Page 32 of Trick Play (Playing the Field #4)
CHAPTER
THIRTY-ONE
Zeke
Then
“Zeke, look at these kittens!” Micah shrieks excitedly before I’ve even finished cooing at the puppies in the lobby of the animal shelter. They’re sleeping, snoring softly, in a playpen surrounded by toys and spilled treats. How Micah even managed to make it past these little guys is a mystery to me.
It takes a minute to find him around the corner and inside a room dedicated to kittens, but once I do, I’m overcome with an emotion unfamiliar to me. No, not completely unfamiliar—not since I met Micah. He’s the only person to ever cause this feeling in my chest. The one where I feel like no matter how deeply I breathe, I’m not getting enough oxygen. Where no matter how close I step toward him, it never feels close enough. The one where my heart literally aches until I touch him, skin to skin, and reassure myself that he is real and here with me.
Micah is sitting atop a braided rug on the floor with kittens walking all over him. The smile on his face is gorgeous, somehow more perfect than the first time I laid eyes on him, and contagious. I find myself grinning so hard in return that my face hurts.
“Absolutely adorable,” I compliment. “The kittens are cute, too.”
He playfully purses his lips. “You have the worst lines ever. Where do you get them, Hallmark?”
“Considering you love that channel, I’d say I’ve done commendable research,” I fire back.
Hugging a grey kitten close to his chest, Micah narrows his eyes at me. It makes him look a little like a villain from a cheesy cartoon. “Touché.”
The opportunity is too good to pass over, so I pull out my phone and angle the camera at him. “Say cheese.”
“Wait, wait. Get in here with me.”
I have to dodge darting kittens to join him on the floor, but it’s worth it when he wraps one arm around my waist and cuddles the kitten between our chests for the picture. Everywhere his body touches mine is electric, and I want more and more and more. It’s never enough with him. The more time I spend with him, the truer that becomes. I want him all day, every day.
It scared me at first to realize how serious my feelings have become. If I’m being honest, I’m still scared. I’ve never wanted to call someone mine. A boyfriend . I’ve been a playboy since I discovered I could kiss anyone I want, and I never got attached. Not until Micah. He’s the only person I want to keep going back to, over and over again. Enough so that I’ve fought with myself about the possibility of taking that leap and asking him. It’s the unknowns that have me holding back.
Would he want me to stop kissing people? That’s literally my brand. Do I even like him enough to throw all that away?
Micah holds the camera and kisses me, which I devote eighty percent of my thought into. The other twenty is still mulling over whether or not I should just shoot my shot.
It could ruin what we have going now, though. Is it worth that risk?
“Hm,” Micah muses, scrolling on my phone, and I try to pull myself out of my head and into the present. “Doesn’t seem like there are any football scandals right now. Go figure. Oh! What if you posted a link to a charity? Like an animal rescue or the shelter? Do you think people would— mmf !”
I cut off his absolute genius rambling with a kiss that is one hundred and ten percent effort, wanting to convey . . . things . I don’t know. I’m overwhelmed right now. Here’s this amazing guy, and he’s taking my stupid playboy plan and changing it into something real. Something helpful. A charity? How have I never thought of that? I get so many hits on my posts I know people will donate if I ask them to. Why is everything about Micah so perfect?
His surprise melts into happiness, and he sags against me while returning the kiss with enthusiasm.
Our tongues tangle, and our teeth nip around my muffled praises of “You’re a genius. You’re amazing. God, how are you real? How did I get so lucky?”
“Zeke,” he giggles against my mouth. “Where is this coming from?”
“I want you.”
“We’re in public!”
I shake my head. “I don’t mean like that.” Unable to stay away, I kiss him again. “Well, yes, like that.” Kiss. “But also.” Kiss. “I want you.” Kiss. “To be mine.”
He pulls back, smile morphing into lips slightly parted in surprise. I’ve kissed all his lip gloss away, so he’s bare except for my saliva lingering on his pink cupid’s bow. Everything within me shouts mine, mine, mine and forgets all the ways this could go wrong. “What?”
“We’ve practically been going on dates already.” I wave my arm around the room, where it’s just us spending time together out in public. Like a date. “It’s not that big of a step up to boyfriends.” My heart hammers in my chest like I’ve just thrown a Hail Mary pass for a game-winning touchdown, and I can’t help but wonder if I’ve screwed everything up. What if he doesn’t want to date me? What if he calls this whole thing off because I’ve caught feelings?
“You,” he whispers, perfect brows burrowing beneath a strand of ruby-red hair. “You want to date me?”
“Is that so hard to believe?” I gulp because it probably is. I’m the playboy of the NFL, after all.
“Why?” The raw emotion in his voice has me doing a double take at the question.
Why? He’s perfect. Wonderful. Kind. Giving. Sexy. Sweet. Smart. All the traits I never thought twice about other people, yet he’s somehow the best of all of them. And then some. So what if I have no idea how to be in a relationship? Or that I kiss strangers all day, every day? Being with Micah just feels right, and everything else will work itself out.
“Because you deserve to fall for someone who’s falling for you, too,” I tell him softly, as if the kittens aren’t allowed to hear. “Why do I want to date you? Because I’d be an idiot not to. You’re the sweetest, most genuine person I know, bunny. All you want is to make the world a better place, and somehow, in the process, you’re making me a better man. Yes, I want to post a charity donation with that picture. And yes, I want you to be my boyfriend.”
His mouth opens and closes, nothing coming out. And then he flashes a stunning grin and lets out an elated laugh. “I— Okay. Yes. Yes, I’ll be your boyfriend, Zeke.”
The kiss I place on him now is barely legal for public, and we leave for some much-needed alone time at my house shortly after.