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When she opens the door to my room and looks back at me shyly, I give her a smile to break some of the tension.

“I’ll let you pick the movie. I’ll even watch one of your girlie movies.”

“Aww, aren’t you just the sweetest? You know which one I’m going to pick, don’t you?”

She lets go of my hand, walks over to her cot, and drops her bag from her shoulder. I notice that she winces a little when she does it.

“Does your arm still hurt? I can go grab you some more ice. I might get some for myself too. I think I need to wrap my left side for a little bit to numb some of the soreness there.”

“No, I’m good. It’s just a little stiff now, but it’ll be fine soon. I think I’ll get changed and wash my face and stuff while you’re doing that.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

I leave my room and go to the kitchen. While there is a part of me that feels like everything is the same or more so as it should be—us, together—I have a small amount of fear that she might try to push me away again. But one thing I’m sure of is that she kissed me back with full force. She won’t forget about our breakup, but she can’t ignore our bond and attraction to each other.

I grab one of the ice packs from the freezer and head back to my room. I walk in and go to the closet to get a towel to wrap the ice pack in. I already had an ice pack wrapped around me at the field, but I took it off before my shower. I don’t think I need to wrap it with plastic wrap again, but a towel around it will keep my skin from burning from the cold.

Walking over to my bed, I notice the door to the bathroom is slightly open. I drop my water, the ice pack and towel on the bed and see Charlie through the crack in the door. She’s bent over the sink, washing her face. She changed into a tiny pair of gray shorts and a white crop top.

Fuck me. I can see the bottom of her tits with the way she’s leaning.

I’m getting hard, just watching her, and my pants are starting to get tight. I pull my shirt over my head and throw it into the laundry basket near the closet. I palm my cock through my jeans before I unbutton them, then pull the zipper down. While I’m pushing my jeans down my legs, Charlie opens the door. Her head is down, but when she looks up, she sees me undressing and pauses. Her mouth drops open a little, and—I’m not gonna lie—it makes me feel pretty fucking good about the way I take care of my body. I mean, not that I have a choice with football, but still.

I’m down to my boxer briefs now, and there’s no hiding my hard-on. I palm my dick again and watch her eyes follow the track of my hand. I’m getting harder, the longer she looks, but I don’t want her to feel pressured to do anything. I really don’t care what happens, but she’s gonna be in my bed. I can’t watch her sleep on that cot for one more night. It’s been killing me to be so close to her, to smell her, to hear her little puffs of breath while she sleeps.

“Boss, eyes up here,” I tease, but also love that she can’t seem to break away from looking at my dick.

“Hmm, what? Oh.” She breaks her stare. “Oh my God, sorry. I didn’t realize you were changing. Do you want me to go back into the bathroom? Sorry …” She’s looking around the room now, at just about everything but me. “Just let me know when you’re done, and I’ll come back out.”

“Charlie, wait. It’s fine. I like that you’re looking at me.” I drop my voice to a low hum. “Iwantyou to look at me.”

Closing the distance between us, I reach out my hand and brush some of the loose hair that’s fallen out of the bun thing on the top of her head and tuck it behind her ear. She’s glancing down at her feet, and I can see the blush in her cheeks now.

“Hey, it’s just us. We’re gonna get in bed.” With my index finger, I tilt her chin up to make sure she’s paying attention when I declare, “Together.”

Her lips part, and there’s a sharp inhale that makes her chest rise and press against mine.

I lean down until my lips are just above hers. “And, no, you’re not sleeping on that fucking cot tonight. Pick your movie while I go brush my teeth.” When I move around her, I glide my hands down her arms. “I’ll be right back.”

Clearing her throat, she says, “Okay, yeah, I’ll pick something out. Um …” She pauses and looks at the mattress. “I’ll take this side.”

Turning my head back to look at her, I say, “Yeah, you know I like to be closest to the door.”

Although she doesn’t know why I need to be closest to the door because I’ve never really told her anything about what my life was like before we met.

“Okay, I’ll just, uh, grab my pillows and get comfy, I guess.”

She’s not shy, but I can still tell when my girl is getting worked up, and she is.

I don’t reply, but I do smile, then shut the bathroom door. I take a piss—though it’s challenging with a hard-on—wash my hands, then brush my teeth. When I open the door, I see her lying in my bed—as she should be. She’s propped up with her back on her pillows behind her. She’s wearing a little smile on her face now though, and she seems less … anxious.

“I pickedShe’s All That,which you know is one of my all-time faves.”

I huff a laugh and nod. Pulling back the covers on my side of the bed, I sit on the edge and reach over to grab the ice pack and towel. I wrap the towel around the ice pack, then scoot back on the bed toward my pillows. “Here, can you hold this for a sec?”

Charlie takes the ice pack from me. “Ah! This is so cold. Why don’t you lie down and I can prop it where you need it?”

I nod and lie down while she scoots closer to me on the bed.