn, deluded pain in my ass!”

“You think love doesn’t take work? That it doesn’t need to grow?” Her hair swings as she shakes her head. “Of course it does.”

“Maybe so. But you’re still safer in your misery than going out onto that unknown limb.”

It feels right having her here, like the house is suddenly a complete home. A stupid thought to fixate on, because she’s only here for a while. But I know in my bones that I want her here forever. I’m twenty-three years old, my carefully built life has just been smashed to pieces, yet I know with complete clarity that I never want to be parted from Anna Jones.

“Anna, baby, you would never be the girl I didn’t see, whether we had met now or in high school.” He pulls me in close, rubbing his nose along the tip of mine. “Don’t you understand? I know you wouldn’t be because, since the moment I laid eyes on you, you’re all I can see.” Drew kisses me, lingering before he pulls back to study me. His eyes are clear and filled with so much emotion that my throat closes up. As if he too is overcome, he swallows hard, and his voice is but a breath. “I love you, Anna Jones. That’s not going to change. I loved you when I thought we’d never be together, and I love you still.”

“My world lives in your palm, Anna.” And I’ll fill it with all the love I have.

“One day,” I tell her, “I want to marry you.” Her whole body gives a reflexive jerk, her mouth dropping open. “Marry me?” I can’t help but smile at her shock. “Not now. We’re not ready for that yet.” I trace her bottom lip with the tip of my thumb. “But one day. One day, I will ask you and hope that you say yes.” I palm her cheek. “You’re it for me, Anna Marie.” She steps into my space, her hand landing on my waist while her other hand smoothes over my forearm to clasp tight. My heart squeezes before something deep within eases. She’s searching my face, a small smile breaking over her. “Because sometimes you just know?”

Anna who, with her wild curls and generous curves, is more beautiful to me than Jenny ever will be. Anna who smells of exotic spices, warm skin, and home. Anna who brings me peace yet can wind me up hotter and tighter than a suspension coil.

Because I had realized that you were the best thing that had ever happened to me or ever would. Because what I felt for you was stronger than my fear. You won, Drew. You’ll always win with me.” He swallows hard, and then pulls back. His smile is golden. It’s a true Drew smile. And I’m so glad to see it return that I almost miss his next words. “Good. Because I’m keeping you, Anna Jones.”

“Anyone can pick up a ball and throw it. But you? You turn the act into something magical. Something wonderful.” He shudders, a sigh escaping him. The sound is equal parts sadness and relief. I hold him tighter, kiss his jaw. “It’s you, baby. Your light. Your joy. Your soul. You bring that to everything you touch. To the game, your friends, me. It won’t end with football, I promise.”

Yeah, I know. And yet I will never treat Drew as a stereotype again. Taking Drew means taking the good, the bad, and the in-between. Just as he takes me.