Page 46 of The Right Player
I nodded, swallowing past the knot in my throat at the thought of her being happy with someone else. I didn’t care that it was years ago. The amount of possession I felt in that moment surprised me, and again, my hands twitched to hold her.
“Carlo proposed to Gemma at the end of our senior year, and I thought for sure Nathan was next. That’s my ex,” she clarified. “And so, I waited, and waited, and helped Gemma plan her wedding while I checked under Nathan’s socks and underwear in his drawer for a ring. But… he never proposed.” She laughed. “He never planned to.”
Idiot. Massive fucking idiot.
Maybe I should write him a thank-you card.
“Instead, the football-obsessed bastard broke up with me,” she continued. “He played for our college team, hence why I hate anything football-related now.”
I swallowed, but ignored that fact, focusing instead on the more important subject at hand — which was that this asshole had hurt her.
Belle looked like she was living in the memory when she continued, her eyes distant and sad. “He said that I was fun, that I was a perfect college girlfriend, but that he needed to get serious.” She laughed at that. “As if we hadn’t been dating for years. But what I hadn’t realized until that moment was that he’d met my family, and hung out with my friends, but… the same wasn’t true for me.”
I frowned. “He never introduced you to his family?”
“Nope,” she said, letting the word pop. “And that was the kicker at the end of it all. Nathan looked me right in my eyes when he told me where I stood in this world.” Her gaze met mine. “I’m a good time, but I’m not the kind of girl you take home to Mom.”
My own words from last weekend slapped me in the face, and even as tipsy as I was, I understood now why she’d ran away.
“Jesus… Belle, I’m so fucking sorry.”
She shrugged. “Don’t be. He was right.”
I blanched at that. “Um, no.”
“Yes,” she argued, crossing her arms over herself even tighter, as if she wanted to shrink away. “I’m the girl guys call at two in the morning when they want to order a pizza and get their dick wet. I’m the one they call when they just got out of a two-year relationship and need to get over someone else. I’m the one on speed dial when there’s a party, and one of their single friends says hey, man, call up some hot chicks.”
“Belle,” I said, shaking my head as I reached for her. I couldn’t give her space anymore, not when she was breaking right in front of me. “That is not who you are.”
She pulled away from me at first, her glossy eyes finding the road again. She still couldn’t look at me when I finally pulled her closer, and she was stiff until I wrapped her up, pulling her head to my chest.
“That guy, he was a young, stupid kid who didn’t know what he had when he had it. If he didn’t take you home to his mom, it’s because he had issues — not you. Because trust me when I say anyone and everyone — Mom, Dad, brother, sister, or random stranger on the street — falls in love with you after just an hour of your time. And they’re lucky if they survive that long.”
Belle shook her head, but I tilted her chin until she looked at me.
“Hey, stop acting like that’s not possibly true. You’re not what that asshole said you were. He does not get to define you. Okay?”
I didn’t miss the way her eyes teared up at my words, and she inhaled a stiff breath to keep those tears at bay, shoving her head back into my chest. “Stupid football players. I hate them. All of them. Never, ever again.”
My throat ached against my next attempted swallow. How the hell am I going to break it to her now?
“I’m so sorry I said something that triggered that asshole’s words in your memory,” I whispered, rubbing her back and pushing what would be future Makoa’s problems out of my head for now. “I meant what I said. I do have a good time with you, but I promise you, it has nothing to do with the sex.”
She peered up at me then.
“Okay,” I conceded. “You are a goddess in bed. Or rather, in the kitchen,” I added with a smirk. “But that’s just an added bonus.”
Belle chuckled, and finally, she relaxed into me, her hands wrapping around my waist as she laid her head on my chest.
“I have a good time with you, too,” she said softly, and I felt her swallow against my sternum. “And if I’m being honest, it petrifies me.”
“Why?”
She laughed a little, pulling back so she could look me in the eyes. “I accepted the role Nathan gave me a long time ago, Makoa. And ever since then, I’ve had a three-date rule.”
