Page 31 of Your Secret to Keep

Brooks

let me know when you’re home

Seeing his name has my stomach flipping like Simone Biles.

Me

home. About to crash

me too. thanks for coming over

thanks for dinner and the swim

feel free to bring a suit to leave here next time

or not

When he sends a few devil emojis, I shake my head, my hands covering my eyes. Did tonight really happen? Did Brooks cook for me? Did I swim in his pool in only my bra and panties? Did he actually rip my bra down the middle? Did I let him deliver one of the most earth-shattering orgasms of my life and with only his hands?

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes, and yes.

I could’ve stayed the night but that felt too fast. I didn’t want to ruin anything, kind of like when you first flip open the page of a new notebook and the pages are crisp and flat. Also, I didn’t want to push my luck. Or karma. Or whatever the hell is working in the background to bring Brooks Pittman to me.

I feel the warmth rush over my cheeks—the only confirmation I need.

Falling into bed, I pull the duvet to my chin and try to remember the last time I had a secret this good.

Chapter 19

Brooks

“Goingtostartcallingyou Corn Flakes,” Jalen teases while he laces his shoes. We’re at the gym even though it’s our day off, but it feels good. Getting back into a routine has been a key part of my recovery and something that’s immediately benefited my mental health. Who would’ve thought consistency was one of the main things keeping me sane?

“Corn Flakes?”

“Yeah, you flaked last night. The bar? You said you’d come for at least one drink.”

Well, shit.I completely forgot.

He stands in front of me. “What happened?”

“I, ugh, lost track of time,” I lie, focusing on my own shoes.

Jalen says nothing as I stand, putting my phone away in my locker.

“You’re shit at lying. You know that right?” His eyebrows are raised and he’s not telling me anything I don’t already know. I didn’t consider this part—keeping a secret from people who know me, like Jalen.

I mean, there’s no way Lia isn’t going to tell a girlfriend or two. My brain tries to calculate the risk of telling Jaleneverything. He’s the guy I’d call for anything I truly needed, no matter where I was, and I know he’d come through.

“Why are you thinking so damn hard? Smoke is going to start coming out of your ears,” he laughs, proving how well he knows me.

“It’s kind of a secret,” I admit, looking around the locker room to make sure it’s still the two of us.

“You act like I haven’t seen you read a romance book on your Kindle on an away game flight. Or how about the time we went and saw the new Grinch movie and you cried at the end?”

The blood hits my cheeks and I shake my head before laughing and covering my eyes with my hands. “Do you ever stop talking?”

“I didn’t tell anyone about that. Not even Stephanie. You know she has a book club? They read the same book you were reading, and I didn’t even tell her then!”

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