Page 9 of 2nd and 7

“He does. Unhealthy obsession,” I agree.

“Like stalking?”

“Jesus, I’m never living this down, am I?”

She shrugs. “Probably not.”

“I just…I kept forgetting to get your number and then we had the bye week, and I wasn’t gonna see you and after what happened to Phia, I wanted to make sure you were ok. You seemed very off when Lyn and I brought you home.”

“Yeah, about that.” She glances up at me and then focuses on the path before us. “I…I didn’t know…it bothered me, I guess, to hear Shaye speak like that to you. I know you have a past, and I don’t blame you for that, I have my own…limited experience. But I realized that if you’d been with girls like Shaye and other cheerleaders, I probably wasn’t your type, and you were just being polite because of Lyn—”

I cut her off with my mouth. Fuckin’ hell. Her lips are soft and silky. I press harder, cupping her face with my hands. When I lick across her lush lips, she moans and opens for me. I take my time, and this right here is worth the potential prison sentence for stalking her. I soften the kiss and slowly pull back.

“You areverymuch my type, Edee. Everything about you sings to me.”

“But Shaye—”

I close my eyes and rest my forehead against her. “I’ve never been with Shaye; she’s always been a bitch. But I have been with some of the cheerleaders. And the band. Majorettes. Dance squad.” She places her fingers over my lips to get me to stop talking. “And the chess club president.” Her fingers slip and her mouth gapes in surprise. “I like a smart woman.” My hands drift down her body to her wide hips. I clutch them as I bring her closer to me. “Which is only one of the reasons I like you.”

“You like ‘em limber, too,” she mumbles.

I dip my head down to her neck, breathing her in and pressing a soft kiss to the thin skin of her throat. “I look forward to learning how limber you are…” I step back, my hands falling from her sides, “in due time.” Interlacing our fingers, I resume our walk.

She clears her throat, “Where’s Lyndell?”

“Fuck!” I completely forgot. I take off at a fast jog, dragging her along with me. She’s laughing at me but struggling to keep up. “Sorry, sorry.” I slow down a little.

“What’s the rush?”

“Lyndell is done and I’m gonna be late picking him up.”

“From where?”

“He’s in the Good Work program, sort of.”

“What’s that?” she asks, her tone interested, if a little labored from our fast pace.

“Good Work is a program on campus that assists the intellectually disabled students in developing useful skills to findgainful employment and life lessons like maintaining a checking account, cooking, and basic home care.”

“I didn’t know that existed.” Her voice is thin, her eyes watery when she smiles up at me. “That’s amazing. What do you mean he’s ‘sort of’ in the program?”

I laugh thinking of my big brother. “This will be my 5thyear here. He’s been with me since the first football training camp before my freshman year. He has technically graduated from the program twice. But the faculty let him hang around and help others in the program. He works at the laundry facilities. He was promoted last year to supervisor.” I am so proud of Lyndell. He has come so far in the last few years, all thanks to the exemplary and compassionate staff at the university.

“Wow!” She grins. “I didn’t know the towel boy was a professional.” Her free hand reaches across her body to brush my cheek. “You love him.”

“Of course, I do. He’s my brother.”

She shakes her head, her grin softening into a sweet smile. “It’s more than that.”

“He’s my fucking hero,” I say hoarsely, my throat straining with emotion. “He’s my world.”

Edee stops us, stepping in front of me. I look down at her, waiting. On her toes, she lightly brushes her lips against mine, once, twice. “Thank you for letting me be a part of your world.”

Edee 6.

I’m on a date with the university mascot and his brother. The date part isn’t weird, I’ve been on a few in my time, it’s who it’s with that is taking some getting used to. We’re sitting in one of the dining halls, nothing fancy, and not a typical location for a first date, but I’m having such an unexpectedly wonderful time.

I pull out my phone, under the guise of checking for messages, open the camera and hold it upright for a few seconds. The Wicawiil brothers bicker about laundry, of all things. Ty is doing it just to get a rise out of his big brother and Lyndell takes the bait.

---