Consider Me (Playing For Keeps, #1)

by Becka Mack

“I like it when you smile,” he murmurs. “It makes me want to smile too.”

“You were jealous?” “I’ve never really been jealous before so I can’t say for sure, but I briefly thought about decapitating my right-winger, so, yeah, I think I was.”

As I sink down to the cushion beside her, I find myself wondering if everything is always going to be until Olivia, if this is that point in my life where everything changes.

“I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. Never, Ollie. I just want you to consider … consider giving me a shot. Consider me. That’s all I want, Ol. A chance with you.”

“What if I fall in love with you?” “Then I’ll fall with you, too, Ollie girl.”

Don’t you get that everything else doesn’t compare? I’d trade it all in for you.”

“How are you single?” “Because you’ve been playing hard to get for the last seven weeks, give or take.

“I think you wanna be my pumpkin.” “I wanna be your anything.” His hand glides up my belly and closes over my throat, angling my face toward his, his movements never slowing. “How about my everything?”

I don’t want to be the dark cloud that hangs over her. I want to be the light that glows in the dark and eases all her fears.

“I’m scared this is it, that you’re it for me. And while that thought is scary enough, nothing is scarier than the thought that I might not get to keep you, that you might one day walk away and I’ll have to let you because all I want is for you to be happy.”

Please, let me in. Let me see you. Let me have you. All of you.”

“It’s called passion, Ollie. Wild and unrestrained. Eruptive. I don’t want a love that’s anything other than crazy, and crazy about you is the only way I know to describe how I feel.”

“I see the fire in your eyes and all I wanna do is fuel it. Light me up, set my soul on fire. I’m yours.”

“My mom always told me that these things don’t come easily, that you have to work for the love and the life you want. The hard parts are challenging, but we get through them, and everything else with you feels natural, and I … I want to work with you. I want to build a life we love.”

“You’re my favorite everything, Ollie.”

“If I had to choose between you and Oreos for the rest of my life, I’d choose you every day, always.”

“I’ve made so many mistakes in my life. So many. But you, Ollie? You’re the first thing I’ve done right.”

I think we’re afraid of the things that have the power to change our lives. My life changed for the better that day I locked eyes with you. So much for the better, Ollie. I’m better when I’m with you.”

My forever is a person. It’s wide chocolate eyes that peer up at mine, and dark, silky curls that slip through my fingers. It’s a small hand in mine that warms my entire body, a smile that gets my heart thudding a little bit harder, a little bit faster. It’s the ears that hear all my dreams and the arms that hold me up when I’m tired, when I forget how to stand. It’s the lips on my jaw, my cheek, my hand, the ones that whisper my favorite I love you, that promise me a lifetime against my skin.

She’s beautiful, my perfect companion, like we were made at the same time, two halves of a whole meant to find and complete each other one day.

“The way I love you is inexplicable. It’s so much more than just wanting to be with you but needing to more than anything. I need you, because without you, something will always be missing in this life, just out of reach. Because you make everything better, and everything makes sense. You’re all the best parts, the cozy snuggles, the quiet conversations while we’re lying in bed, the sleepy mornings. The way my whole body comes alive when I see you for the first time after coming home, the way your face lights up and you jump into my arms and hold me like you need me as much as I need you.”

She’s like … waking up on Christmas morning when you’re three years old and you finally understand what it’s all about. She’s the moment the rain stops and the sun comes out, lighting

up the sky with color, and everything smells new and fresh. She’s the first skate on a frozen lake, surrounded by snowy mountains and pine trees and the freshest breath of air. She’s rolling over in the middle of the night, pulling that warm body into yours and curling around it, and everything’s just right.

“If your love was all I had for the rest of my life, that would be more than enough.”