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His lips twitch. “You sure?”

I nod.

“My last name was Johnson. My first name was, well, it was Ryan.”

I gasp, “Shut the hell up.”

“Please don’t ever call me that, especially in bed.”

I laugh out loud, and he smiles so bright I can feel it to my bones.

And then …

Skinner yells, “All right, roomies, get your asses off each other and come down here. We need to go over some fucking rules.”

* * *

After closing up the Brewery, I expected to walk into, at the least, dishes in the sink, but there isn’t one. I ignore my evening list and head straight to bed, trying to be stealthy, but he wakes up.

“Told you to text and I’d come over and walk?—”

“You have a huge game in three sleeps.”

“Tonight is also the first night I’m in your bed and not hiding it.”

“I know.” I smile so big it’s probably good there’s only a tiny amount of light coming from the moon shining through the window.

“Gonna kiss you goodnight.”

And we kiss, slow, unhurried, sweet, and unneedy. And we do it again and again.

He holds my head to his chest, and I listen to his heart beat slow down. It’s like a lullaby I have longed to hear my whole life.

“What are you thinking?” he asks, lips to the top of my head.

“Wondering why you chose Kolby.”

“Myunclewas a huge sports fan and told me that if I worked as hard at football as Kolby did at basketball, there would be no stopping me.”

“Makes sense.”

“You as close with your grandfather, Daniel, as you are your mom’s dad?”

“In some ways, closer. I’ve always revered he and Grandma Jane. They have such an endless amount of love for everyone. Dad was placed with him and Grandma Jane when he was young, and they adopted him and five others. They taught them how to handle their emotions.”

“Yeah?”

“Dad’s always said there was no better therapy than doing wood.”

“You think that’s why he took me there?”

“Not sure. Were you pissed?”

“Yeah.” He chuckles but doesn’t say more.

To remove the heaviness caused by all that, I ask, “Remember when you ordered a light lager, and I gave you that nasty sour we were trying to get rid of? When you called me on it, I said?—”

“Maybe you should enunciate with yourmouthand not yourbiceps.”