Page 55 of Stuck with my Guarded MVP
I brushed my teeth, lay down, and stared at the ceiling.
I couldn’t sleep.
At first, I thought it was the usual post-game noise in my head, but there hadn’t been a game. Just dinner. Talking. Her hand under mine.
I gave up trying to toss and turn my way out of it. Grabbed the book from my nightstand and walked out into the hallway. The living room light was still on.
Claire was on the couch, curled up on her side, her journal tucked under one arm. Fast asleep.
Her hair had slipped out of its tie and tumbled over the pillow. Her breathing was slow. Even.
I stood there for a second. Then I grabbed the throw blanket off the back of the couch and unfolded it. Carefully, I draped it over her. She didn’t stir.
I straightened up and looked down at her. No notes. No Post-its. No task list in her hand. Just peace. I’d never seen her like that.
I didn’t mean to linger. But I couldn’t help it.
She made things better.
Even like this.
Someone Like Him
Claire
The next morning, I lay in bed, blinking up at the ceiling.
Was it still possible I was full from last night’s dinner?
I stretched one arm toward the nightstand just as my phone buzzed.
Maeve.
My heart jumped. I sat up fast and answered. “Hello?”
"Claire! Hey, sorry if I woke you. I’ve been trying to reach Liam, but he’s not picking up."
"Uh—" I glanced toward the hallway. My cheeks went warm. His sister had calledme. "Pretty sure he’s here. Hang on one sec."
The second I stood, my pulse kicked up. I was about to walk down Liam’s hallway.Hishallway. I hadn’t stepped foot in that wing since moving in.
It felt… personal.
I walked towards his wing and turned left. Family photos lined the wall, some recent, some sun-warmed and older. One of Maeve with her arm slung around Liam’s neck at what looked like a graduation. Another of him in full gear, mid-save, fully focused. Then—
I paused.
Liam stood next to a girl with long, dark hair and warm eyes. She looked… familiar. But there was something in her posture, the tilt of her head, her smile, the slope of her cheekbones that made me do a double-take.
She looks like a younger version of me.
I kept moving before I could read too much into it.
His door was cracked open slightly. I lifted my hand to knock and caught my breath when I saw him.
His back was to me. Shirtless. Just a pair of low-slung sweats and a towel draped around his neck. Damp hair curling slightly at the ends. Skin flushed from the shower.
He was rifling through a drawer, totally unaware.
