The Fourth Time Charm (Fulton U, #4)

by Maya Hughes

Sliding into the bed, I curled my body around hers, wrapping my arm around her. Just for tonight. Just because of how close I’d come to losing her. Just because I couldn’t help myself.

Tonight, I’d hold her in my arms. Tomorrow, I’d figure out how to deal with being in love with the coach’s daughter.

There were so many things to do, so many real-world necessities I had to deal with, and I didn’t want to do any of them.

LJ shifted his gaze to the ceiling with his arms folded over his chest. The muscles bunched under his t-shirt and the gray sweatpants were unfair. Every other girl on campus got to ogle LJ, but not me. I was the best friend, the partner in crime, but never more than that.

He hated the attention. It made him want to go full turtle and crawl inside his shell. I loved it. I loved watching him get the attention he deserved after the amount of work he put in on the field. I loved how he got so nervous in front of everyone, even though when we walked back with our ice cream, he’d remember every question they’d asked and how great it felt to sign an autograph or two. He felt like he didn’t belong in the limelight, but he did. He was the best person I knew. Too bad he didn’t feel even half of what I felt for him.

Not after I recreated the senior trip for her after she’d saved my dad’s life and she had made it categorically known that she wasn’t into me that way.

“I love her.” He squeezed the back of his neck, shaking his head. “Will you still love her in a year? In two years?” “I’ve loved her since we were fifteen. It’s never going away.”

thinking with your dick?” “I’m not thinking with my dick.” “That’s not what the stain on the front of your sweats says.” He took a sip from his mug. I tugged my t-shirt down lower. Did I have a neon fucking sign pointing to my crotch?

I had less than a year left until he was drafted, and I needed to figure out what to do next. This time I wasn’t going to be left behind. This time I’d do the leaving.

Sometimes it felt like I could disappear and no one would really care. It felt like I was a temporary fixture in someone’s life until they moved on. But with LJ I felt like I mattered—always.

“I can’t believe you did this for me.” He peered over at me and my stomach flipped like there was a wacky-waving-inflatable-arm-flailing tube man going bonkers inside. “When are you going to get it? I’d do anything for you.”

Soon my arms were draped over his shoulders and his hands were locked around me, resting on the small of my back. His lips were inches from mine. The light from his glow stick glasses shone off his tropical ocean blue eyes. “This was the best senior trip ever.” I interlaced my fingers against the back of his neck, letting them rub the short, smooth hairs. “It really was.” His lopsided grin made my heart do cartwheels inside of my chest. Third time was the charm, right? Pushing up on my tiptoes, I pressed my lips against his. He tasted like cinnamon sugar and root beer.

He wanted to be my knight in shining armor, but I wasn’t his princess in the tower. I was his sidekick.

We all clinked glasses and sipped our bubbly. Sometimes I felt like I was waiting for the studio audience applause when I experienced moments like this in their house. Even though I’d been invited and had witnessed them so many times over the years, I felt like an outsider looking in and trying to figure out how exactly this all worked. How could two people still be in love after all those years together?

We’d avoided any serious talks, and I planned on keeping it that way. Then at least I could pretend I wasn’t falling in love with him and didn’t know how I’d make it being apart from him for two years.

Leashing the nagging worries swirling in my head, I went to him, leaning against the doorway. If I had the talent, I’d break out a slab of marble and sculpt him. Instead, I’d resigned myself to appreciating art in all its forms. Even the grumpy football player doing an impersonation of a bear unpacking.

Sometimes she did need help and protection and I wanted to be the one she turned to.

I clung to him like I’d stop breathing if I let go. He buried his face in my hair and ran his fingers along the back of my head until the sobs turned to hiccups of embarrassment. “You know you’re the strongest person I know.” “I’m not. I’m really not. If I were, I wouldn’t have come running to Fulton U to get Ron to pay for college.” I looked up at him. “And because I hated being away from you in New York.” “It only took you three years to finally admit you find me absolutely irresistible.” A gentle smile played on his lips.

Staring into his eyes, the tears returned for a totally different reason. With one look, he made me feel a kind of wanted I’d never felt before and didn’t know if I’d feel it again. It was scary to see the depths of his care and know it might not last forever.

“I love you, Marisa.” This wasn’t the first time he’d said it, but this time it felt different. It felt heart-stoppingly, soul-scorchingly different.

The last time LJ had told me he loved me, it had scared me. Those were the kind of words you couldn’t walk away from. They were the kind that meant promises, and I’d been let down and left behind so many times before it made it hard to believe they could be true.

There was no walking this back, only the long hard road of pushing ahead. She had to figure this out after I’d put all my cards on the table. She’d decide what to do with her dad. There was no room for my interference anymore. I couldn’t make us work if she didn’t believe in us—in me. I couldn’t make her stop running. I couldn’t make her love me like I loved her.

I’ll do what’s right because I don’t want to lose you. I never wanted to lose you, but I think I might have. Forever. I hope that’s not the case. I feel like I use hope so often in these letters to you, but here’s one thing I know. I love you and I’ll always love you. Dad

He’d been the one person I could turn to no matter what. The one person who’d never let me down. The one person who’d lied to protect me when all it did was hurt him. He’d proven himself time and time again, but at even a hint of trouble, I’d run. No, I’d pushed him away. He’d been right about me, but I wasn’t going to be that person anymore.

My mom had been the chaperone on our class trip to the Philly Zoo, and I’d told her to make sure Marisa was in our group. She’d shared one of her chocolate iced TastyKakes with me. That might’ve been when I’d fallen in love with her.

“But most of all, I worry I’ve destroyed the one relationship that means the most to me in the world. More than anything, I want to be with you in whatever form that takes. “I love you, LJ. With everything I have, I love you, and even though I’m scared out of my mind, I want to be with you.”

Inside, we were met with our first full house in a long time. There were old and new roommates, along with the ladies who’d won their hearts. Reece and Seph, Nix and Elle, Berk and Jules, and Keyton with flashlights in hand.

There was a scramble for the best defensive positions. Marisa brushed past me and I couldn’t help it. I snagged her around the waist and kissed her. Quick, playful and full of desire. “I love you, Risa.” Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “I love you too, L. And I wasn’t joking about you going down tonight. One way or another.” “Sounds like I’m the winner no matter what the game has in store for me.” Another quick peck. Keyton’s voice broke us apart. “What did I say? I swear. You can’t make it a whole ninety seconds…” Marisa burst into laughter and charged back up the stairs with the rest of the ladies. “I know. Something about this woman just drives me crazy.”