Page 78 of The Chemistry of Us

The rest of the day went by so slow that it actually felt like I was going back in time. I evaded at least five texts from my dad, all telling me that we needed to talk and that I needed to decide what grad school to apply to, which made the last half of practice complete shit. I was dropping balls and in a shit mood, and Tru hadn’t so much as texted or at least said something to me.

Every time my phone went off in class and it was my dad and not her, I got more annoyed until I wanted to break it in half. Grad school. He could suck it. I was still mentioned on the news as being a possible draft pick. I knew it, he knew it, but this kind of shit messed with my confidence. I was still a free agent, but as long as my name was whispered around draft circles, I still had hope. I mean, Brady was what? Sixth draft pick?

I needed to get out of my own head.

Maybe I’d make good use of the house hot tub. God knows it got its use during parties, but I hadn’t been in it in forever.

Mind made up and house empty, I grabbed a beer, stripped out of my practice clothes until I was completely naked, and walked outside, only to see Tru sitting in one of the lawn chairs reading.

Oh shit, she was going to think I was trying to get laid.

Just as I was going to turn around, she looked up.

And double shit.

I waved my beer at her.

She burst out laughing. “Um, skinny-dipping?”

Whatever, she’d seen the goods and experienced them multiple times. No shame and all that. I walked over to the hot tub and flipped off the lid, then sank down and let out a moan. “Sorry, I needed that, and no, I’m not skinny-dipping. It would be weird to call it skinny-dipping when you’re by yourself. I had a shit day, Dad won’t stop calling, and Brady’s an idiot.”

“But he’s a cute idiot,” she pointed out.

“He’s not cute. Don’t ever call him cute, especially to his face. He takes it seriously, and his girlfriend would pull out your hair. I like your hair too much for you to lose it, not that I wouldn’t like you if you were bald—I’m going to stop talking now.”

Tru’s eyes lit up as she closed her book and walked over to the hot tub, leaning her body against it. “Is this what happens when sex is officially off the table? I thought it would make yougrumpier. Instead, you’re like this sad little puppy that talks too much about his feelings.”

“I don’t.”

“You do.”

“Not true.”

“You’ve always been that way,” she whispered.

The air caught between us like it needed time to digest all the tension swirling between our bodies. I licked my lips and avoided staring at hers. “Wanna go out tonight?”

“For our date?”

“Yeah.”

“Will there be a second kiss?”

I smiled and floated back to the other side of the hot tub. “A man never tells.”

“Wow.” She reached for her T-shirt and pulled it over her head.

Panic seized my chest. “What are you doing?”

The clothes kept coming off until she was completely naked, and I was having a hard time not lunging across the hot tub and mauling her with my mouth while begging her to sit on my face.

I could do this.

Don’t be an asshole. Don’t be an asshole. Keep your hands to yourself, oh fuck look at those tits. No! Don’t make bad choices. She pulled her hair into a messy bun and got into the tub across from me.

Mouth dry, all I could do was take what I hoped was a casual sip of beer. What happened next I would never come back from. “Sup?”

She pressed her lips together like she was trying not to laugh. “Did you just Sup me?”

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