Page 49 of Fair Catch

But this is damn near close to…cuddling.

“You’re like leaning against a brick wall,” Kason mutters, shifting so his shoulder blades are bracketing my arm.

I frown, glancing at the back of his head before asking, “Sturdy and supportive?”

“No. Fucking uncomfortable.” He moves again but is clearly still unhappy with the result before he sits up and turns to look at me. “Would you rather have my foot in your lap instead?”

I’m sonota feet person, and I immediately reject that idea as quickly as he asks, muttering, “Absolutely not.”

Sighing, he shakes his head. “Well, then you need to relax, because there’s not a chance in hell either of us will make it through a movie like this.”

“I can’t help it that my arm’s asleep already from your massive body cutting off its blood supply,” I grumble. Lifting my arm to rest on the back of the couch, I grab the extra pillow and prop it up against my ribs. “Try it now.”

He hesitates for the briefest moment, and I’m almost expecting him to change his mind. But then he’s turning around and positioning himself in the opening between my torso and arm, surprising the both of us when he fits in the space perfectly.

Only now, wereallymight as well be cuddling.

But despite the closeness, eventually, my body relaxes back into the couch cushions, and Kason is able to lean against me in a way that’s comfortable to us both. As weird as it might be—the two of us sitting like this—I’d be a liar if I said it wasn’t sort of nice too.

I’m chalking that up to being touch-starved, though.

We watch the movie in easy silence after that, the only sound coming from the television and the soft munching of Reese’s Pieces. Neither of us even make a single movement until the part of the movie with the goddamn creepy lady sitting on top of the wardrobe.

That’s when Kason damn near jumps out of his skin, and I start cackling like a damn harpy.

“Don’t laugh at me,” he gripes, shoving his shoulder into mine as he gets comfortable again.

“Oh, c’mon,” I grouse, giving him a playful nudge back. “You had to know it was coming. You said you’ve seen this before.”

“Still doesn’t mean I won’t get freaked out!”

I chuckle some more, my body shaking against his until I manage to calm down, and once again, we’re blanketed in peaceful silence.

That is, until an unexpected compliment slips from me before I can reel it back in.

“You played great today, you know.”

It must surprise Kason too, because he shifts to glance up at me over his shoulder. “How would you know? You know absolutely nothing about football.”

“That’s not true. I did a little bit of research before I went.” I nod my head back and forth against the couch cushion. “And I might’ve made a new friend at the game who helped me understand it a little better.”

“You, making friends? I highly doubt that.”

Rolling my eyes, I mutter, “There’s no need to be an ass, you know. It’s not the best way to keep this littlefair catchin place.”

That makes him laugh.

“I wouldn’t dare. Being an ass is your job.”

Damn. Kason Fuller is getting sassy with me? Living with me must really be starting to rub off on him.

“I’m a ray of fucking sunshine,” I remind him. “And my new friend would probably agree with me on that point.”

He scoffs, his head rolling against my shoulder as he murmurs a dubious, “Right. I’m sure.”

He’s clearly not taking the bait, and honestly, I’m a bit perturbed by it. In fact, I’m kind of annoyed that he didn’t mention seeing me at the game in general—even if it was a deal I agreed to—and the slightly petty part of me decides to dangle the carrot a little more.

“You might know him actually.” I pause, letting his mind run for a second before continuing. “Says he plays on the baseball team—which is yet another sport I know nothing about. But I guess if I’m already learning football, I might as well get that one under my belt this spring.”

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