Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
They drove separately to the practice facility.
It was Diana’s suggestion. Today was a light day for Amil—post-game meeting and a workout—while she had no idea how long she’d be holed up with Jeff and Emma, reviewing pictures, discussing which ones to use and how best to use them.
She could be there for forty minutes, or it could take four hours.
And maybe she needed a minute alone to attempt to find her bearings. Maybe she was feeling a little…yeah, she had no idea what she was feeling.
It wasn’t bad, though.
None of it was bad.
Last night had been fabulous. This morning had been mind-blowing.
And then there was the protein-rich breakfast and full to-go cup of coffee she didn’t have to make.
And let’s not forget the easy conversation, light flirting, and then, just before he was about to open the door so they could both leave, he pressed her against the wall and gave her a kiss that made her knees weak and had her reconsidering how much she truly needed to go into the office today.
So far, nothing about this second time around had been bad. She wasn’t a fool, though, so she wasn’t hearing wedding bells like she knew damn well her mother and sister and grandmother would be by this point.
Last night showed her that she didn’t need to be a one-and-done kind of girl. She could enjoy repeat performances with Amil without losing her head.
Which was quite the wonderful revelation, because she was already counting down the minutes until they could be alone together again. Naked.
They arrived at the facility at the same time, of course. Amil guided his truck into the space next to the one she’d claimed.
They walked side by side into the building. Her smile was probably wider than usual. Amil was definitely strutting.
But it wasn’t like they had scarlet letters seared to their foreheads.
And yet, when Jalen stepped out into the hallway and took one look at them, his jovial smile slid off his face and was replaced with a scowl.
Under his breath, Amil muttered, “Shit.”
Diana pretended she didn’t think anything was wrong. There shouldn’t be. Jalen and Amil had become friends. Jalen had stopped following her around like a lonely puppy.
And again, no scarlet letters in sight.
Amil paused at the entrance to the theater room where the team would review tape and discuss yesterday’s game. Diana could hear chatter coming from inside.
She kept walking without acknowledging either man, which was probably a mistake. Under normal circumstances, she’d have smiled and bid them both a good day.
She turned around so she could do so belatedly and watched Jalen slam his shoulder into Amil’s as Amil tried to walk past into the theater room. Jalen caught her eye, narrowed his, and shit, why did she feel like she’d been caught sneaking in through her bedroom window well after curfew?
Or, more accurately, she was hurtled right back to that morning after what was supposed to be her and Amil’s only night together, when that elevator door opened and Jalen was standing there.
And there was that guilt she’d been waiting for. That sensation that she should not have crossed this line with Amil. She was supposed to be a one-and-done girl.
Clearly, the family curse was manifesting in a different way, since she’d never given it the opportunity to manifest in the way it preferred.
Yes, she recognized how insane that sounded, but she could not stop her mind from spiraling.
Everything had been so damn perfect, and she’d gone and fucked it up by giving in to her deepest, most desperate desires, and now the team was not going to be nearly as cohesive as they’d been at yesterday’s game.
It was her fault.
Amil, of course, would insist it was his fault. He’d shown up on her doorstep, suddenly homeless, and he’d argue that he pressured her into letting him crash on her couch in exchange for homemade breakfast each morning.
But she was the one who said yes to his offer. She could have turned him away. He would have left without a word. And he would have been fine. He and Patches both.
Damn it.
This was exactly why she had come up with that one-and-done rule in the first place. Feelings were messy; they led one to make bad decisions.
“Hey, there you are.”
Diana blinked rapidly until Emma came into focus, standing in the hall, holding two to-go cups and grinning. “Caramel cold brew, right?” she said. “That’s the way to my new boss’s heart?”
Right. Jeff. Their morning meeting. “Yes,” she responded, the word practically a squeak.
Emma canted her head. “You okay?”
Diana nodded. Now was not the time to blurt out all the confusion in her head, even to her best friend. “Overslept. Set my alarm and then left my phone in the kitchen.”
No one knew that Amil had taken up temporary residence at her condo. She hadn’t even told Emma last night, despite the number of drinks they’d had, despite the conversation during which they’d analyzed every member of the team and discussed their hotness ratio.
She knew damn well that telling anyone, even Emma or Allison, would lead to questions she was not prepared to answer. And now that Jalen seemed to have worked it out all on his own with zero proof, well, avoiding the subject at all costs currently seemed like the best route.
“I’ve done that before,” Emma said sympathetically. “Well, let’s go look at pictures, shall we?”
Great idea. Work was an excellent distraction.
Time to ignore her confusing as hell social life and focus on the job.
They were done before lunchtime. Jeff dismissed them so he could take a conference call. “Want to grab lunch?” Emma asked as they strolled down the hall together.
Much to her own frustration, the first thing Diana thought was, what are Amil’s plans?
Before she could respond, the door to the theater room opened and Callahan bebopped out like he was jamming to music only he could hear.
He caught sight of the two of them, froze in place, and gave them both sweeping looks of appreciation before winking at Emma and striding away, the same cockiness to his walk that Amil had earlier.
Diana whipped around to gape at her friend. “You didn’t?”
Not that she had any room to talk, but at least Amil wasn’t dating someone else.
Emma scoffed. “Hell no. He’s hot AF and a fabulous dancer, but I’m not into being the other woman. Nor am I into boys with baggage, and that boy has enough baggage to fill the Titanic.” She rolled her eyes.
“Come on, let’s get out of here.” Diana kicked up her pace, needed to get out of the vicinity before Amil strode through that doorway and Emma asked her the same damn thing.
Because she would not be able to say no.
Which was why she blew off lunch, claiming she had errands to run. The last thing she needed to do in her current state was sit across from one of her besties and chat over a meal. Her damn secret would slip out unbidden, she was sure of it.
Instead, she headed back to her condo, where both cats greeted her with great enthusiasm. Even if Amil decided last night was a mistake, he still had to retrieve his cat, so she’d have to face him at some point.
And then she curled up on the couch with her laptop, pulled up real estate listings.
Where did he intend to sleep tonight?
Would he assume he was sharing her bed again?
Or would he retrieve Patches and leave?
She flopped back against the couch and stared at the ceiling.
She’d never gone through this inner turmoil before.
Frankly, it sucked.
What was so wonderful and glamorous and fun about second-guessing every damn decision?
By the time Amil arrived, kicked off his shoes, and strode into the living room, she’d worked herself into a panic.
“What do you expect?” she demanded the moment he came into view.
He paused, almost comically, one leg and arm lifted, as if her words had frozen him in the process of taking a step. Slowly, he lowered his foot to the floor and canted his head.
“About what?” he asked, his voice full of caution.
She flapped her hand, still agitated. “This. Us. This.”
His face smoothed out, caution shifting to a knowing look, which ratcheted up her suspicion. She watched him with narrowed eyes as he strode toward the couch and dropped down right next to her.
He plucked her laptop from her lap and placed it on the coffee table, and then he wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to hers.
In the blink of an eye, she found herself lying on her back with his lower half snuggled between her thighs and his upper body held up by his elbows pressing into the cushions.
“That was impressive,” she said when they came up for air.
“Thank you.” He smirked.
She pushed at his chest, and he shifted his position, sitting next to her while she slid back into a seated position herself.
“Okay, well, now that we got that out of the way.” She reached for her laptop.
“Did we?” He watched her steadily. “Do you want to talk about it now that I’ve erased the most immediate doubts?”
“Not really.” She wasn’t good at talking about her feelings. Mostly because she’d never had to before.
“Fine. Did you have a good day today?”
She nodded with her gaze on the computer screen. “I did. I’m pretty sure Jeff is going to hire Emma permanently. She takes phenomenal pictures. You?”
“The post-game meeting when we win is always fun. I mean, this was my first with this team, but that seems like it would be a universal truth.”
“Probably.”
“Are you looking at game pictures?” He leaned forward, attempting to peer at her screen. She made it easy on him by flipping it around so he could see it.
“Nope. Houses.”
His face fell. “Oh.”
Damn it, she was not ready to deal with freaking emotions right now. Biting back a sigh, she touched his sleeve. “Even if this, um…”
“Lasts?” he suggested.
She closed her eyes for a moment, nodding.
“You still need a place to live.” She glanced around, taking in her tiny condo.
“This isn’t big enough for both of us. And anyway, whatever this is”—she flapped her hand like she always did when she was agitated—“living together right off the bat is definitely not going to work for me. I mean, you are literally the first guy I’ve ever slept with twice. ”
“I’m honored,” he said solemnly.
“Stop.”
“What? I am. In case you missed the memo, I’ve been interested in being more than one-and-done since we were one-and-done.”
She opened her mouth to speak. She needed him to stop talking about it. She did not know how to manage all of this. Hell, if he asked her to put a label on it, she’d be hard- pressed.
She just wasn’t ready. And if he kept pushing, she was going to shut down.
Maybe even tell him to leave.
Which she didn’t want to do, but…