Page 48 of Tempting the Goalie
Luc
She sits beside me, tucking her legs to the side. “I didn’t think you wanted to have the talk.”
“I don’t think we have much choice. Not with the way we can’t keep our hands off each other,” I note.
“That is posing a problem, isn’t it?” she says with nonchalance.
I smirk. “Seriously though. What are we doing? I’ve never been with anyone this long. What are the expectations?”
She blows out a breath. “Whoa, that sounds really bad and if you were any other guy, I’d walk right out of here.”
She shifts a little and I take hold of her hand, something inside me softening. “You know how I feel about you. I’ve always loved you, Izzy, and this thing between us has thrown me for a loop. If I say the wrong thing you can’t hold it against me. You’re my person. I need you in my life.”
She shifts toward me and places her hand over mine. “I love you too, Luc. And I get that we say that to each other in a way of a long friendship that has endured. What I’ve realized is I’m happy. I wasn’t happy with West. It felt more like I was goingthrough the motions with him. I was a virgin and never had a boyfriend, and so I did what I felt was expected of me in a way,” she sighs. “But now I feel alive. I’m enjoying myself and I don’t want that to end. I’m sorry if me saying that freaks you out, but I’ve never hid my feelings from you.”
“I don’t want you to ever hide from me,” I say. “This thing between us has been good for me too, Izzy. I’ve wanted in your pants since we were teenagers and now that I’m in them, I don’t want it to end either, but you know me. I don’t want kids or the white picket fence.”
She watches me with a sadness in her eyes I don’t like. “You’ve wanted me since we were teenagers?”
I laugh. “That’s what you took from everything I’ve said?”
“I need to hear you confirm that first.” She quirks her fine lips.
“Yes, Izzy, I was horny for your ass. It’s why I stopped having so many sleepovers with you once we hit high school. You like to sleep on your side and push your bum out and it somehow always had my cock on alert, knowing how fine you are and how close you were.”
“I wanted you too,” she blurts. “But it was always just so complicated. Life has never been straight forward for us, has it?”
“It hasn’t,” I agree. “You wanted me?”
Now it’s her turn to giggle. “That’s what you took from everything I just said?”
I shake my head and laugh. “Luc, I know you and I still want you. This thing between us”—she motions with her hand between us— “it feels good. I’m happy for the first time in a long time. I know you can’t promise me forever. Truth is, after West promised me everything I wanted and didn’t follow through, it got me thinking. I have been in a really messed-up headspace. My relationship with West wasn’t healthy. We didn’t have the same intimacy you and I do. We didn’t see each other often.Looking back, I don’t really feel like I knew him at all, which made me realize that I was more in love with the dream of what he was offering me than what our reality had been.”
“When we were younger, I remember us talking about having normal lives and a normal family. I wanted that too,” I admit.
“I remember,” she says quietly, and I watch her. Damn, she is so pretty. Watching her torn up makes my chest hurt.
“I don’t want this to end, but I know the longer we stay together the deeper we will both fall. It isn’t fair of me to ask that of you,” I confess.
“Luc, you’re the best person I know.” She laughs.
“That is a gross exaggeration.” I laugh too. “This started with me asking you for help when I got myself into a . . .” I clear my throat and mumble, “situation.”
“No, Luc, this started with two best friends who were growing up and had feelings beyond friendship,” she corrects.
My heart stutters at her words. She isn’t wrong. “You’re right, but where does that leave us now? I don’t want to hurt you, Izzy.”
She shifts closer and crawls into my lap so I’m cradling her. I place my arms around her. “I know you would never hurt me on purpose. I want this, Luc. I don’t want to worry about what will be a month from now or three months from now. I just want to live in the moment. Planning life really doesn’t get you anywhere. How many people do you know whose life has turned out exactly as planned?”
“I’m assuming that’s a rhetorical question.” I chuckle.
“Point proven. No one,” she says.
I exhale and the tension I was feeling in my chest eases. She takes my hand in hers. “Let’s enjoy the summer with no expectations.”
“What about our families? Are we going to hide this from them?” I ask.
“That’s a tough one. This feels so new. I wouldn’t mind keeping things a secret for now,” she says.
