Chapter 26 Cash #2
Brandy and the rest of the cheerleading squad were on the side of the field on the track, amping up the fans in the stadium. Brandy’s face was twisted in a fake smile that he knew was really a pout.
She’d blubbered all over herself in an apology. Saying she was only kidding. That it was a joke.
He’d simply told her to fuck off to where she belonged, which wasn’t with him.
He let his attention keep roving, searching for the one person he couldn’t get off his mind.
Daisy was there in the stands, in the spot where she always was, tucked in the very corner along the far-right side like she could blend in when she should have known she was the most vibrant thing. Her head tucked between her shoulders and chewing on the inside of her cheek the way she always did.
But those cornflower eyes burned bright beneath the glare of the lights. Pouring her belief into him, too.
He turned back, sucked in a deep breath, and shouted, “Blue 31, blue 31, set, hut, hut.”
The center hiked the ball to him, and his team burst into motion.
His linemen shoved forward to protect him from the onslaught of massive players vying to take him down.
He ran back, cocking his arm over his shoulder as he looked for his receiver who should be racing into the right upper field.
Kyle was clear, out ahead of the safety who was about five feet on his tail. Cash launched it at him a second before a player broke free of the block and took Cash out from the side.
The ball sailed through the air as the oxygen was knocked from his lungs, his eyes wide as he watched the ball’s trajectory as he was tackled to the ground.
He hit hard on his right hip, but he didn’t care. Only thing that mattered was that ball landing in Kyle’s hands.
Kyle catapulted himself off the ground, jumping high and snatching it from the air, exactly the way it was intended, before he went blazing down the field. His legs pumping hard as he passed by the first down mark.
With each step, he pulled out ahead of the defense.
And the entire crowd was on their feet. A thunder of excitement as Kyle flew for the end zone.
Then he crossed it.
Touchdown.
And it was complete disorder.
A charge of exhilarated energy ricocheted through the air and roared in his ears as he climbed to his feet.
Shouts and cheers and the stamping of feet against the metal of the stadium.
His entire team was jumping and smacking each other on the backs as they celebrated. Their kicker made contact with the ball and sent it sailing through the field goal posts for an extra point that sealed their win.
His team came rushing up for him, but the only thing that mattered right then was scanning that crowd, his attention skating right back to the far-right side to find cornflower eyes staring back.
The girl standing with both hands up under her chin and glee on her face.
So fucking pretty, he realized right then. Just so fucking good and right.
His chest squeezed in a fit of realization, and his heart began to pound at a wild, emboldened beat.
Because that Wallflower?
She was the only thing he could see, and he was finished denying what looking at her really meant.
Light tapping sounded at his window. Overeager, he snapped his attention up to find Daisy’s face and both hands pressed to the glass.
His pulse that had been racing all night throbbed erratically.
Nerves prickled his senses, Cash unable to process everything that he felt. Pride and joy and this strange nervous energy that buzzed through his stomach when he saw her waiting for him.
He moved to the window and shoved it open. Crisp air rushed in since they were marching toward December, but he still felt hot. The blood careening through his veins, though he tossed her as confident a grin as he could. “Hey, you.”
“Hey yourself, superstar.” It was all a tease as she slipped through the window. He took her hand, for the first time realizing how fucking soft it was, and he suddenly felt overwhelmed by the scent he could recognize anywhere.
Fresh flowers and the hint of sweet vanilla.
He helped her climb all the way in, and his head cocked to the side as he pulled her deeper into his room. “I thought it was heartbreaker?” he couldn’t resist teasing.
“Usually the superstars are the ones who are breaking all the hearts.” It was playfulness that was on her mouth, but her voice was wispy, those blue eyes flitting all over his face.
His chest compressed. Or maybe it was just that his own heart was pressing too full. Butting up against its confines and trying to bust free.
A long moment passed between them, both held in this uncertainty that he could almost taste. Something different cresting the easy connection he always felt with her.
Then her brow pinched. “You didn’t go to the dance? I didn’t think I would hear from you tonight.”
He’d texted her, asking her where the hell she was and to get her ass over to his house so she could celebrate with him.
“Didn’t want to go to the dance.”
“Why not?” Concern ridged her words.
“Because I knew I couldn’t convince you to go with me, and the only person I feel like celebrating with tonight is you.”
He knew his teammates were gonna be pissed that he skated out, but he was supposed to be there with Brandy, getting crowned beside her, and he refused to ever stand by her again.
Redness flushed Daisy’s cheeks. “Oh.”
She dipped her gaze before she lifted her attention back to him, eyes twinkling in lightheartedness. “So, what you’re saying is you got knocked around on the field so much tonight that all you really want to do is watch a movie so you don’t have to move?”
Nah, he just wanted to curl up beside her on his bed.
“Something like that,” he returned, his voice rough.
Concern flashed through her expression. “Did you actually get hurt? That last hit looked brutal. I was worried about you.”
“Didn’t even feel it,” he told her.
The only thing he felt was the adrenaline. The thrill. Always thriving on the violent collision of bodies.
She glanced at the wall, warring, before she looked back at him. “How are you feeling otherwise?”
A frown pulled tight. “About what?”
She gave him an incredulous look. “About what happened with Brandy today?”
“Honestly?”
She seemed to have to contemplate it before she gave him a nod of her head. “Yeah.”
“I feel a thousand pounds lighter. Like I had some sort of veil covering my eyes, and now that it’s been peeled back, I can see.”
And what he saw was Daisy standing right there.
“You aren’t upset?”
“No.”
The energy shifted, tension tugging between them like a cord he’d ignored existed. Daisy peered up at him, both timid and bold, the way she always was with him.
Time stretched long, his fucking heart battering at his chest in a way it’d never done before. In a way it had never done with Brandy.
How had it taken him all this time to accept Daisy was the reason it beat this way?
She suddenly cleared her throat and stepped back. “Well, we’d better find something to watch so we can get your injured ass off your feet.”
“Told you my ass is just fine.”
At the mention of his ass, she flamed red.
God, how was she so fucking cute?
Adorable and sexy. Awkward but the most stable person he’d ever met.
Her soul so bright and her heart so good, and he realized he couldn’t breathe.
She moved around to her side of his bed and slipped off her shoes before she pushed herself up to lean against the headboard. That hair spread out on the pillow and framing her face. Girl wearing plain gray sweats and an oversized sweater. The most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
He forced himself to move over to his desk and opened the drawer where he kept the stash of Red Vines.
He flicked off the light then slowly moved back to the bed, tossing the box beside her as he settled in his spot.
His hand on the remote, but honestly, he didn’t feel like watching anything but her.
He switched it to HBO, figuring it was a safe bet to let a movie play out.
Only it took all of fifteen minutes before the couple was naked on the screen, the guy fucking the woman against a wall.
Normally, this shit didn’t affect him all that much, but his guts were twisting and his cock was turning to stone.
Maybe it didn’t have a thing to do with the movie, but the way Daisy was reacting to it.
Her breaths turned hard and shallow, little pants he could tell she was trying to hide. To keep them even.
But she was too still, attempting not to move a muscle, like it was going to reveal how turned on she was.
Fuck, he wanted to climb over the top of her and inhale those little breaths. Suck them down. Confess everything he realized that day, probably what he’d known all along.
But he’d promised her that she could always trust him.
That he was never going to take advantage of her.
That they were only friends because it was the only thing that counted.
Because he didn’t ever want to mess up what they had by getting greedy and pushing into the places he wasn’t supposed to go.
But he didn’t know if he could ignore it right then.
This thing that came over him.
The swelling of greed that filled him to overflowing. Something he was pretty sure was gushing out since Daisy’s breaths started to jut harder.
Her entire body vibrated on his bed as she continued to keep her attention focused on the screen, pretending like she wasn’t paying attention to him while he couldn’t do anything but stare at the profile of her face.
Through the lapping shadows cast by the scene playing out on the screen, he saw her entire body tic and quiver.
Waves of fiery energy rolling off her.
“Are you turned on, Little Wallflower?” His words came gruff and low, and fuck, he couldn’t believe he let them out.
Those blue eyes flashed toward him.
Wild eyes that sparked in the night.
Her throat trembled, unable to speak.
“Have you ever let someone touch you?” He didn’t think so, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to handle it if she said yes, but there was no stopping himself.