Page 60

CHAPTER 60

KING

SUCH A ROMANTIC

Me

Adam has two jacks

My angel

I don’t want to cheat, delete that message

Me

I dont want him to win

My angel

Win yourself

Me

My cards are shit

My angel

Get better cards :)

Me

Did you get to the house ok

My angel

Yep, can’t answer the phone right now, just drove up

Me

I miss you

My bed doesnt smell like you

Can i come over

My angel

To the house?

Me

Yes

My angel

To your COACH’S house???

Me

Yes

My angel

They’ll spot you in five seconds

DO NOT COME!!!!!!

Me

Im coming i got my keys

My angel

NO.

Compromise. Video chat before bed.

Me

Like youll lock me out if i come

My angel

Yes.

Me

Ill take the call

My angel

My mom’s talking to me, might be a while, I don’t want to keep you up for no reason :\

Me

I can wait

Im being patient

My angel

Going to my room, calling in two minutes

Me

Ok

Can you wear the 72 shirt i got you

My angel

You ripped it :P

Me

Not the gray one the black one

My angel

You ripped that one too :PPP

Me

Fuck

My angel

Stop destroying my clothes, Tattoos :P

Me

Stop wearing clothes when its just us angel

Lying in bed, I scrolled through our messages until her picture appeared, the photo of us at the aquarium, zoomed in until her face was all I could see. I answered immediately to my girlfriend brushing her teeth. She shot me a smile.

Wow.

"Evening, gorgeous," I murmured.

"I’m in my bonnet with no makeup on, King."

"My dick is still hard looking at you, I don’t know what you want me to say."

She burst into laughter and finished brushing her teeth. "Such a romantic."

"I miss cuddling you."

"That’s better."

For a long moment, I hesitated. "You glow. In the sun. I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed but you do. It’s really distracting during practice. It’s like playing a video game, when they’re trying to tell you this important thing is right here, with arrows and lights and stuff but it’s just you, standing there, with no idea that you’re shining so bright, it’s wrong to look away."

Willow’s face softened. "Oh."

I gave a sheepish grin. "How’s that? I’ve been thinking about it."

"Thinking about telling me that?"

"No, I was thinking about all those old cultures where they’d pick out some random person and be like ‘this is definitely the moon’s favorite’ or ‘yeah, demigod blood for sure.’ That never made sense to me. Now I get it."

"King? When I look at you?—"

"June said she’s down to cover for you, which means you’re spending the night here."

"You need to stop doing that."

"I’m not fishing for compliments."

"You can’t stop me every time I do it."

"Can you bring the body butter when you come over? It’s weird not smelling you."

"King." I could see her gearing up for an argument, but she rolled her eyes. "I’ll make sure to roll around in your sheets."

"Damn right you’ll be rolling in my sheets."

That got a laugh out of her.

"You’ll be held down on them too," I added.

"Is that a promise?"

"Pinky promise."

I held mine up and Willow copied. The grin was so easy, matching hers. Oh man, I had it bad for her. I could feel it, deep in my bone marrow.

I pulled up my blankets. "Are you ready for therapy?"

"Ready to be open and vulnerable to a doctor? No. Ready for my defective vagina to chill out? Yes."

"Your pussy’s not defective. Just anxious."

"You don’t have to defend her, you’re not on her payroll," she giggled.

"No, but your pussy’s in love with me."

The second I said it, there was a huge knot in my esophagus that wouldn’t go down. Why did I say that? Fuck— why did I say that? I fumbled with some kind of recovery, neck burning enough to smoke off my tattoos, while Willow laughed.

"I’ve never felt more like a third wheel," she teased.

I chuckled nervously. "Haha…yeah."

Say something, dumbass.

"So, it—it’s staying lighter for longer outside. Because of the season. And the sun."

Oh, yeah. That was the cool stuff you say to a hot girl at midnight. The look on Willow’s face was the best part, the way she cocked her head with the hmm sound as she tried not to grin.

"Your game is unmatched."

I groaned. "I want to say it could be worse, but I don’t know if that’s true."

"Sometimes you have game."

"That’s really kind."

She giggled. "I think you get too into your head."

"It’s hard to relax when I talk to you."

"But it seems like I’m one of the people you talk to the most?"

"You’re the only one I talk to like this. My throat hurts after hanging out with you."

"But…why are you so quiet?"

"I don’t know. My friends have a pretty good pulse on me, I never have to say anything, so I don’t. And I don’t really give a shit to talk to anybody else." I hesitated. "Does it…make you uncomfortable?"

"No. I don’t want you to change. I want to understand."

"That’s it."

"What’s it?"

"That’s why you’re my favorite person to talk to. You listen in this way I’ve never felt before."

Her smile was warm. "That’s why I love talking to you too."

It was quiet between us while she snuggled down in bed, smiling and looking beautiful, making my heart pound in my throat.

"You need to get some sleep," she reminded me, her voice gentle. "I’m not the one waking up in a couple of hours. How are we doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Are we going another five minutes and finishing?"

"The call? Why are we finishing it?"

"You have to go to sleep."

"Can we…keep it going?"

She tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"We sleep with the call going. This is the closest I get to you being here. I don’t want it to end."

Her smile was so gorgeous, I almost told her to freeze so I could screenshot it, but the quality wouldn’t have stayed the same. It was one of those things you had to appreciate in passing.

Gingerly, she nodded, and I gave her probably the goofiest smile she’d ever seen. But she’d have to settle for that. When it came to her, I couldn’t stop them.