Player(63)

I couldn’t speak, my throat thick, the words lodged somewhere in the column of my throat. My lips parted. No sound came out.

“I know I’m not good enough for a girl like you. I’m not the guy you take home—I’ve only ever been good for a fling. A night. But I want to be more. It’s just that I’ve never…” he started, shaking his head almost imperceptibly. “I’ve never wanted to try before. I’ve never even considered it. But, with you, tonight, I had to. And I mean that literally—all I could do was blink, breathe, and get to you. But now…now, I don’t know what to do.” He cupped my face, looked deep into my eyes, and I lost myself in his. “Tell me what you want, Val. Tell me what to do.”

Shock. Disbelief. Unbridled joy.

Sam wanted me.

Confusion. Astonishment. My wish come true.

I only had one cognitive thought in my addled mind. “Kiss me again.”

A laugh, a single, soft puff of air against my lips, and he did just that. For a long moment, that was all either of us needed or wanted. It was the only promise we could offer.

When the kiss broke, he waited to speak. Waited for me to tell him what to do, which was funny, considering he was supposed to be the expert.

“I thought you didn’t date,” I said, still stupefied.

“I don’t. But the thought of you with someone else makes me crazy, far crazier than the thought of dating. Being with you is easy. I don’t have to think. I don’t have to try. I can just be me, and you can be you, and we’re happy. I don’t want you to see anyone else. Only me.”

“I don’t want to see anyone else. I only went out with Adam because you set it up, and you were so excited. And…well, you said it was time, and I trust you. But this—whatever this is—is what I’ve wanted from the beginning, from the first.”

His face softened. “Me too.” He took a breath, straightened his spine without separating our bodies. “No more lessons. No more pretending. No more just friends. I want you, Val. I promise I’ll do everything I can to make you happy. I want to bring you flowers and take you to dinner. I want your toothbrush in my bathroom, and I want to spend all my time with you, just like we have been but more. I want more. I want to be the best fucking boyfriend on the planet.”

I stilled completely. “Did you just say boyfriend?”

A flickering smirk. “I did.”

Gaping. I was gaping. “I’m not dreaming, am I? Did you actually just say that?”

He laughed, thumbed my bottom lip, stared at it for a second. “Everything I want from you fits into that box. And I’ve never been a boyfriend before, but I’m pretty sure I’d be the best at it. I don’t like to fail, and I don’t do anything halfway.”

I searched his face for a moment. “I don’t even know what to say.”

“Say yes.” A plea, soft and hopeful. When I didn’t speak, he pulled me closer. “You told me once that you wished you could kiss a man and make him fall for you. Well, check that off your list, Valentina. Be mine.”

There was only one answer, and my lips whispered it right along with my entire heart and soul. “Yes.”

I couldn’t get out anything more than a whimper before he kissed me again, a kiss so deep, I had to hang on to him to stay upright.

When he broke away, I was breathless, speechless, witless.

“Come on,” he said, his nose grazing mine. He kissed the tip of it. “Come home with me. Right now.” Without waiting for an answer, he took my hand and started off down the sidewalk.

I took three steps and stopped, pulling him back. “Wait. Adam.” My heart sank. “Oh God. What will I say?”

Sam kissed my forehead. “I’ll take care of it. I got you into this. I’ll get you out of it. Wait here.”

I watched him stride away. He walked into the restaurant, and when curiosity got the best of me, I edged out on the sidewalk so I could see in. Sam had taken my seat and was leaning on the table, speaking to a stoic Adam, whose hands were in his lap, his face drawn but not angry. He nodded as Sam explained. I watched his admission, the subtleties in his posture—a small shake of his head in wonder, a disbelieving smile, a sigh, a raking of his hand through his hair. Through it all, he looked happy, elated, even as he apologized.

Fear crept into my mind, cold and dark. It was too good to be true. It couldn’t be real. Not that I didn’t believe Sam felt exactly as he said he did—right now. But tomorrow would he wake up and have lost the feeling? Would he get me out of his system, slake his desire and be done with me? Was he motivated by something he wasn’t aware of, like jealousy of Adam?

I trusted him, I did. But I worried that, in his own way, he was as naive as me.

The only difference was, I knew I was naive. Sam had all the confidence of a professional lion tamer laying his head in the mouth of the beast.

I took a breath and let it out. And then I made a decision that might hurt me later. I’d lost all sense of self-preservation.

Tonight, Sam was mine. If I never got another night, I’d have this one. And I intended to live every moment completely.

Adam and Sam stood and shook hands. Sam laid cash on the table, and a brief argument about the check ensued before Adam finally conceded. And then Sam turned and nearly bolted out of the restaurant.