Page 34 of Stay

“Do you need anything before the game starts?” Felicity asks him. “We can go now and be back before we miss anything.”

He rubs his stomach. “I’m still full from all the food we just ate.”

“Where did you eat?” David asks. “There’s great food in here.”

“We tailgated!” Owen says. “And Felicity made burgers and hot dogs…and S’mores. It was awesome!”

“I didn’t know you were tailgating today,” Lane says, looking at Felicity in surprise.

“I wanted Owen to have the full experience,” Felicity says. “This is his first game.”

She smiles sweetly at Owen and blood thrums in my veins, my pulse quickening. I scrub my hand down my jaw, unsure of what to do with all this pent-up energy.

Lust.

Not lust,I correct myself.

Don’t confuse gratitude and attraction with lust.

But even as I’m having this internal debate with myself, my eyes track every movement Felicity makes. I notice the curve of her hip and how easy it would be to put my hand there and tug her toward me.

God, this is bad. If I’m thinking this way in front of herparents, there’s no hope for me.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

NOT SO NICE

FELICITY

The Mustangs win and the euphoria is tangible as we walk back to the car. Owen’s feet barely touch the ground, he’s so amped up from the game. It took me a while to calm down after seeing my parents with Sutton. It was a bit of a disaster, but it could’ve gone much, much worse. As it is, I think it might’ve beenconfusing to Sutton, but I don’t think my parents suspect that I’m just Owen’s nanny.

Once it seemed like I was off the hook, at least for another day, I let myself enjoy the game and I haven’t stopped smiling.

“That wasawesome,” Owen says again. “When Weston threw that last pass, I thought for sure he was gonna get tackled, but he—” Owen does some fast footwork, maneuvering between Sutton and me.

“Perfect reenactment,” I say, laughing.

“I can’t believe he took a picture with us too,” Owen’s still going. “He must be so tired.”

“He’s usually amped up for a while after a game, kind of the way you’re feeling right now.”

“Yeah, I’m not tired,” Owen says.

“Mm-hmm,” Sutton says, chuckling.

“Yep, that sounds like my brother too. When we were little, he’d play hard and swear he’d never be able to fall asleep, but as soon as he sat down, his mouth would be hanging open…asleep in seconds flat.”

Owen laughs. “That’s funny.”

“Sounds like someone else I know,” Sutton says. “It was nice to see your parents.”

I nod, avoiding his gaze. “Yeah, it was.”

He doesn’t say anything, but I can practically hear his questions.

“No one’s gonna believe I went to the game,” Owen says. “And that I know Weston Shaw. I told Micah the other day, and he said I was lying.”

“I’ll print the picture tonight and blow it up big, so there’s no confusion for Micah,” I say, a little heated.

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