Page 132 of Playing Dirty

And because what I need more than anything right now is to hold him, I succumb to his wishes and climb in next to him.

I’m careful not to jostle him too much as I move, and thankfully, I don’t notice any signs of pain as I wrap my arm around his shoulder and hold him against my chest. The few remaining tears fall from my lashes, dropping to the hair on top of his head, but I quickly brush them away.

“If we get in trouble for this, I’m telling the nurses it was your idea,” I whisper, which draws an amused little hum from him.

“I can take the heat.”

He snuggles into my hold as best he can with his current restrictions, pressing his cheek to my collarbone and forehead into the side of my throat.

“How much do you remember?” I whisper against the top of his head.

He’s quiet for a second before murmuring, “Everything up until we were hit.”

I nod, his hair brushing against my skin with the movement, as I process the statement.

“So you remember us fighting and…”

“You telling me you love me? Yeah, I remember that too.” He pulls back a little to look at me, a tiny smirk pulling up the corner of his mouth. “Though, I guess it was more yelling than telling.”

“Yeah, not my finest moment,” I utter, shaking my head. Lifting one hand, I skim it along his jaw, now peppered with the slightest stubble, while my gaze holds his seafoam one. “I meant it, though. I meant everything I said, but if there’s anything you should take away, it’s how stupidly in love with you I am.”

“I love you too.” There’s a wistful glint in his eyes when he adds, “Isaid it before, but I don’t think you heard it.”

My forehead drops to his, and a watery laugh escapes me.

“I didn’t hear it. But I could feel it when you looked at me.”

“As long as you know, that’s all I really care about.”

His hand lifts, fingers trailing over the ink along the side of my neck, and I capture it before placing a kiss to his wrist. I don’t stop there, though, releasing his hand only to cradle his cheek in my hand like he’s a work of priceless art.

And then I kiss him gently, letting every ounce of love and hope and admiration I have for him flow from my body into his. And despite all the bullshit that led to this moment, I know this is only the beginning for us. The start of a new chapter in a story we get to write; no one else has a say in what we do or how we feel.

I won’t let anything, or anyone, stop me from loving him.

I’m not sure how long we remain with our lips molding together softly, nor who breaks away first, only that his head finds its home in the crook of my shoulder once we finally do. His fingers follow the tattoo design on my arm, the feather-light touch soothing me, and I play a little game of cat-and-mouse while he does it, trying to capture his fingers before he pulls them away.

“Have you told your parents anything? About why we were together or…anything else?”

He shakes his head. “They’ve been too busy harping on the doctors to ask me any questions.”

I catch movement out of the corner of my eye, finding Adam and Mom both watching us through the window, where I’d seen them earlier. But it’s not just them anymore. Phoenix, Camden, and a few other guys I don’t quite recognize are there too. Though, if I had to make my besthypothesis, I’d say they’re his roommates.

I have no idea what they’ve all seen, only how bad it looks right now. The last thing I want is to give Theo another thing to worry about, which is why I slowly drop my arm from his shoulder, ready to get off the bed and sit on the chair instead.

A plan that’s quickly foiled when Theo stops me by wrapping his arm over my waist.

“Where are you going?”

“Back to the chair,” I tell him, keeping my voice low. “I don’t wanna freak you out, but your parents and some of your friends are all watching us. And I don’t know how much they’ve already seen.”

His gaze collides with mine, not even casting a glance in their direction, before whispering three, heart-stopping words.

“I don’t care.”

And then his mouth is on mine again, our lips molding together in a relatively tame kiss before he pulls away.

I shake my head while my thumb trails over my bottom lip, unable to stop from chuckling at the indelicate way he just revealed our relationship. But damn, if it doesn’t make me love him even more.