Chapter 3
Bishop
How long can I stare at my girlfriend before it’s considered creepy? Ten minutes? A half-hour?
Yeah, I really should get up and stop watching her sleep before she wakes up, catches me, and realizes just how obsessed I am with her.
Not that I plan on really hiding it, because I want to be around this girl every waking moment.
My eyes trail over her face, a smile still stuck on my lips as I watch her sleep peacefully. From her long eyelashes to the cute little freckle under her eye to the rest that scatter over her nose and across her cheeks.
She has one hundred and fifty-three lashes on her left eye and one hundred and forty-five on her right. And roughly about a hundred freckles. I’ve lost count and had to start over a few times.
Dear god, yup, I’m a fucking creeper. I really need to get out of this bed right now before this girl catches me and second-guesses ever saying yes to being my girlfriend.
Careful not to wake Lilly, I slide out of bed and make my way over to my dresser.
I grab a clean shirt, boxers, a pair of sweatpants, and one of my hoodies before sitting down at my desk chair to lace up my sneakers.
Quickly, I write a note to let her know I’m going to do my morning workout and I’ll be back later. Placing the note on the bedside table, I brush some hair off her forehead, letting my fingers linger as she makes a small noise. Grinning, I lean in and softly press a kiss to her forehead.
“I love you, il mio cuore, ” I murmur.
Leaving her to sleep–because it’s six in the morning, and I know my girl loves her sleep–I head into the hallway, quietly shutting the door behind me.
Just as I spin around to leave, I freeze. “What the hell?” I ask, blinking in surprise as I catch my baby sister staring at me with wide eyes, hand on her dorm room handle.
“Ahhh, morning?” She laughs nervously, giving me a sheepish grin.
“What on earth are you doing coming home at six in the morning?” I cross my arms over my chest as I raise a brow. “Looking like you're doing the walk of shame at that.”
Her face falls into a scowl. “There’s no walk of shame. Because there’s nothing for me to be ashamed about. I’m an adult, Bishop. I’m in college. I was at the same party you were. By the way, where the hell did you two go? We went looking for you both and couldn’t find you.”
“Don’t try to change the subject,” I scoff. “We clearly came back to the dorm. And if you're not doing the walk of shame, why are you walking yourself home, alone in the morning, still dressed in the same thing you were wearing yesterday?”
“I’m not alone,” she huffs, crossing her own arms, her heels dangling from her fingers.
“Really?” I grin. “Who’s with you? Your imaginary friend. Because, baby sis, I don’t see anyone but you and me. Maybe we should talk to Mom, see about getting your head checked. God knows it’s needed to be done for years now.”
Bianca narrows her eyes, glaring at me like she wishes her eyes would sprout lasers, and flips me off.
That's when the elevator door opens and out walks Jonas. “Ahh...” he starts as he steps off and into the hallway. “Everything okay?” he asks, looking between the two of us.
“Of course, you were with him,” I groan, glaring at my sister with annoyance before turning my eyes to my teammate. “What did I tell you about staying away from my sister?”
“And what did I tell you about getting fucked?” Bee sing-songs, opening her door. She pauses and takes a look around before turning back to me with a wolfish grin. “Or did a certain little blonde bestie do that for you?”
“Nothing fucking happened, thank you very much,” I grumble. Not that I didn’t want it to. Trust me, I really fucking did. Having Lilly grind against me like she did, driving me fucking wild as she used me for her pleasure, then having her shatter in my arms as she made me follow her over the edge was by far, to this day, the hottest thing that’s ever happened to me. And I think it’s safe to say I’m officially addicted to the woman.
But I meant what I said. When I’m inside her for the first time, I want to take my time with her, to make every second last. To make her feel so good, she doesn’t know what to do with herself. And that was not going to be in the front seat of my car.
“I’m not sure what you think happened,” Jonas begins. “But I can promise you, it was nothing.”
“You expect me to believe that you two partied all night and are just coming home now?” I raise a brow.
“No. Bee stayed in my room at the hockey house, and I slept on the floor.” He shrugs. “We drank too much, and it didn't make sense to go through all the trouble of getting her home when it was easier to just go upstairs. But...” he drawls out, making it a point to say this next part very clearly. “I locked the door. And I was with her the whole time. No drunk jocks were able to stumble into the room to do anything. And if they happened to, I’d have kicked their asses anyways.”
“Good,” I grumble. “Keep being a good man and all that shit, and maybe I’ll let you date my sister.”
“For fuck’s sake!” Bianca groans. “Would you just go away or something?” she huffs.
“Sure. But he–” I point to Jonas. “Is coming with me.”
“I am?” Joans’s brows raise.
“I was just leaving for the gym. Just because we’re missing a few games doesn’t mean the season’s over. Now, let’s go.”
“Wait?” Bianca stops me as I head towards the elevator. “Seriously, where’s Lilly?”
“In my room,” I tell her, shooting a grin over my shoulder, stepping into the elevator as Jonas joins me. “Expect that to be happening a lot more now.”
Her mouth parts. “You are not stealing my roommate!” she shouts.
“Sorry, baby sis, can’t hear you.” I turn around to face her and press the button and the door slowly closes as I laugh at her pissed-off expression.
“You two are so strange.” Jonas chuckles.
“Thanks.” I grin over at him, then let it fall. “You sure nothing happened between you and Bee?”
He sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Look, I get it. You're her big brother. And despite how much you two fight, you love her. You want what's best for her. But so do I.”
“You love her?” I question, searching his face.
“I do.” He nods slowly. “I’ve loved her for as long as I can remember.”
The elevator door opens, and we step out, heading towards the exit.
“Then why did you date Lilly and not her?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugs. “I love Lilly, but not in that way. She’s my best friend and, honestly, kind of like a sister. And that makes the fact that I dated her seem really weird, but we didn’t do more than kiss a few times. I think we both agreed to date because it was safe. I wanted Bee and was too afraid to say anything. I was worried she wouldn’t feel the same way and reject me. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship. And Lilly... well, you know why Lilly didn’t feel anything towards me.”
“She told me. Not going to lie, I like the fact that she’s never had any feelings for anyone besides Toby and I. Makes me a little less likely to kick someone's ass. Not impossible because if someone so much as looks at her the wrong way, I will end them.”
“Down, boy,” Jonas teases. “Act like that, and you’re going to get your ass locked up.”
I shrug. “If it means Lilly’s safe, I don’t care.”
As we walk down the path towards the building that holds the gym for the sports team, I soak in the warmth of the sun. With it being late October, it’s starting to get a little colder. Soon, it’s going to be time for coats and warmer clothes.
“So this thing between you and Lilly...”
“You mean my girlfriend?” I correct him.
“Yeah. About that. What about Toby?”
“What about him?” I narrow my eyes.
“That man is obsessed with Lilly. He’s not going to just let you take her from him.” Jonas snorts.
“No one is taking anyone from anyone. Not that it’s any of your business, but since I’m sure you're going to find out anyway, being my girl's best friend and all... Lilly is with the both of us. Or at least she will be at some point in the future.”
His eyes snap to mine. “Really?”
“Got a problem with that?” I growl, not in the mood for anyone's judgmental bullshit right now. Not with how my mind is still a mess over what went down with Toby.
I texted him this morning before getting out of bed, but it’s been left on read. He’s pissed, I know he is. And he has every right to be. It’s messy and complicated, and I have no idea how to fix this between us. I can’t lose him, he’s my best friend. He’s like a brother to me. As much as he hates me for keeping this from him, he was not in the right state of mind for this kind of information.
I just wish he would talk to me so we can start making things good between us again. Not just for the sake of our friendship but for Lilly. No way in hell am I going to allow her to be with two men who can’t get along. Lilly deserves all the happiness and happiness she will get. With both of us. Her best friends. One big fucked up little family. Fuck my life.
“No. No, not at all,” Jonas rushes to say. “I’m just a little surprised.”
“About what?”
“That she ended up with you too.”
“Well, fuck you, fucker,” I grumble, giving him a blank look.
He chuckles. “Not that I think there's anything wrong with you two being together, it’s just Toby and Lilly have been all about each other for years, you know?”
“Trust me, I know,” I sigh, running a hand through my hair. “And trust me when I tell you this: it was never my intention to be anything more. As much as I wanted it to, for years now, I wasn’t going to do anything about it.”
“What changed?”
My eyes flick over to his. “She fell for me too. Something I still can’t believe happened.” I chuckle and shrug. “It was different when all she wanted was him. But I wasn’t losing the chance to be with the girl of my dreams once I realized she wanted me, too. I love her. She makes me happy. And I’d like to think I make her just as happy.”
“You do.” Jonas grins. “Trust me, we all see it.”
A smile of my own takes over as I look away, his words making me feel good.
“If being with Lilly means I have to share her with another person, I’d share her with the world. Because at the end of the day, as long as she’s happy and I have her in my life, that's all that matters to me. Helps that the other guy is my best friend.”
“Does Toby feel the same way about this as you do?”
I snort out a laugh. “What do you think?”
He chuckles, shaking his head. “I’ll take that as a no. So, he knows?”
“Yeah,” I mutter. “Found us together last night.”
“Oh shit.” His eyes widen. “Fuck.” He gives me a guilty look. “I remember seeing him. He was looking for the two of you.”
“Thanks for the heads up fucker,” I growl.
“I didn’t know there was a reason to give you a heads up,” he admits. “Was there?” I glare at him, my expression saying duh, what do you think ? “Shit. Sorry, man.”
“It’s fine,” I sigh heavily. “He was going to find out eventually. We just didn’t want him to find out that way. And we kind of wanted to sit down and talk to him. Not have him find us with my hand up Lilly’s dress.”
“Ouch,” Jonas hisses. “I bet he lost his shit, didn’t he?”
My thoughts flick back to last night, seeing him standing there looking like someone punched him in the gut. A wave of guilt hits me. “Actually, no.”
“No?” Joans frowns, sounding surprised.
“He was pissed. Boy, he was pissed. But with me, not with Lilly. He trusted me, and I... in a way, betrayed him. As for Lilly.” I shrug, not wanting to go into too much detail. If Lilly wants him to know, then she can tell him herself. “He knew that if he fought her on it, he’d lose her.”
“Shit.” He lets out a breath. “That's some heavy stuff.”
“Got that right,” I retort.
“Well, if it means anything, I’m happy for you and Lilly. And I hope Toby pulls his head out of his ass and becomes the man she needs him to be.”
“He’s going to,” I reply with confidence. “He’s just going through a hard time, but things are looking up.”
“Good.” He nods. “Now, let’s go work out until I puke up all the alcohol I drank last night.” He groans like he’s already in pain.
I toss my head back and laugh as I pat him on the back. “That's the spirit.”
Lillianna
I’m sitting in Bishop’s bed, playing on my phone, when his door opens. Looking up, I see a sweaty Bishop walk in with two coffees in his hand.
A smile lights up my face as I sit up a little straighter. When his eyes meet mine, my belly swoops. “Hi.”
“Hey there, Shorty.” He grins one of those smiles that make my heart skip a beat. “For you.” He hands me a coffee, then digs into the pocket of his hoodie, grabs a paper bag, and tosses it onto the bed in front of me.
“Thank you.” I take a sip of the coffee and sigh happily. “What's this?” I ask, grabbing the bag.
He just stands there, grinning.
Laughing, I open the bag then gasp. My eyes go wide, and I squeal, “Oh my god!” I pull out a cookie that's filled with caramel in the center.
“Thought you might like that,” he laughs, moving to take a seat on the bed next to me.
“You thought right. You're the best.”
“Anything for my girl.” He winks. “So, what’s the plan for today?”
“Halloween is next weekend, so I’m guessing we’re going to be doing something?” I ask, not really sure because with everything that's been going on, no one has talked about the upcoming holiday.
“Depends. You down for another party? If not, we could do something fun. Stay in and watch scary movies all day, or we could go to the Fall Festival Fair.”
I straighten up, a large grin spreading across my face at both suggestions, excitement filling me. “Can we do both? Watch movies on Saturday, go to the fair on Sunday?”
“Yeah.” He shrugs. “Don’t see why not.”
“And you're okay not going to a party? Doesn’t the hockey house throw one every year?”
He snorts out a laugh. “Babe, the hockey house throws parties pretty much every weekend. I think I’ll be fine missing a few.”
I chew on my lower lip as I remember something. “Would you be okay if Toby came with us?”
Understanding dawns on him. “If he wants to, I’m all for it. It’s been a few years since we’ve all gone together, hasn’t it?”
I nod slowly. “I’m not going to lie, I miss it.” I pick at the cookie, breaking a piece off before putting it in my mouth.
“Me too. I’d love to hang out with the both of you.”
“Even if Toby’s still mad at you?” I ask, unease filling my stomach.
“Babe, I think we both need to come to terms with Toby being pissed at me for a while. And I’m ready for it. As much as I hate it, I deserve it.”
“No, you don’t. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“But in his eyes, I did. I’m his best friend, and you're the one thing he loves the most in the world. He asked me to protect you, and in his eyes, I swooped in and stole you.”
“You didn’t steal me. I’m with him, too.” I blink a few times. “Well, I will be once we work everything out.” I really need to sit down and talk to Toby, see where we go from here.
I’m beyond ready to get over all this weird, messed-up stuff that's been going on and work on healing our relationship. I want my Toby back. I know he’s in there. We just need to put the past behind us.
I’m not sure how everything is going to go when it comes to dating both of them. Just thinking of it has me on the verge of a panic attack. He said he was okay with it. He looked like he took my warning of being done with him if he walked away from me last night seriously.
But did he just say it in the moment just because that's what I wanted to hear? Did he really mean it? Will he have woken up this morning and rethought everything and decide that there’s no way he’s willing to share me? He’s always been so possessive, even if it took him so long to admit it was for reasons that went beyond friendship.
“Where did you go, il mio cuore .” Bishop places his hand on my knee over the blanket, giving it a squeeze.
“Sorry.” I shake my head. “It’s nothing.”
“Lilly.”
“I’m just worried.”
“About Toby?”
I nod. “When am I not?” My eyes water. “Is it fucked up that I'm tired of worrying where I stand with him and just want things to be easy for once?”
“No, baby,” he says softly. “You have every right to feel that way. Toby has a mental health condition that he’s working hard to get under control. The first step is taking his meds, and he’s been doing that. He's also seeing his therapist. He wants to get better.”
“That's the thing. He won’t ever be better, be cured.”
“No,” he agrees. “But he’s getting to the point where it’s manageable, and he can live a pretty normal life. An exciting life. Right by your side.”
“Our side.” I smile. “Because I know that he won’t stay mad at you for long. You mean too much to him for that. He loves you like a brother. You're his best friend. And hopefully, after I talk to him, he’ll see that all of this–it was inevitable,” I say with certainty.
“Inevitable, huh?” He grins. “You think?”
“I know.” I smile widely. “I just don’t know how I didn’t see it until now.” I laugh, shaking my head. “We were practically inseparable.”
“Yeah.” He gives me a sad smile, and I know he’s thinking about all the time we’ve missed over the past few years.
Not wanting to bring down the mood and done feeling sad, I put my cookie and coffee on the bedside table. I crawl out of the blankets and over to him until I’m straddling him.
“Hi.” I grin, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“Hi,” he chuckles, his hands sliding down my sides, stopping at the globes of my ass. I shiver, biting my lip and remember last night when we were in this same position. “Lilly,” he growls, doing nothing to help with the warmth growing in my lower belly.
“What?” I blink at him innocently. “I’m not doing anything.”
“Mhhmm,” he hums, raising a brow. I can feel him growing harder under me. I want him. Man, do I ever want him.
“To answer your question from before about what to do today. I was thinking we could go over to my parent's place, spend the day with them? I’m not sure if you would have much fun, but Mom texted me that the boys wanted to do pumpkins and decorate for Halloween. The front yard is already all decked out, but we usually spend the day making homemade stuff to hang up inside. And I mean, we were already going to go over there for family supper and—”
Bishop presses his lips against mine, cutting off my nervous ramblings. I moan, sinking into his touch. “I’d love to,” he murmurs.
“Really?” I ask, blinking the haze out of my eyes. This man knows how to make my head spin.
“You know I love your family.”
“What would you say about us... telling them... about... well, us?” I ask nervously.
His brows jump. “You’d want that?”
I nod, playing with the hair at the back of his neck. “I don’t want to hide you. I want to show you off to the world, Mr. Grant.” I grin.
“Fuck me, baby,” he growls, nipping at my lower lip playfully. “You wanna show me off like your prize stallion? So damn sexy.”
“Stop.” I laugh, burying my face into the crook of his neck. But I’d be lying if I wasn’t excited to finally be out in public together as a couple with him. To show all the damn girls who won’t stop ogling him like he’s a piece of meat that he’s mine. Maybe I wanna make my claim.
Parts of me are still a little insecure. This is all new, and I’ve never had a real boyfriend before. And no, Jonas doesn’t count.
“Never. Because I wanna show you off too, baby.” He rubs my back. “I wanna show all the fuckers out there what they will never have. Because you're ours, baby. All ours.”
“It’s going to cause waves, you know,” I sigh heavily, leaning back to look at him.
“Me and you dating?” His brows furrow.
“No.” I shake my head. “Well, I mean, I’m sure the puck bunnies are going to just love the fact you're not on the market anymore.” I roll my eyes. “What I mean is, when Toby and I work things out and make things official.” Saying the words out loud sends a wave of excitement through me but also a little bit of fear. I’m afraid that something is going to go wrong between now and then, and I might lose him.
Can’t blame me for being skeptical about this stuff. Look at the past.
“You mean being in a relationship with more than one person?” he asks, and I nod. “Are you worried about what people would think?”
“God no,” I snort. “I think I’ve made it clear more than once that I couldn’t care less about what anyone thinks about me or how I choose to live my life. Loving more than one person isn’t bad. And I’ll never let someone convince me that it is.”
His eyes sparkle at the use of the word. I want to tell him, to say those three little words to him so badly. But I’m not there yet. And I love him even more for being so understanding about it because he hasn’t looked disappointed once when I haven’t said it back. Just nothing but understanding and love. Sometimes, I think he’s too good to be true. But I’m not willing to question it. I’m happy for once. I won’t let anyone take this away from me.
“I’m just worried about you, what your family would think, and if you're ready for some of the backlash it might bring you. What would the team think of you sharing a girl with your best friend?”
“If my family loves me, they will want me to be happy. Being with you makes me happy. Being with me and Toby makes you happy. As for the team, what I do with my life is none of their business. As for my friends, I’m dating one, and she’s dating the other.” He grins. “I’ll be fine, baby.”
“You sure?” I ask, nervously chewing on my lower lip.
“Yes. I’m sure.” He reaches up and tugs my lip free. “Now, stop chewing on that sexy lip. You have nothing to be worried about.”
If only that were true.
“I’m going to go shower, get dressed, and then we can go over to my parents.”
“Sounds good to me. I need to shower, too.” He leans in, pressing a kiss to my lips. I grin as I climb off him, letting out a little gasp when he slaps me on the ass.
“Did I mention how fucking drop-dead sexy you look in my shirt, il mio cuore ?”
“No.” I grin as I walk towards the door. Pulling it open, I grin over my shoulder at him. “But I bet I’d look better tangled in your sheets... naked.”
His eyes flash. “Oh, you play dirty, Shorty!” he shouts at me as I give him a wink, laughing while I close the door behind me.
Heading into my room, I’m walking on sunshine as I gather my things for a shower.
“You look like you're in a good mood,” Bee comments, amusement in her tone.
“I am.” I smile over at her. “For the first time in my life, I feel like everything might be okay, you know?” Things with Toby are still up in the air, but they’re looking promising, and I’m choosing to see the positive side and not focus on the negative anymore.
“Yeah.” She smiles, hugging her pillow to her chest. “I get what you mean.”
Grabbing my shower caddy, I stand before her. “I’m falling hard for your brother.” I want it out there, nothing between us. She already knows we’re together, but I want her to know I’m serious about him. He’s not just some guy to me. He’s the second half of my heart.
“Really?” Her smile grows brighter.
“Really,” I whisper, nodding my head.
“I’m happy for you,” she says with so much genuine affection. “You're perfect for him. You're just what he needed.”
“I could say the same about him.”