Page 123 of Scoring the Player
“Mm.”
I turn my head and kiss his pec. “They were real, though. We had to be in by a certain time and check in often when wewere out. They would shut stuff down the minute they thought our safety was compromised, or we were dropping the ball in school.”
“Sounds like they cared.”
I nod. “You ever think about being a parent?”
He blows out a breath. “I don’t know. I can’t really see it. But when I come out here to a place like this, I think a bunch of kids running around with me in the forest wouldn’t be the worst.”
I grin, imagining a bunch of curly-haired baby Blues barefoot in the mountains, living free in the way most of us forgot how to be.
“I could see that for you.”
“Yeah?”
“Yep.”
“What about you?” he asks.
“It could go either way. Though Sim is great with babies.”
It’s his turn to chuckle. “You have dad energy.”
I snicker. “Uh…thanks?”
“I just mean, if they are yours, I don’t doubt they’ll question that you want them. You’re too certain about things for them not to know.”
“When I know, I know.” And after a moment of quiet, I add, “And my parents will like you too.”
I wait for him to stiffen or brush that off.
When neither happens, I grin.
CHAPTER 30
ARNAZ
“Carry on”
Stressed vines ripen fruit.
Dry spells strengthen roots.
“Healing is a process.”
My therapist’s voice echoes in my ears as I scrub my hands over my face.
1:42 a.m.
I blow out a breath and will myself out of bed.
The air is crisp as I break into a jog. Instead of heading toward the ocean, I weave through the deserted streets.
Every time I think of the Tuesday three weeks away, my stomach stutters like a heartbeat.
Me. Him. The cabin.Again.
When he sent me the rental confirmation, I lit up brighter than Anaïs’s neon-green skin that time we stole Carter’s stash of LSD and cut school.
