Page 23 of Endgame

“Hey everybody. I hear congratulations are in order?” she said with a smile, much to the delight of his teammates, then made quick work of getting everyone’s drink order. “I’ll be back with those and a couple of appetizers, compliments of Bryan the Bradley fan.”

Bryan Blaine was the owner/general manager of the restaurant and obsessed with Bradley U sports, so they could always count on some sort of discount or perk when they came in to eat. Which was probably why they all ate there so often.

Soon, Wren was back, with Lila in tow. She notably dropped drinks and an appetizer off at the other end of the table, her eyes refusing to drift over to King’s side, and as Wren placed his drink down, she whispered, “Don’t even think about messing with my girl today, or I’ll spit in your food and not feel even remotely bad about it,” and then moved on as if she hadn’t just threatened him with her saliva.

Lila’s smile was genuine as she said hi to Julia and her friends, as well as his teammates on that side of the table, her gaze sweeping over him briefly, a small, perfunctory smile on her face, before she made a quick exit as Wren circled around to grab food orders.

“I feel so bad she’s working on her birthday,” King overheard Julia whisper to Nate.

“Wren?”

Julia shook her head. “Lila. Wren told me she actually asked for the shift. Probably to have an excuse to not come to the game tonight. You know she likes to go and support most everybody, but it’s hard too, for obvious reasons.”

Nate made a sympathetic noise, but then his eyes drifted to King, so King abruptly nudged Jason and drew him into a conversation about next week’s opponent. Halfway through the meal, he got up to use the restroom. He walked through the front part of the restaurant and out a side door that led to a hallway that housed the facilities.

After stepping out of the men’s room, King leaned against the opposite wall, needing a quiet moment to himself. Seeing Lila again threw him for a loop. Instead of his interest waning, it constantly seemed to grow each time she darted in and out of his life. Damn if it wasn’t the most confusing feeling in the world.

If King was being honest with himself, there was a part of him that wanted to track her down, to apologize, to try to start something real with her. The problem was, he wasn’t sure he was capable of it. He couldn’t subject her to all of his damage and then have it all crash and burn anyway.

It was easier to hurt her now and have her hate him than to attempt the impossible and have her think she could fix what was irreparably broken. The last thing he wanted was for her to pity him, and if she knew everything about him, she would. She’d pity the fact that he’d never seen a functional relationship in his life. She’d pity the fact that he couldn’t even utter his first given name without feeling like throwing up.

The door to the women’s bathroom opened, and a startled Lila put a hand to her chest. “King! Hi. Um, fancy running into you here. Of all the hallways, am I right?” She forced out a sound King assumed was meant to be a laugh. Her eyes drifted down to the floor then tentatively back up. The awkward silence between them hung in the air.

“So…not to be rude or anything, but is there a specific reason you’re creeping right outside of the women’s bathroom?”

“That was unintentional.” King smiled, just a little bit, because he’d missed flustered Lila. Flustered Lila said and did awkward things, and it was one of the things he loved—liked—about her. Past tense. Definitely not now, still. The tension that he’d been carrying through his jaw? That hadn’t lessened because she just half-smiled at him. Not a chance in hell.

“Well, sorry to interrupt your deep bathroom-hallway thoughts, I’m just going to go…” She trailed off, a thumb pointing over her shoulder at the door leading back to the restaurant. King stayed silent as she turned and began to walk towards her destination.

Before King could process what he was doing, he jogged to catch up, gently catching her by the wrist.

Lila stiffened as she turned back to face him, and King immediately dropped his hand. “Sorry, uh, I just wanted to say happy birthday.”

Her brow furrowed in confusion as she mulled over his words and then uttered a soft, “Thank you,” before turning again.

“Wait.” King’s voice sounded frenzied, desperate, to his own ears.

Lila turned to him once again, her face unreadable in the dim hall light. “What is it, King?”

Instead of replying, he slowly backed her into the wall. When their bodies were flush, he cupped the back of her neck, his thumb running a path along her jawline. His other hand found the slight curve of her hip, and his fingers squeezed involuntarily. King felt her body tremble, saw her throat bob, her pupils already blown. The electric charge between them was still just as palpable, just as overwhelming as it had always been. He could see the hunger within her, knew that he probably reflected back the same damn thing. And suddenly, all of the reasons he’d been telling himself to stay away from her vacated his mind, replaced by an aching, desperate need that utterly overtook him.

“What are you doing?” Lila whispered. “Because this back and forth, I can’t…” She trailed off as King leaned in closer, lowering his head so their mouths were almost touching.

“I’ve tried my hardest, but I don’t want to stay away from you anymore, La,” he murmured against her lips. “I’m sorry about Halloween. I was a dick to you. And I know I don’t deserve it, but I want another chance to kiss you and fuck you and just be with you. So damn much it’s hard to breathe.” He moved his thumb down from her jaw to touch the delicate crown charm dangling from her neck.

Lila stared at him for a minute then tentatively traced her hands up his chest, and he closed his eyes at the sheer pleasure of it. He knew she could feel his hardness against her stomach.

“You’ve driven by my place, haven’t you?” she whispered, eyes searching his, brows furrowed together in such a way that made King want to smooth them out as he nodded in reply.

“Why?”

“Couldn’t stay away,” he confessed softly, his thumb moving to ease those lines of tension. “I can’t fight this thing between us anymore. Can you?”

She groaned in frustration, the battle clear on her face. Finally, she spoke. “I can’t fight it anymore either. I should, but I can’t. Because this”—she moved her hips against him slowly—“feels so good.” She sighed and tilted her head back until it softly tapped the wall. Then she leveled her doe eyes on him. “Why do you always feel so good?”

At the sensual tone of her words, his control snapped. His lips were on hers before his brain could tell him to stop, consuming every inch they had access to.

He moved his mouth to her neck, kissing her the way he knew she loved.

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