Page 94 of Third and Ten

Plus…ALL THE BABIES.

(My ovaries supply that one.)

I slip my hand down between us, hoping to get some separation.

Okay, so I end up conducting a brief investigation of my own. But it’s for science, okay?

JD flinches and hisses through his teeth. “Please,” he begs, resting his forehead on my shoulder. I consider initiating some other non-pregnancy–inducing activities for a second, but then I think of the NFP-related stuff I’ve been reading; I know it’ll just feed the flame.

“I’m sorry. We have to stop,” I whisper.

He looks up at me with puppy-dog eyes and nods, then shakes his head side to side, making me laugh, and nods again. “I told you that you’d be the death of me, Tenley Jean,” he mumbles, his lips swollen and still enticing.

“You started it,” I complain. “And I warned you, remember?”

He sighs. “Yeah. I only meant to collect some light field observations, but that admittedly escalated too quickly.”

I giggle immaturely. “Oh, it definitely…escalated,” I say, quirking one of my eyebrows.

Stop it. Now.

We finally manage to come up for air, and I have the nerve to start cracking suggestive jokes? I knew I couldn’t trust myself with him.

He narrows his eyes at me. “Did you just… No. You can’t. Nope.”

“What?”

“You can’t get all hot and bothered with me, then roast little JD after leaving him all high and dry. Uh-uh. I’m the only one who gets to make the jokes after all that.”

“What do you mean?” I ask incredulously.

“None of this is even fair. I’ve got to put myself out there and look for clues just to figure out if you find me remotely attractive. In the meantime, I have no way of hiding exactly what you do to me,” he explains, taking a step closer to demonstrate his point.

I stifle a whimper when he backs away, and he grins. “Noted.”

Then I pull a face at him, but he just looks smug in return.

“You sure have been taking a lot of notes,” I remark, forgetting again that I’m not supposed to be flirting anymore.

“I plan on needing them, eventually,” he says, his voice deep. Then he pretends not to notice when I shiver.

He helps me down from the counter and leads me back to bed, which isn’t much of a mood-killer, if I’m being honest. But we settle in quietly beside one another, then he grabs the remote to turn the volume up on the game, presumably as a distraction. He leans back against the headboard with one arm raised, an offering for me to tuck myself in against him. I oblige, snuggling in nicely and trying my best to keep my eyes trained on the screen and not to glance down. After a few minutes, I hear him exhale loudly, and he pulls one of the multiple pillows stacked behind us to hold in his lap.

“Not a word,” he warns, and I snicker quietly.

“I’m not doing anything,” I say in defense.

He clears his throat. “I’m trying to close that Tenley tab in my browser before I have to go back to share a hotel room with my brother. And you have the audacity to squirm around and make noises like you aren’t reacting to this game?”

“Sorry.” I choke back the rest of my laughter and do my best not to make any sudden movements, though it’s a little difficult not to yell at the TV when the refs make a crazy call. By the time the game ends about twenty minutes later, I glance up and notice his eyes are closed, his breathing slow and steady. It isn’t even fair how beautiful he is, his long eyelashes curling up from his cheeks and his dimples set back into his stubble. And his nose…I love that it’s just a little too big for the rest of his face.

I watch him for a second longer, drinking in the sight of him as my eyes roam down his neck and torso until they reach the strategically placed pillow. The fact that he’s this gorgeous yet attracted to me is quite intimidating, to say the least. I inventory my own physical imperfections, my stomach turning when I consider letting JD see the stretch marks and dimples that accentuate my curves. Despite having a real appreciation for the female body and knowing that there are very few “perfect” ones out there, I’m still self-conscious about mine. The very same attributes I think make other women look distinctive and beautiful make me feel awkward and unworthy. And even though my figure is supposedly enviable, I hate that I don’t have a thigh gap and that my breasts can’t hold their own without an underwire. But I will just have to trust that JD really means it when he says that he likes my body the way it is.

I heave out a sigh. I’m overanalyzing everything, just seconds away from convincing myself that JD is too good for me. (Though he definitely is.) If I don’t get out of my own head, I’ll end up sabotaging our relationship. His intentions are obviously honest; he’d have given up on me a long time ago if they weren’t. And he certainly wouldn’t have given me a pass just now if he were only after sex.

I know what he wants. The only question is whether I’m capable of giving him everything he deserves.

I notice the time and reluctantly reach over to wake him. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty,” I say, rubbing his chest softly. “I think you’d better go back to your own room now. We don’t need you doing the walk of shame in front of Ethan and his friends in the morning.”

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