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Chapter One

TAYLOR

My name is Taylor Desmond, and I was fucking sore.

I took a moment to brace my hands on my knees, inhaling through my nose and exhaling out of my mouth to calm my heart rate.

I could smell the saltwater from the nearby ocean in the air.

The sound of the waves crashing beyond the grass field I stood on was loud enough for me to focus on for a moment.

The sun was setting, painting the cloudless sky in deep warmth.

The marine layer was providing a chill in the air, something my sweat-soaked body was struggling to tolerate.

My rugby team and I almost had our asses kicked in this last match, but I sprinted like hell to ensure that didn’t happen.

I was going to be so fucking stiff tomorrow.

“Good game, T.” Leo roughly patted me on the back as he jogged past. His light blue eyes were already on his girlfriend on the sidelines, who held a water bottle in her hands for him.

Jacqueline raised a brow as he shook out his inky black hair, grinning as she backed away from him a step.

Then another. Soon she was widening her dark brown eyes and grinning from ear to ear, anticipating Leo’s moves as he sprinted the last few feet and scooped her up in his sweaty arms. She squealed, playfully hitting his shoulders while he attacked her with kisses to her neck.

All of her dark brown hair was tied in a knot on the top of her head, and it fell loose as Leo ravished his girlfriend.

I pulled off my headband and put it back on again, keeping my hair off my face while I turned toward the sound of a man laughing.

My other teammate, Zaid, adjusted his glasses on his nose.

He was with his girlfriend and family. He held his nephew, who could be his mini twin.

They both shared olive-toned skin and dark hair.

Zaid spun his nephew in a circle, making the kid laugh while his girlfriend, Signe, stared at the two of them with hearts in her eyes.

She tucked her red hair behind her ears as a grin spread across her cheeks, and she made grabby hands at Zaid’s cheeks.

“Taylor!” I heard a child’s voice call in the opposite direction. I turned my head to the side and saw Susie Madey excitedly waving me over. I grinned and jogged over to the nine-year-old, who gave me a once-over before loudly proclaiming, “You’re stinky.”

“Who, me?” I asked, pointing to my cheap jersey and sniffing it, “No. You must be smelling yourself.”

Susie wrinkled her nose, her curly blonde hair shaking with her head. “No, trust me. It’s you.” Her look reminded me so much of her namesake that I felt my chest twist in mourning. Before I could get too in my feelings about that, Susie’s dad, and one of my best friends, spoke up.

“Where’s the cooler of Gatorade your team gets to dump on you?

” Josh, who wore a beanie and sunglasses, attempting to blend in, asked.

No one here had recognized the famous rockstar yet, and it had been months since he started bringing Susie to watch me play.

I was impressed, but then again, it wasn’t uncommon to see celebrities in southern California.

Once you’ve seen enough, the shock and awe start to wear off.

Seeing Josh perform live for the first time all those years ago was cool, but the moment Courtney brought him over to hang out with all of us, he was just another guy my friend was dating.

“This isn’t football,” I rolled my eyes at him as I bent down to pull my water bottle out of my bag, “Plus, no one here would dare try that with me.”

I heard a soft, feminine laugh, and my back stiffened at the sound.

When did she show up?

I stood, bringing my water bottle to my lips as I glanced toward the sound that sent my blood pumping, pretending to watch Susie run out onto the field with the rugby ball.

There she was.

Nicole Young.

She stood with Leo and Zaid, and their partners.

Whereas Leo and Zaid were my teammates, they were Nicole’s coworkers.

She was friends with Jacqueline and Signe.

The first time I saw her was actually at Signe’s apartment a couple of months ago.

My friend Eloise wanted to stop by to have Signe sign her romance novel, and I tagged along.

That’s also how I discovered that one of my clients, Violet Thompson, was also an employee at Sun Steer Technologies.

Small world.

Nicole and I didn’t talk that night. Eloise and I only stayed for a moment before leaving.

But I caught a glimpse of Nicole, sitting on all the pillows and blankets Signe had prepared for their movie night.

She tucked her legs close to her body; her arms wrapped around her knees in a hug.

She was quiet, observing the scene around her.

As soon as my eyes landed on her, Nicole looked away from me and blushed.

She was a stunning woman, even in her pajamas.

I ran into Nicole again when Jacqueline confessed her love to Leo a few weeks ago, and I considered making small talk with her.

After watching Nicole watch Jacqueline’s performance, I started to become infatuated with the shy, curvy woman.

Unfortunately, I got pulled away to help set the large speaker back in Jacqueline’s car.

The way Nicole smiled and blushed at Jacqueline’s dance was endearing.

Our eyes met once, she blushed hard and immediately looked away from me.

When I accidentally bumped into her later, I choked.

She smelled too good. She was so sweet and apologized to me, even though I bumped into her .

So, yes, I was still very infatuated with her.

I was pretty sure I wanted her.

She had straight, short, almost black hair that hung above her shoulders in a bob. Her dark eyes twinkled at whatever stupid joke Leo probably made, and her lush lips pulled back in a grin that made a dimple pop in her cheek.

I capped my water bottle, caught in her trance.

Like always.

Nicole Young was stunning, even just wearing khaki shorts and sneakers, a plain t-shirt that would barely be able to keep her warm from the ocean breeze dancing across the field.

It showed off the tattoos on her arms. Inky butterflies were scattered on her bicep.

The raccoon with the bouquet of flowers.

I tossed my water bottle back in the bag, my head still turned so I didn’t miss a moment of her.

I blindly reached for my sweat rag and wrapped it around my shoulders, dabbing at my neck and chest as I watched Nicole toss her head back and laugh again. The sound echoed across the grass.

The group over there turned, headed in my direction. Probably to discuss how great the game went with me, but I couldn’t pretend I wasn’t staring at her .

I didn’t even try to hide it, I never did.

Because half the time she caught me staring at her, I was gifted with the sight of her cheeks darkening with a blush. I lived for that moment.

“…and then Court stuck her thirty-two-ounce Hydro flask up my ass.” Josh’s words made me blink and startle back into the moment.

“What the fuck?” I asked him.

“Oh, are you listening to me now?” He raised an eyebrow, lined with two piercings as he smirked, and his eyes danced across the field to the group heading toward us, “Which one are you staring at, T?”

I shook my head, “No one.”

“Is it the Englishman? I get it,” Josh raised his eyebrows as he admired Leo with a low whistle, “Accents.”

“Nope.” I shook my head once, glancing up to see them getting closer.

“The brunette?”

I froze, glaring at him. He widened his eyes as a shit-eating grin spread across his cheeks, “Which one? Long hair, or short?”

I glanced back at the sound of her laugh again, making direct eye contact this time. As soon as our eyes met, her smile lost a little bit of its boldness.

I wondered why.

She glanced to the side where Jacqueline was talking with her, but her dark eyes landed on me again, and it felt like a gust of wind was about to knock me off my feet.

And then there it was, the pink that stained her cheeks whenever we made eye contact.

I hoped, deep down, that meant she liked what she saw.

My friends often called me a flirt, and I couldn’t argue with them. There is casual flirting, which I’d argue wasn’t true flirting, but was more messing around with my close friends. And then there was flirting-flirting, when I tried to make it obvious that I was sexually interested in a person.

Being pansexual meant that I didn’t care what someone’s gender was; I’d dated men, women, and other enbies. I was mostly attracted to people’s vibes.

Nicole Young’s vibes made something swoop in my lower belly, and my heart picked up its pace.

I just hoped she might reciprocate.

I felt safe using dating apps. The app made it clear where everyone stood. They could read my bio, see they/them pronouns under my name, see some pictures of myself to ensure I was their type, and everyone could get together with proper expectations.

Meeting someone in the wild like this? Through happenstance?

A friend of a friend? It required some sleuthing on my part.

I didn’t know a lot about her— yet —and I hadn’t confirmed if she was queer or not.

Perhaps her bob and her raccoon tattoo were giveaways, but I generally didn’t ramp up my charm unless I knew for sure.

There was no queer coded keychain or carabiner that I could see on her person, just a fanny pack looped across her torso.

I needed to take time to figure this out, because the closer she approached, the more I felt my attraction toward her heart-shaped face and dark eyes, and soft smile rise.

God, her smile .

My favorite was when she smiled widely, creating soft smile lines on her cheeks.

I always gravitated toward people shorter than me. I also loved a feminine, curvy body. And Nicole had plenty of that.