Page 75 of Third and Ten

“Thanks,” she mutters, hesitating for a second before taking the flowers. She brings them over to the nightstand beside her bed.

“You’re welcome. And you’re already dressed just fine. Let’s go.”

She rolls her eyes and turns to her closet without addressing me again, so I step inside. There’s a growing pile of clothes on her bed, and suddenly, the fact that she’s worried about wearing the right thing is making me nervous all over again.

“I’m obviously not wearing this. What kind of activities are there on our itinerary?”

My eyebrows shoot up. There are plenty of activities I want to do with Tenley, but most of them don’t require that she be dressed.

I clear my throat. “Just dinner for tonight. I suspect we’re both too competitive to risk the batting cages or mini golf before the third date.”

“Hmm,” is all she says from her closet. Then she turns and glares at me, her eyes roaming over my body and making me want to suggest we ditch the whole idea of going out and wearing clothes in lieu of finding something else better to do. “I’m guessing we aren’t just hitting up a Walk-On’s, either, or you’d be wearing a polo instead of that dress shirt.”

Oh. Yeah.

She’s checking out my outfit and not necessarily me. I sniff, slightly offended by her tone. I guess it’s a good thing I planned to take her somewhere nicer than a sports bar.

“Right.”

She returns to her task, and I take a second to inventory the room. It’s mostly neat, with the exception of the clothes and shoes she’s been digging through, and not quite as girly as I expected. I walk around, spotting some fan gear and taking note of the simple curtains and bedding.

I turn my attention back to her as she continues picking through hanger after hanger. Then my feet involuntarily lead me over, and I finally give in to the urge to wrap my arms around her from behind. I gently press my lips on the back of her neck, relishing this moment after dreaming about it for the past couple of months.

Her chest expands as she inhales shakily.

“Tenley, it doesn’t matter what you wear,” I murmur against her skin. “I’m just looking forward to staring at you all night.” Then I kiss the area just below her left ear a couple more times before loosening my grip.

She clears her throat as I back away, and I can’t tell whether my embrace has bothered her in a good or a bad way. “If you, um, don’t mind giving me some privacy, I promise I’ll be out in a minute.” She doesn’t turn around as I walk out and shut the door behind me.

Back in the living room, Mr. Jude is awake and watching college football. If Tenley won’t acknowledge me, maybe he will.

We’re just getting into the Bama and Ole Miss game when she finally emerges, her flowers in hand. “I’m just going to put these in a vase, then we can go,” she announces.

“Cool,” I reply, barely glancing away from the TV.

I feel her nudging my foot a minute later. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay here instead?” she asks with her hands on her hips.

“Uh, one second, babe. I just need to see this next play,” I say distractedly. She hasn’t exactly been responding well to me so far, so I figure it can’t hurt to play hard to get, just a little.

Then I hear her grumbling something under her breath, and I suppress a smile. Though I’d never willingly admit it to him, my brother’s been right about more than one thing: Tenley seems much more interested when I give her a reason to think I’m not. I reach out to yank her arm until she plops down beside me on the couch, and her dad laughs as he watches our exchange.

Alabama scores on the next play, and I slap my hands down onto my lap. “All right, ready?” I finally turn to face her, immediately blowing my cover because she looks so beautiful. She rolls her eyes at my goofy expression and places her hand in mine when I stand and offer to pull her upright.

“How tall are you, anyway, JD?” Mr. Jude asks as Tenley smooths out the skirt of the relatively modest dress she’s changed into. But I’m too busy appreciating the way it outlines her curves and hangs so perfectly over her hips to answer him. And now all I can think about is how desperately I want to put my hands on the narrow part of her waist and pull her closer.

I clear my throat, guilty of staring too hard again. “Sir?”

“I bet you’ve got to sleep in a king-sized bed, don’t you?”

Tenley glares at him, oblivious to the way I’m still gaping at her. “Dad, please don’t start,” she warns.

I hesitate, glancing back and forth between the two of them, though Mr. Jude continues watching me expectantly. “California king,” I finally reply. “I need the extra legroom.”

He grins at Tenley, who stands with her arms crossed, looking irresistibly fâché. Her eyes meet mine and her expression softens, and I can tell I’ve accidentally made things worse for her as her cheeks darken.

“There’s still plenty of space beside me, though,” I add with a wink, hoping to lighten the mood. She shakes her head and tries not to smile, and Mr. Jude laughs so hard that Mrs. Therese rushes in to check on him.

“Right,” Tenley returns after a while. “Good to know.”

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