Page 97 of Out of Bounds

It wasn’t until they cleared out that I got the first look at my girlfriend, ready for the alumni night.

I almost dropped the roses.

Kassie stepped out, careful to bunch up the dress between her fingers so it didn’t drag on the ground. I had no idea where she’d gotten it from. No clue. The dress hung off her shoulders in a deep blue that brought out the warmth in her eyes. Her hair flowed behind her shoulders in brilliant, dark curls. No paint streaks, no charcoal streaks, just…her.

Holy shit.

The happiness lit up her features like nothing else and I found myself wanting something I'd never wanted before.

There weren’t words to offer an explanation, no instruction manuals, no game plan. It was another thing I couldn’t understand. But I wanted it. I wanted it the same way that I wanted to go to practice in the morning or the same way I wanted to push past my limits. The way I wanted to win a football game.

I wanted it with absolution and a deep need to see the goal satisfied.

I wanted to see her happy—because of me.

38

Kassie

Make You See Heaven

I faltered coming out of the elevator. And I wasn’t supposed to. I was supposed to come swinging out like a bad bitch in a hot, borrowed dress, ready to shake some donors’ hands. Except then I saw Ryan Cross, in a dark suit, freshly shaved, with a bouquet of roses in his hands. My brain flatlined.

"You clean up nice," I managed, a little more than flustered.

Oh my god, the Bird Pants plushie.

I bumped into one of my roommates and came to a sudden stop when he offered the flowers. Flowers were part of every romance movie ever invented, from the beginning of time, astaple,but I’d never gotten flowers beforehand and I didn’t know how to react. I had no idea what to say.

"It’s good for the cameras," Ryan told me and I nodded.

I held the flowers close. "Thank you."

There were no cameras around us, no reporters, no fans. And the flowers were beautiful and my date was so good-looking, I could barely form a sentence.

Instead, I could do something real stupid.

I grabbed his arm and leaned up on my heels, kissing him on the cheek.

"Thank you," I murmured.

For a long moment, I had my hand on his arm until I finally drew it away. Subtleness had gone out the window. It wasn’t like I dragged him off to a bathroom and got on my knees but I never knew a single kiss on the cheek could be so intimate.

Ryan paused for a long moment, gazing at me. "We have to get going."

Of course. The Earth hadn’t completely stopped on its axis.

It was a quick walk to the car and Ryan opened the door for me. But the moment I took my seat, Zariah was there, urging me to roll down the window. She kept shaking her head wildly. At one point, she was motioning at her neck for some reason.

Ryan opened his door and slipped in and Zariah backed away, taking a casual walk back to the entrance.

I rolled down the window. "Z?"

"It’s all good! Don’t worry about it!"

With a frown, I settled back in my seat.

"I have a question for you," Ryan said quietly, driving away from the Roman Forest.

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