Page 28 of Winning Brynn

"What?" My eyes dart downward, discovering that she is, in fact, correct. My almost-nakedness hadn't occurred to me until this very moment. "Oh."

Brynn swallows, fixing her gaze to somewhere over my shoulder. "You should probably put me down now."

"Okay." I nod, scooping her up before settling her back on the bed beside me. "Do you want me to go?"

She nods, not meeting my eye.

Her discomfort radiates like a thick smoke, billowing between us and sinking my heart into my stomach.

"I'm sorry," I croak, my voice rough and choked with guilt. "Did I make it weird?"

Her lips twitch with amusement. "No." She shakes her head. "I want you to leave soIdon't make it weird."

I frown in confusion. "What?"

Still not looking at me, she waves a hand in my general direction. "You're not wearing a shirt," she repeats.

Oh...Oh!

Pursing my lips together, so as not to reveal just how chuffed I am with that, I inch my shirtless self toward the door with rejuvenated confidence. Flashing her a look over my shoulder that I may or may not have used previously to pick up women in bars, I shoot her a wink.

"Good night, Brynn."

"Good night, Leo."

And am I imagining it, or does her voice really come out all breathy and flustered? And what does it say about me that I hope it's the latter?

"Dude, what the fuck happened to your face?" Alex stares down at my jaw as we shower in the locker room after practice.

Coach Carter made us both run an extra drill after everyone else had left for purposely tripping each other up while we were running sprints, so we're the only guys in here. Why Alex then deemed it necessary to take the shower directly next to mine is beyond me.

Stepping into my personal space, as if he isn't completely naked with his dick swinging proudly between his legs, he peers closer at the bruise pluming purple on my skin.

"Can you back the fuck up, man?" I frown, pushing him away with a hand to his chest. "I'm not Roman. I don't wanna get all up and personal with your junk."

"It was a threesome one time." He pouts but takes a step back. "Okay, maybe a few more times after that, but we stuck firmly to our zones."

I shake my head, exasperated.

Why this man is my best friend, I'll never know.

"So, what happened?" he asks again, though thankfully maintains a respectful distance this time. "It looks sore."

"Your sister happened."

He nods knowingly. "Did you finally piss her off so bad she hit you?"

I pinch the bridge of my nose. "Bloody hell, no."

"Then what?"

"She had a nightmare and struck me while I was trying to calm her down."

"Oh." Surprisingly, his easy smile remains on his face. "Yeah, she gets those sometimes. She usually takes meds to stop them, but they make her super drowsy during the day, so she's probably laying off them while she's looking after Say."

"You're smiling," I say. Apparently, Brynn's tendency to state the obvious is contagious. "You're usually so protective over her, but you're not worried about this?"

"Nah, it's not that." He turns off the shower and grabs his towel from the rack on the wall. I follow his lead. "But you should ask her what she's dreaming about, because that shit is wild."

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