Page 82 of Spring Tide

“No.” He swallows, giving me an apologetic smile. “No, I want you to stay. Will you?”

“Yeah.”

“Come here, then.” He shifts on the bed, pulling me into the open space between his legs. Both arms wrap around my chest as I lean back against him. “Stay the night?”

“Only if I can sleep in your jersey.”

He chuckles, low and deep, as he murmurs against my hair, “How’d you know just what I wanted?”

24

LUCA

“You have a bye week, right?”

Harper’s lying stomach down on her bed, kicking her feet into the air while she doodles the circulatory system. Much to our mutual annoyance, we’ve spent all of our free time together this week studying. It’s a delicate balance between football practice, two sets of classes, my chaotic work schedule, and her internship.

“Yes, thankfully,” I say from my spot at her desk. There’s a physics journal sitting in front of me, but I can’t be bothered to open it. “I could use the break.”

She shuts her notebook, perching herself into a seated position. “Did you want to do something for Halloween? The baseball guys invited me and the girls to a party on Saturday.” She clears her throat, attempting a casual smile. “Nate specifically told me to bring you.”

A hot spike of jealousy pangs in my gut. “Nate?”

She hasn’t so much as mentioned his name for weeks, but I know she’s still working with the baseball team. That can’t be avoided. Besides, I’m fairly certain this thing between us is exclusive.

Shit. Itisexclusive, right?

“He’s trying to be nice, I think. Make up for being—”

“A complete dipshit?”

“You could call it that, but he has been really nice the last couple of weeks. Not that we talk often, just when we’re on the field or in the gym,” she rambles on, eyes wide. “So, what do you think?”

“Ah, I might be busy.”

Her smile fades, and it makes me want to slap myself.

“I know it’s not really your thing, but it could be a good chance for us all to hang out. You’ve met my friends, but we haven’t spent much time together as a group.”

“I was actually hoping to go home this weekend and see my family.”

That piques her interest. “Oh?”

“Yeah, I wanted to invite you along.” I brace myself for rejection. “But if you have plans ...”

“No, I’ll definitely go with you.” She pushes off the bed, settling herself onto my lap and wrapping both arms over my shoulders. “I don’t have a costume yet, anyway.”

“Okay, yeah.” I press a quick kiss to her forehead, fighting a grin. “We’ll go on Saturday afternoon, then. We can eat dinner with my parents and hang out with the kids for a while.”

She bounces on my lap, eagerly pressing her nose into the crook of my neck. “That sounds great.”

I hold her in my arms for a few minutes, running my hands through the ends of her golden-brown waves. I curl one thick strand around my index finger and lightly tug. “Harper, are you sure you don’t want to go out with your friends?”

She nudges me playfully, shaking her head. “There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”

* * *

One good thingabout visiting home is that we live less than twenty miles from Boyer. It’s a quick trip, one I could easily pull off on a random weeknight. Yet I haven’t been back here in months. As we merge onto the exit, I let my shoulders drop, guilt swirling in the pit of my stomach.

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