Page 11 of The Long Game

Her head falls back as she laughs.

She moves on past the dating titles quickly, and I’m both disappointed and relieved. Yes, I guess that’s what I’ve been asking her for. A relationship with titles. It just occurred to me.

It’s a little tougher than I thought to wrap my head around. I’ve been dodging women for over half my life, begging me for exactly that commitment. And here I am, on the opposite side, practically begging a woman for the thing I’ve been against since freshman year of high school. Except for the short stint with Julia Arnette in middle school. She thought football was a stupid pipedream. That was the end of that short-lived puppy love. That’s the moment I decided that women were trouble, and they would only hold my dreams back.

But not Lexi. She was the opposite. She was pushing me towards my career and instead, holding us back.

"You and I will barely ever see each other. At best, I’ll see you a couple times during your regular season when I have time to fly out to the west coast, which will be practically never. Then in your off-season, we’ll see each other occasionally when I’m in between projects, assuming I don’t have to put in my usual sixty hours at the office. Seeing you a couple times a year isn’t a relationship. That’s my regular scheduled visits with my gynecologist," she jokes.

"Yeah, and your GYN and I both know how incredible your pussy is."

She shoves my chest playfully but there’s also some frustration in it too. She thinks I’m not taking this seriously. I get it. But I’ve been on the other side of this where we don’t try and that’s not making me any happier.

"You’re not listening…" she says.

"I am. I swear I am." My hand slides slowly up her thigh. I never want to forget what she feels like under my fingertips. "But I can tell you from experience, distance is never going to make me want you less. Distance isn’t going to make me want to try less."

She looks like she is going to deny it. I react on impulse, standing and head over to the bedroom dresser. My typical dump spot for my wallets, keys… now added to the list, Super Bowl ring.

I don’t know if it’s from the lack of sleep, or if all the blood from my cock hasn’t returned to my head yet, but I reach for my ring and a roll of athletic tape, before climbing back on the bed with her.

I turn to her, and she sees the ring in my hand. Her face turns a little pained, her brows squeezing together and lips thinning into a line. She tries to give a bland smile to hide it. I should probably read into this more but it’s two in the damn morning and she’ll be on an aircraft before I know it, putting thousands of miles between us again.

"Oh…"

"Just…listen. I’m not proposing."

She audibly exhales, and I won’t lie, it kind of hurts.

"I need a sign, Lex. I can’t keep wondering what you’re thinking every time we end up in bed together. Every time we end up in close proximity to each other. I need a sign when I see you next, to know where you stand." I hold up the ring between us and she stares at it. "Wear the ring. I don’t care how. Wear it on a chain around your neck or as a toe ring for all I damncare but wear it where I can see it." I take the athletic tape and start wrapping a small sliver of material around the ring to size it a little closer to her ring size. I’m shooting for thumb or index finger but if it fits her ring finger, it would be a happy surprise. Not that I’m ready for engagement rings, yet.

"Wear the ring if you decide you want to be with me. But if you decide you’re done, if you decide I’m not worth fighting for anymore, send the ring back. This way, the next time I see you, I’ll know where I stand."

"You earned this ring, Tuck. I can’t take it."

"This ring means nothing to me without you. I get you and the ring or nothing at all."

"Tucker…" Her eyes fill with unshed tears. I don’t know what the tears mean and I’m not strong enough to find out. I pull her against me and kiss her forehead where the scar from the worst day of my life is barely noticeable along her hairline. But I know where it is…I’ll never forget the accident at the lake house where I realized my true feelings for Lexi.

Chapter Four

Nine Years Before—Lake House

Tucker

"I’m going to check on Luca. I’m freaking starving!" Lexi says as she swims to the dock and begins to climb the submerged metal staircase attached to it.

I nod, still floating quietly nearby with a Coors in one hand.

My vision catches on the sight of Lexi Benson emerging out of the water in her white string bikini and glistening soft curves. It happens in slow motion as my breath catches and my fingers itch to find out where those tan lines end.

I slam my eyes shut, trying to shake the image of what Lexi might look like naked in my hands.

She’s Luca Benson’s baby sister and a girl I've known most of my life. She’s off limits.

A loud thud comes from the dock. My eyes glance quickly back towards Lexi.

My heart slams in my chest as I watch her fall limp into the deep green water.

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