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“Yes.” I swallow past the lump in my throat. “I’ve never done this before.”

“You can do it, darlin’. Just take a deep breath. Everything’s going to be okay.”

I sound confident, but I don’t admit that I’m nervous in my own right.

What we’re about to do is a first for me, too.

I’ve never had a girl sleep over that I wanted to come back again.

A girl who makes my heart feel like it’s about to explode out of my chest.

A girl that, every time I touch her, fuck her, laugh with her, I only want more.

So yeah, this is new to me too.

“Time to rip off the Band-Aid.” I take her hand and push open my bedroom door, leading her to the hall. The scent of eggs and bacon waft up the stairs, followed by my roommates’ voices.“I promise you, the guys will be so focused on food they’ll hardly notice you’re there.”

“It’s not the guys I’m worried about,” she mutters, fingers tightening around mine.

Sure enough, when we get downstairs, it’s not just my roommates in the kitchen. Twyler is there too.

“They emerge!” Jefferson says, lifting his cup of coffee. His black hair is a complete mess and there’s a huge hickey on his neck. “You two sure vanished fast last night.”

I pull Nadia into my side and loop my arm over her shoulders. “It’s not as fun as you think to hang around a bunch of drunk assholes when you’re sober.”

“So, still staying clean, huh?” Reid asks.

I look down at Nadia and smile. “I’ve found something better than getting high.”

She blushes and I kiss her forehead. Yeah, I’m going all in. When have I not?

“Thought maybe you’d pull a Twyler, Nadia,” Jefferson cocks a grin at Reese. “You know, abscond before daylight.”

“Thatwas different,” Reese says, pushing scrambled eggs around the pan with a hot pink spatula. “We weren’t official yet.”

Reid flips a pancake onto the plate. “Don’t worry, I figured the smell of bacon would lure you two downstairs. We made enough for everyone.”

“Thanks, Reid,” Nadia says, and I’m briefly reminded that these two went on a date. She doesn’t linger over him though, and eyes the huge platter of eggs and bacon Reese sets on the table, followed by the pancakes. “This is impressive.”

“After a win like that, we celebrate.”

“What do you contribute?” she asks.

“Ha!” Reese shouts. “Busted.”

“I’ve got one job, darlin’ and that’s keeping the goals out of the net.”

“I see your no shirt policy is still in effect despite having a guest,” Twyler says, shaking her head at my bare torso. Nadia and Twyler share a smile, and I feel my girl’s muscles loosen just a bit.

Good. This is good.

“Is my body too much for you, TG?” I ask, grabbing two forks and handing one to Nadia. “A reminder that Cain needs to hit the gym a little more often?”

“This isn’t about muscles,” Reese says, taking a stack of plates out of the pantry. “It’s about common decency and hygiene.”

“No one wants your armpit hairs in the food, dumbass,” Jefferson says, although he’s in a shirt with the sleeves cut out, which seems like just as much of a hazard. “Yo, Reid, where’s Darla?”

“I know this will come as a shock but…” he starts making the three of us guys groan, “we broke up.”