Page 19 of Most Valuable Player
I smirk. “Seems like you could find something if you squinted.”
Darius laughs, and then it’s quiet again. Damn it. What topic should I bring up next? He’s probably fumbling for a reason to step away. “You…You can…go,” I say feebly.
His eyes, which were glazed on the fire, sharpen so they can look at me. “What?”
“You don’t have to stay here. Um. With me,” I clarify. I can already feel heat seeping into my face, and I hope the flames aren’t bright enough to illuminate it. “I know you’d probably rather hang out with the guys.”
Darius laughs in a low rumble that shakes the ground under my feet. “You’re kidding, right?” he asks skeptically. “I have to spend every waking moment with those dipshits. I’d much rather be here right now.”
Oh. Right. “I guess it’s quieter,” I agree. Since I can’t maintain a conversation to save my fucking life, and all.
“It is. Besides, I’d prefer to hang out with you.”
That gives me pause, and I knit my brows. He’s back to watching the flames snap and twirl, nursing his cup against his lip. Why would he say that? To make me feel better? “I don’t have much to say,” I admit. “Sorry. If you feel obligated to stand with me…”
“What are you talking about?”
Darius looks both baffled and vaguely annoyed, and I think I’ve screwed something up. Panic closes my throat, but thankfully, my phone rings—the perfect escape. Thoughtlessly, I swipe the screen and bring it to my ear as I jog away. “Hello?” I say, the haze of anxiety clearing.
“Mason?”
My heart plummets into my stomach. The air leaves my lungs in one shaky exhale. “Don’t call me,” I sputter out, and I disconnect, but it doesn’t matter. His word, low and smooth, still reverberates in my ears. It’s been so long since I’ve heard him say my name.
My pulse rams against my throat and water glasses my eyes. My phone hums.
Sorry if I caught you off guard. If you aren’t ready to call, I’m happy to text. :)
Ah. This isn’t good. My thoughts are an incoherent mess. My stomach twists and flutters and aches. My fingers are moving.
I’m sorry, I don’t think we should text.
I told myself I would never apologize to him again. Yet here I am, my first two words to him in months.
I’m sorry.
I understand. Let me know if you need anything. I’m always here for you.
He’s never said something like this before. Does that mean he’s maybe…?
I massage the wetness from my eyes, shoving my phone in my pocket. I don’t want to be here. I can’t do this right now. So I power walk to the glass door, then round the corner into Ravi’s kitchen, nearly slipping on a trail of water leading into the house.
When I look up, it’s because I’m slamming face-first into a naked Cameron Morelli.
Chapter Six
Mason
Okay, he’s notnakednaked. He’s wearing stretchy Hanes, which are soaked and clinging to him in all of the…uh. Places. That you might expect.
It’s the only thing I comprehend before I realize I’m falling.
I ram so hard into him that I rebound backward, and my heel slips in the water left behind by his dripping body. He tries to catch me but doesn’t have the proper footing, and my weight drags him down. I don’t know how he does it in the split seconds we have before we collide with the ground, but somehow, his hand finds the back of my head, and he manages to twist us a full one hundred and eighty degrees.
He hits the tile floor on his back, and I land flat on top of him.
It takes me a few perilous seconds to understand what’s going on. How did I slip backward and end up on top of him? But, no, why does that matter when I’mpressed fully against Cameron Morelli’s half-naked sopping-wet body?I choke out a pitiful noise and instinctively throw my hands out to push myself away. Both of them land on his smooth, toned chest below his razor-sharp collarbone. His tan skin is warm despite the coolness of the kiddie pool.
“I’m sorry” is all I can croak, fire roaring into my face, and I throw my (now-damp) body sideways off his without touching him.
