Page 84 of When to Call a Blitz

The three of us dance for what feels like the entire night, but when Elara runs over to drag Juniper away, I’m left with Heidi in our own little bubble.

“I told you I want to try this.” I tuck her hair behind her ear, and I feel her shiver as my breath hits her skin.

“And I think I told you I wasn’t sure you meant it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You said that.”

I spin her once, watching us in the reflection of the glass behind her. Beyond it, the twinkling of the inner harbor feels magical. I’ve always loved Leo’s place.

“I’m an idiot,” I tell her, my lips inching closer to her ear.

“Mmm,” she hums, swaying with the rhythm.

“And I’ll spend a lot of time proving just how much.”

“This feels sudden,” she whispers breathlessly as my lips graze her ear. Her chest arches into mine.

“It’s not.”

“Why did you change your mind so much?”

“Because I’m scared to lose you.”

“You think you’re going to lose me?”

I nod. “I’m always scared I’m going to lose everyone. Juniper, Leo. You.”

She pulls away, her nose practically grazing mine as she looks into my eyes so intensely it feels like she’s looking through me. Like she can read every thought I’ve ever had about her, even the impure ones I’ve had lying in bed at night, my fist around my cock.

The thoughts I’ve pretended with such fervor didn’t exist and never happened, the shame crashing down around me like ice water every time.

“You’ve known I’ve wanted you. You’ve known since that night.”

I nod.

She bites her lip, placing a hand on my upper chest. The second she does, her brows furrow, and her fingers make their way to my neckline where she pulls the chain from under my shirt.

“You wore it.”

“I’ve been wearing it.”

I’ve worn the necklace Heidi gave me almost every day as long as I wasn’t at practice. It sits under my t-shirts to stay safe, and the feeling of it against my skin feels grounding.

“What does Leo put in his god damn food?” She giggles, and although I’m confused, I can’t help but laugh with her. She shakes her head. “I feel like something big happens at every damn Thanksgiving party I’ve been to or heard about.”

I don’t mask my confusion well.

“You know what happened that year with the fantasy league?” Her face twists with shock.

The fantasy league fizzled out the year after Owen and Isla got together, mainly because a couple of people were traded. With the drama that happened that year, most people didn’t want to join and Leo couldn’t get Ian to come back.

Leo tried to make it work for one more year before he decided it wasn’t worth it.

That doesn’t mean that it won’t be back, though. I need to kick his ass again.

“You do know that’s the night Ian dropped Owen,” she trails off, her brows arched through the roof.

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