Page 19 of Scoreless Nights

Depraved.

But it wasn’t her fault. It never was. I may have had a hard time dealing with those feelings as a teenager, but as an adult, I trusted myself. We were starting over. And I could be a good big brother to her, the way my dad always wanted me to be.

ChapterEleven

Lily

Iwas tucked in, warm, and smelling a lot like Cruz when I popped my eyes open the next morning. Whatever he showered or shaved with, was permeating my nose, and my smile was a reflex as I stretched.

Then reality hit me, and I sat up, taking in the fact that I was actually in my room, and really did smell like Cruz. Checking the time, I shuffled out of bed, noting that I had three hours before my interview, then cracked my door open. Cruz had clearly helped me to bed and for some reason, I expected that to make things awkward again.

Tip-toeing down the short hallway and past the living room, I got to the bathroom then closed myself in. It didn’t take me long to brush my teeth and hair before I tried sneaking back to my room.

“Buenos días.”The sound of his voice took me by surprise.

With a hand over my heart, I looked around for Cruz and saw him shirtless with his feet up on the coffee table. A tablet was in his hand, and his hair looked as if he had just woken up. Damn he looked good. No one ever lived up to how hot Cruz Martin was, and not once had I ever tried denying it.

“Hey,” I waved. “You’re up early.”

He flashed the screen of his tablet and smiled. “Studying the team we face tomorrow. No rest for the weary.”

“What time did you get home?”

“Midnight.”

I was nodding with my arms wrapped around my midsection, wishing I had the foresight to put a bra on before I went on my little adventure to the bathroom. But what did it matter? There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I was on that chaise lounge when I fell asleep. Cruz probably saw all of me then, as well.

“You moved me?” Asking seemed appropriate even though I knew the answer.

“Just in case it stormed.”

“You could have woken me up.”

“Oh I tried,” he laughed. “You were dead to the world.”

That was probably true. I had been so overwhelmed with the patio furniture showing up, and exhausted from watching Cruz’s game, that I slept really hard. It was laughable that I even tried reading my book in the first place.

“Oh,” he set his tablet aside and stood up, walking closer to me. “You probably make that soup better than your mom. Thanks for leaving me some.”

“Yeah,” I floundered with what else to say. I had almost forgotten I’d even made it.

After the furniture arrived, I no longer wanted to go to the beach, so I made a quick trip to the grocery store and gathered items for something I thought Cruz may like. All I could remember was the way he devoured my mom’s soup.

“She taught me when I got older.”

“Well it made you my favorite house guest of all time.”

I was sure I was turning beet red, and my feet started moving toward my room to hide. Cruz was hard enough to deal with when he was grumpy, but seeing him smile and relaxed was not in my social skill set yet.There was still too much to learn.

“Thank you for the patio furniture. I spent all day soaking in the view, except when I watched your game.”

“Joder,” he mumbled, sliding his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. “So you saw?”

“You did great.” My sincerity was real, but he still looked at me with disbelief.

“We needed a win.”

“I don’t get the details, but you only let one guy score. I was impressed.”

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