Page 29 of Play It Off

“Want to get out of here?” he asks, his voice a low, sexy rumble.

I lean in closer, certain I misheard him. “Excuse me?”

“I asked if you wanted to leave.” He looks deep into my eyes, as if he can see into the depths of my soul. “With me.”

I blink at him, thrown by the question. “You want to leave with me?”

Gavin shakes his head, averting his gaze and staring off into the distance. “Don’t question it too much, Sienna. I might take it all back.”

That is the only prompt I need to hear. I scoot out of the booth and stand. “Let’s go.”

Chapter TwelveGavin

What. The. Hell. Am I doing?

I leave Charley’s through the back entrance with Sienna, her just behind me, our hands linked.Linked.

She doesn’t say a word. Neither do I. We walked to Charley’s, and we are just as capable of walking back to my apartment, where there is no one to disturb us. No roommates around either. We’ll be all alone.

And fuck me, I don’t know if I’ll be able to control myself. Maybe I don’t want to.

Yeah. I definitely don’t want to.

The entire night at Charley’s was torture. The moment I see Sienna, I want to be around her. She’s so damn sweet, so giving, and after the blistering conversation I had with my father earlier, I’m still feeling raw. Needy. He had some harsh criticism for me as usual, reminding me of all the mistakes I made, which always messes with my head. This might be the dumbest idea of my life, but here I am, desperate to be alone with her and making it happen.

Fuck it. I’m tired of holding back. She wants me. I want her. What’s the harm in it? I haven’t had sex in months. Mostly because no one appeals to me, with the exception of Sienna. She seems to understand me like no other woman I’ve ever met, and I just ...

I need someone tonight. I need her.

We’re back at my apartment within five minutes, and I unlock the door via the keypad, pushing it open and holding it for her to let her in. She walks past me, her body brushing against mine, my skin catching fire from the contact, and I slowly close the door. Lock it. Press my forehead to it for a moment and take a deep breath.

“Why did you invite me back here?”

Damn, she would ask the tough questions.

“I just want to talk.” I turn and face her, noting the skepticism on her face.

“Okay.” She rests her hands on her hips, looking ready to challenge me. She’s so damn hot in the Dolphins T-shirt and jeans. She washed off the face paint at the bar, but I still see a few specks of white and blue on her skin. “Let’s talk.”

“Not in here.”

“Then where?”

“My room?”

Sienna goes quiet, her teeth sinking into her lower lip and looking sexy as fuck. “Gavin. What exactly are you asking me to do?”

“I’m tired, Freckles. I need to relax. And I couldn’t do that back at Charley’s. It was too busy. I just—need someone.” I swallow hard. Wonder if she knows that took a lot for me to admit.

“Just someone? Anyone?” Her brows lift. She’s going to make me say it.

“I need you,” I murmur.

Her expression barely changes at my confession. I spot a flicker of something in her eyes, but that’s it. “Let’s go to your room then.”

She follows me into my bedroom, and I don’t bother turning on the light. I just shed my clothes until I’m standing there in only my boxer briefs, feeling exposed. Even a little raw. This isn’t how I operate, telling a woman that I need her. I’ve gone through most of my life acting like I need no one. I believed I could do everything, gain anything I wanted on my own.

I’ve come to realize that I need a team. Not just with football because, yeah, that’s the fucking point. But in my life too. I need people I look up to like Coach and the rest of the staff. My friends—my best friends. I depend on those guys. They’re like family to me.

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