21. Solomon #2
“You and I both know he wants more than one night with her. He’s been obsessed with that girl since her freshman year.”
“Do I need to be here for this conversation?” I cut in. “Because I just got off a five-hour bus ride and I’m pretty sure you guys can do your Miller-sibling bickering somewhere else.”
Em gives her brother one more glare before turning back to me. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
I meet her eyes so she’ll know how serious I am. “I know you worry about me. I know you want what’s best for me. I’m asking you to leave this alone.”
Her mouth opens, and then closes again. “Sol—”
“I’m serious, Em. Whatever happens with me and Cecelia is none of your business. I’m a grown ass adult and I can handle myself.”
She looks hurt. “I know you can handle yourself.”
“Do you? Because last night you offered to drive a few hundred miles just because I saw my mother.”
Her eyes go wide and they look a little wet.
Yup, definitely hurt. I know I should feel bad, but I’m too annoyed.
I had one of the best nights of my life last night and now my best friends—people who are more family to me than my actual blood—are here acting like I’m a little kid who needs protecting.
“I know that I don’t always handle stress very well,” I grit out. “I know that it isn’t always easy to be my friend—”
“Sol!” Em gasps while Jay sits up straight and barks out, “bullshit!”
I hold up my hands. “I’m just saying, I appreciate everything the two of you do for me.” I meet Em’s eyes. She’s full out crying now, and I feel shitty, but I need to say this. “Cecelia is not something I need to be protected from, okay?”
She nods as she wipes her eyes, but by her silence I know she doesn’t really believe me.
“And for the record,” I add. “She did offer a sympathetic ear. And when I told her I didn’t want to talk, she stayed anyway. She made me food and brought me a LEGO set, and she didn’t make me feel like an idiot for needing any of those things.”
Em gapes at me while Jay whoops. “She took my advice then? That’s awesome.”
I think about the newspaper and can’t help but smile. She did more than take his advice. She showed me that she’d been noticing things on her own, that she knew me.
“Oh my God,” Jay crows, pointing at my expression. “You totally banged her!”
“Jesus,” I mutter, rubbing my face. “The two of you are something else. If it’s not a lecture from her it’s total idiocy from him.”
“That’s not a no,” Jay yells, knocking my hands away from my face. “I want details. Tell me everything.”
“Get out,” I say flatly, and he cackles.
I can sense the shock emanating from Em’s direction, but I ignore it. I meant what I said—I don’t need her opinion on anything to do with Cecelia.
My phone chooses that moment to ding in my pocket and I reach for it automatically, hoping it’s her. I don’t realize until I’m tapping the message that I probably should have tried to play it cool in front of them, but Jay’s gleeful little noise reminds me.
“Is that her? Does she want round two?”
I ignore him, and tap out a response to Cecelia’s message.
Cecelia: Home yet?
Me: Unfortunately.
Me: My annoying friends are here.
Me: Can I call you in a few?
Cecelia: Sure. Unless you want me to call you now and give you an excuse to get rid of them? I could pretend something bad happened.
Cecelia: Sol, please kick your friends out and come save me, I’ve been abducted by aliens.
Cecelia: Or I have a flat tire, if that’s more believable.
I chuckle and then make the mistake of looking up. They’re both staring at me, Em with her lips pressed together tightly, Jay looking like it’s Christmas morning.
“Okay, you can both go now,” I say, standing. “Seriously, get out.”
“Is she coming over?” Jay asks, not budging from the couch. “I want to say hi! Maybe she’ll give me details since you’re being such a spoilsport.”
I look at Em. She still seems on edge but at least she’s not crying anymore. I soften my expression. “Can you please take your idiot brother away?”
She tries to smile back, but it looks more like a grimace. “Come on, dumbass,” she says, standing and grabbing Jay’s arm. “Let’s leave so Solomon can unpack. You know it’s killing him that his duffle bag is still just sitting there.”
I smile at her in relief. If she’s teasing me about being a neat freak, things are almost back to normal.
She helps me push an indignant Jay to the door—he keeps babbling about details and bro code—before turning to me and throwing her arms around my waist, squeezing me tight. My annoyance softens and I hug her back. Em knows me, and she loves me, and she just wants what’s best for me.
But that doesn’t mean I’m going to listen to her bullshit about Cecelia. Even if she has a point that I’m probably going to get hurt by the end of this.
Two hours later, Cecelia is in my bed, naked, and I’m pretty sure I’ve never been happier. She came over shortly after Jay and Em left, under the guise of needing help icing her knee. I had her pressed against the wall with her clothes off approximately thirty seconds after she walked in the room.
“You’ve got a freckle right below your ear,” I tell her, kissing the spot gently. “I’m kind of obsessed with it.”
Her laugh is breathless. “Obsessed with my freckle?”
“Yup. Noticed it the first time I came to one of your practices and I’ve been wanting to kiss it ever since.” My fingertips run a path from her shoulder over her collarbone. “Your skin is very soft right here. And over here, too.” I press a kiss just under her jaw, and she shivers.
“Sometimes Vega makes me go to the spa with her,” she says, breathless. “They put a bunch of gunk on you and then leave you alone to relax with like, wind-chime music playing. It’s terrible.”
I laugh, kissing her again. “Figures you would hate anything to do with relaxing.”
She stretches a little and I get distracted by the sight of her chest rising and falling. “I’m feeling pretty relaxed right now.”
I figure I better try to change the subject, since I’m very much in danger of ruining her relaxation by pouncing on her again. “What are your cousins up to tonight?”
“Not sure about Ash, Cade and the girls were gonna go to some party at the basketball house."
Something unpleasant twists in my gut. “You didn’t want to go with them?”
“Nope,” she says easily, but I press, because now my brain is locked on this and I always have a hard time moving on from stuff once I start overthinking.
“Are you sure? This is two nights in a row you’ve given up going out with friends to hang out with me.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Are you complaining?”
“Fuck no!” I blurt out, loud enough that she startles a little. I press another kiss to her jaw, trying to calm us both down. “I just wouldn’t want you to feel like you have to…you know. Give up being social. Just because I’m not.”
She turns her whole body so she’s facing me, and takes my face between her hands. “Solomon, I’m exactly where I want to be right now.”
Warmth rushes through me. “Yeah?” I’m embarrassed to hear the slight shake in my voice but she only smiles.
“Yeah.” She kisses me and all I want to do is deepen it, but she pulls away after just a moment.
“My life can be pretty loud, you know? Between my family and the team, there’s always a bunch of people around.
And I don’t mind it, not really.” She kisses me again.
“But this? Just you and me together? I like that a lot.”
I blow out a breath, more relieved than I can say. “Me too.” I move in to kiss her again but she winces, just a little, barely noticeable if I wasn’t staring at her so intently. “What’s wrong?”
“Just a twinge.” She stretches her legs. “That’s better.”
“Your knee?” I’m already sitting up, moving to get out of bed. She pulls me back down.
“It’s fine. It’s not swollen, I already iced it. It was just bent weird. Now it’s better.”
I chew my lip, unsure if I should go find an icepack anyhow. She sighs. “Sol. You know it isn’t easy for me to be open about my injury. I’ve really been trying to be honest with you—but that means you need to trust me, too, you know?”
“You’re right.” I lean back down, pulling her closer. “I talked to Devon and your coach after you left.”
She goes stiff in my arms and I rub my hand up and down her back, wanting her to go back to relaxed, sex-happy Cecelia. I’m only telling her this right now because I want to be honest with her, too. I don’t want her to feel like I’m talking to them behind her back when she finds out about it later.
“They were happy you told me about the swelling,” I tell her. “Coach said we’ve clearly developed a rapport.”
She snorts and wiggles her naked body against mine. “I guess that’s one way to describe it.”
I laugh and kiss the top of her head. She’s not going to like this part. “They want you to see the team doctor this week. Just for a check-up.”
She sighs against my chest. “I figured.” There’s a beat of silence. “Will you come with me.”
“Of course,” I say immediately.
I can feel her smile against my chest. “Will you buy me ice cream after?”
“Only if you’re very brave.”
She laughs, snuggling closer, and I feel a wave of contentment. We got through that convo without her freaking out. She’s still here, in my arms, where I want her to always stay. My argument with Em feels a million miles away. For once, my life feels good.
“Do you think they suspected anything?” she asks. “About us?”
“I mean, when they first approached me, I almost pissed myself.” She chuckles. “But no. I didn’t get that impression at all.”