Page 17 of Can We Just Be Happy Now?

“And that changes now?”

She nods. “Yes, please. I hate the miscommunication trope.”

“The what?” I have no idea what she’s talking about.

A grin covers her face. “In my books, the main love interests always keep their thoughts hidden, and it blows up in their face at some point when the situation could have easily been avoided.”

“Ahhh. I see. Okay, so from now on, all thoughts are on the table, all the time, no matter what?”

“Yes, even if you change your mind. Promise you’ll tell me.”

“Same goes for you.”

“Sooooo, you’ve really never had sex before?” she asks in a whisper.

“Nope.” I pop the P.

“What about . . . all the other stuff?” she asks, a little more confidently this time.

“None of that either. Don’t doubt how well you know me, Soph. All I’ve done for the past four years is eat, sleep and breathe football. I didn’t have time for a relationship.” According to Troy, I just didn’t make the time, but I wasn’t willing to sacrifice my time with Sophie. If I had a girlfriend, I’m sure that would have had to be the first thing to go.

She smiles at that. “One more thing.”

“You can have as many things as you want.”

“If I’m a terrible kisser on the first try, you have to give me a second chance before you change your mind about me.” She’s dead serious.

“So, you want to kiss me?”

Her teeth tug at the edge of her lip as she nods, and I almost kiss her right then.

“You’re not going to be terrible, but deal,” I assure her. She stares back at me, waiting. “Sophie?”

“Yes?”

“I’m not going to kiss you right now.”

“Oh.” She deflates.

I rest my hand softly on the nape of her neck. “I want to. So fucking bad.” My face is close enough to hers that if she wasn’t holding her breath I’d be able to feel it on my lips. “But I think this has been a lot for you tonight, a lot for us. I want to make sure you’re ready.” When she doesn’t argue, I know she agrees. “Walk me out?”

She nods, standing with me.

When we get to the sliding back door, I pull her into a hug. She doesn’t count to twenty, and I know it’s been far longer than that by the time I reluctantly pull away from her. I kiss her forehead. It’s something I’ve never done before, but it feels surprisingly normal. She smiles at me. “I’ll text you later, okay?”

She nods, and I move to set the security system. “Oh, wait!” She runs to the fridge and comes back with a Tupperware for me. “Take these with you.”

“I’m not taking the rest of your birthday cupcakes.”

“They were never for me,” she says, then turns on her heel and skips across the kitchen before heading up the stairs, leaving me standing there and questioning everything I know about this girl.

Chapter ten

SOPHIE

THEN

Sundresses are pretty much the only thing I own even though I live in Oregon and they aren’t weather appropriate more often than not. So why I’m staring at my closet stressing over my outfit is beyond me. I’ve never been too selective about my clothes. I basically own twenty of the same dress in different colors. But today is different from every other day, so I think I want to look different too.

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