May 29th
Affected me.
Damon
“Looks like it’s just you and me today,” I say to Chase as we warm up—him on a treadmill, me on the elliptical. “I think that’s okay. It’s a little hard for me to focus when Ainsley is wearing those little shorts. Plus, we can play our music.”
“Ha! I always feel that way with Dani too,” he says, hitting a playlist on his phone. “And we can!”
“Women,” I tease.
“And Ainsley is a woman,” Chase adds.
I roll my eyes. “If you are going to call me a boy, best friends or not, I’m going to have to kick your ass.”
“I’m a little worried about it all, to be honest,” Chase says. “I know you really like her, and I just don’t want—”
“Me to get hurt?”
“When Dani and I were struggling at school last semester,” he says, “it affected me.”
“I thought it was the guys calling you Hype that affected your relationship with her?”
“I think it goes both ways. I want you to be happy, but at the same time, I’m worried about what happens if you aren’t.”
“I can keep my personal life separate from football,” I state, grinning at him. “Always have. Champion mindset right here.”
“How can I say this so that I won’t offend you?” Chase says, stopping the treadmill and just looking at me.
I hold up my hands, letting him know that I have no clue, especially when he knows that I am not easily offended. Shit like that rolls off my back, mostly because I don’t care what other people think.
“I think I know the answer to this, but humor me,” he says as he gets off the treadmill and moves to the bench press. I stand behind it to spot while he lies down. “Have you ever felt like this about anyone before?”
“No, I have not. And why would that offend me?”
“That’s not the possibly offensive part.
It’s that you don’t know what you will do or how you will react because you have never felt this way.
Shit rolls off your back because you don’t care what most people think.
You care about what your friends and family think.
But what happens when she is mad at you?
When there is a misunderstanding? Or what if, to her, this is just a vacation fling with a guy who crushes on her? ”
And that comment does sting.
I take a moment to think about everything .
We switch places—me choosing to up my weight by twenty pounds today.
Because he is right about one thing—I haven’t been working out as hard with her here.
Instead of truly focusing on my workout, I wonder if she’s noticing how strong I am.
If she’s drooling over my muscles. If any of it makes her want me more.
That is, when I’m not looking at her ass.
Or the way her workout bra tries to flatten her chest but struggles to hide her perfect boobs.
Okay, I’m slightly obsessed.
She’s my goal. And when I set a goal for myself, I always achieve it. Make it happen.
But what happens if she straight-up rejects me in the end? Especially after I sleep with her—which I have no doubt will happen soon.
“You’re right,” I admit. “I have no idea.”
He just nods and changes the subject. “Noticed you’re hitting it a little harder. How many are you going to do?”
“Ten,” I tell him.
The last two are hard, but I manage to push through them.
And I need to do the same with her. Get it done—be so incredible that she can’t help but fall in love with me.
And I come up with an idea.
Once our workout is complete, Chase goes upstairs to his suite, and I go back to the boathouse to shower.
I text her while I’m drying off .
Me: You sleep in?
Ainsley: Yeah, sorry. These late nights are wearing me out. I figured you wouldn’t mind if I skipped a day.
Me: I don’t mind at all. Just wanted to check on you. Especially with everything going on with your dad.
Ainsley: That’s sweet. I texted him when I woke up to see how he’s doing. Haven’t heard back yet. But I did have a nice leisurely breakfast with everyone here and got to paint some rocks with the kids.
Me: I always loved that.
Ainsley: I might have painted one for you.
Me: Would you want to have lunch together so you can give it to me?
Ainsley: Sure. What do you want to do?
Me: I might have an idea or two. But it will be casual. Pick you up around noon?
Ainsley: Can’t wait!
Once she agrees, I get dressed, go downstairs, and decide it would be smart to recruit a little help.
I find everyone in the backyard.
Papa and Grandpa Mac are playing horseshoes just outside the boathouse.
Crusher and Ryder are on the dock, throwing sticks in the lake for the dogs.
My little sisters are in the pool, taking turns getting thrown up into the air by Dad.
Jadyn is tossing rings into the shallow end for Emersyn to swim for.
But then my eyes land on my targets. Grandma Mac and Mimi are sitting in the shade—one reading on a tablet, the other doing some embroidery.
I go sit down next to them. “Just the ladies I need.”
“Let me guess. My grandson is hungry after his workout?” Mimi says. “You know you shouldn’t skip breakfast. It’s the most important meal of the day.”
“I didn’t skip breakfast. I had a protein shake and took two of your amazing pumpkin muffins with me.”
“He’s definitely up to something,” Grandma Mac says with a laugh.
I lower my voice and whisper to them, “I am hoping to receive some guidance in matters of the heart.”
“Well, you have our attention now,” Mimi says as Grandma Mac giggles.
“I invited Ainsley to have lunch with me. And since it’s such a lovely day, I thought a picnic would be in order. But I don’t want to just throw together some sandwiches. I want it to be more special than that.”
“Oh, yes. We understand. Picnics can be quite romantic,” Grandma Mac says. “And I think you chose just the right women for the job. Let’s go see what we can wrangle up in the kitchen.”
“And you’ll need a proper basket. One with real dishes. I’m sure I saw one of those in the laundry room closet,” Mimi adds.
I grab a ladder to get the picnic basket off the top closet shelf .
“Look how cute this is,” Mimi says, taking in the wicker basket that is built more like a little trunk.
She takes it into the kitchen and opens it up, washes the dishes, and inventories what’s inside. “It comes with a picnic blanket, so you’ll spread that out first.”
I’m pretty sure I’m smart enough to figure that out, but I just nod.
“All right,” Grandma Mac says, motioning to the food she put on the island, “here’s what I suggest.”
I make a few modifications to the menu, get everything packed up, secure the basket onto the back of a bike, and ride next door to pick up Ainsley.
A serious question.
Damon
When she walks out the front door, I can’t help but just sigh. She took my casual dress comment seriously and is in a plain white tee and cutoff denim shorts. They have fringe on the bottom and are quite short—not that I mind.
Her hair is in loose waves, there are sunglasses on top of her head, and she looks as carefree as a summer day.
She’s stunning.
I greet her with a kiss.
“Hmm,” she says. “I see a bike with a picnic basket on the back. Are we going on a picnic?”
“If you’re cool with it.”
“I think it sounds really fun.”
“Should I grab a bike for you, or do you want to try to ride on the handlebars of this one?”
“You know, I always see that in romantic movies, but it just doesn’t look very comfortable.
And I think I’d be afraid that my foot would get caught in the wheel, and then I would tumble off the front.
Honestly, I can be a little klutzy, and that probably would happen to me.
I feel like that might ruin the afternoon. ”
I laugh. “You’re right. It probably would. Should we grab a bike for you out of the garage real quick then?”
“Yeah, I’ll go do that,” she says.
Pretty soon, she’s back, and we’re taking off on the pathway leading out to the woods where the guest cottages are. The area around them is cleared, but in between some of them are natural wildflowers, and they’re starting to bloom. It’s a pretty setting.
When I stop and get off my bike, she does the same and takes a look around.
“Wow, how did you ever find this spot?” she asks. “It’s just breathtaking.”
“While I agree with you that the scenery is beautiful,” I tell her, “you’re the one who’s taking my breath away.”
She laughs nervously but grins at me.
I grab the picnic basket off the back of my bike, open it up, and spread out the blanket .
“My goodness, this is beautiful,” she says, sitting down. “We’ve got the lake in front of us, wildflowers around us, the sun shining on our faces, and”—she flashes me a flirty little look—“no one else around.”
“Nobody else around? Just what are you hinting at, Miss Archibald?”
“I think a beautiful picnic on a beautiful day …” She motions her hand so that I will sit down with her. When I do, she presses her lips against mine. Once she’s done kissing me, she lies back. “As I was saying, I think a beautiful picnic on a beautiful day deserves a beautiful kiss.”
I put my hand up to my lips and pretend giggle. “Shall I treasure that kiss forever?”
She gives me a little punch on the shoulder and laughs. “You’re silly. So, what all do we have?”
“Hey, I never said we were gonna eat the second we got here.”
“But I’m starving,” she says, pushing her bottom lip out into an adorable pout and causing me to laugh.
“Actually, I worked out a little bit harder today since you weren’t there, distracting me.”
“I distract you?” she asks, a coy smile playing on her face.
“Have you ever looked in the mirror when you’re wearing workout clothes?” I raise an eyebrow at her.
“Of course. Most gyms do have mirrors.”
“And, yes, you do distract me with your incredible body. All I can think about is getting my hands all over it.”
“Then you should stop thinking about it and starting doing it,” she says, grabbing the front of my shirt and pulling me toward her.