Page 54 of Stay with Me

“Girl, you have it bad.” Saga bursts into laughter.

I still can’t believe I revealed so much to her last weekend. At the time, I really needed to do something with all my thoughts. Since that talk, she has been relentless. I get a call almost every day asking me what I plan to do.

“Make it stop,” I say, covering my eyes.

“You sure? Because I’m enjoying all this sexy in my backyard. Damn, the Moran men are hot as fuck. Is it me or is my husband getting finer with time?”

She fans her face as Bishop turns to give her a heated look. Lord tosses the football at Bishop’s back and everyone but Bishop bursts into laughter. Bishop’s back bucks but you can tell the ball didn’t hit him too hard.

He turns and runs after his brother as Lord takes off laughing. I shake my head as I watch them horse around. Knight jogs over and digs into the cooler of drinks.

“You guys good over here?” he says as he cracks the bottle of water open.

I watch as he chugs the drink down. Even the movement of his throat is sexy as hell. I lick my own lips before my sister’s voice brings me out of my trance.

“You guys are a mess. Y’all fight and argue more than you play,” she teases.

He replaces the cap on the now empty bottle of water. “You guys should join us. It’s not tackle. We promise to be gentle.”

“I don’t have the right kind of shoes,” I say hoping to get out of this.

“You can play barefoot or borrow a pair of your sister’s socks or something.”

I look down at his bare feet. Most of the guys don’t have on shoes. I get ready to use my nephews as an excuse until I remember my mother picked them up twenty minutes ago.

“Come on, it will be fun,” he says and winks at me.

My cheeks heat. Those winks are killing me. Knight’s eyes are just so mesmerizing.

“I’m in,” Saga says with a mischievous grin on her lips.

I’m going to kill her. I wanted to leave hours ago. Much like last weekend, I’ve been held hostage here at my sister’s. Between her and Knight, every time I start inching toward the door, they pull me right back in.

Friends. I remind myself.

“Fine,” I mutter, slipping off my sandals.

“You guys are going to play?” Lord drones.

“Looks like it,” I say.

“Awesome, why don’t you come play with my team, sweetheart,” he replies with a smug grin.

I peek at Knight to see he has a scowl on his face. However, something crosses his eyes, and he starts to grin once again. I get a chill. This doesn’t look safe for me.

I get ready to beg off and carry my butt home when their cousin, Dwayne wraps an arm around my shoulders. I lean into the big teddy bear. He smells like smoke and cologne, but it’s not offensive.

“Oh, this should be fun. Saga you have to play on our team so we can watch you kick your husband’s ass,” Kegan, Dwayne’s brother says.

“Bring that bullshit if you want,” Bishop snorts.

“Oh, it’s on,” my sister purrs with her hands on her hips, while she glares at Bishop.

“Too much talking, let’s play,” Dwayne booms.

We all take our places, and the game begins. A new competitive spirit fills the air, but the playful aura remains. Not for nothing, I’m pretty good at football.

Growing up with Legend, his friends were always around to play, and I wanted to be cool and hang with them. The guys find out soon enough that both Saga and I can play. Saga is fast, but I have great hands.

---