The Romantic Pact (Kings of Football)(83)

Her eyes well with tears, and they quickly spill over. I sit up against the headboard so we’re eye to eye, and I wipe away her tears with my thumbs.

I want to tell her how I feel. I want to let her know how much I’ve fallen for her, that I think I’ve always been in love with her, ever since we first met. But I’m pretty certain she won’t be able to hear that right now. She’s angry. She’s made up her mind about something I’ve not had enough time to process. Hazel is stubborn, always has been, so I need to somehow reassure her that she’s important and not forgettable. That although she was right about what has always been my focus, I’m starting to realize that the future might look different than what I’d previously expected.

I wipe away another set of tears that have fallen down her cheeks. “I’m going to figure this out, Hazel, okay? I’m not going anywhere, not without you.”

“How can you figure it out? I have to stay and help with the farm. No one knows what I know.”

“And what if they do sell? Then what?”

“They can’t sell.” She shakes her head. “That would be all of our memories sold to a bulldozer, that would knock them down. They can’t sell, Crew.”

“Okay, shhh.” I bring her into a hug. “We’ll figure this out. I promise.” I force her to look me in the eyes. “Do you trust me?”

She takes a second to respond, but when she does, it eases my chest. “More than anyone.”

“Then let’s not focus on the ‘what ifs’ right now, and instead focus on the present, what we can control. Can you do that for me?”

She nods, tears still falling over her cheeks.

“Aww, come on, Haze. It guts me seeing you cry like this.”

“I’m sorry. I’m just . . . I’m happy, and I’m afraid it’s all going to be snatched away from me.” She looks me in the eyes. “You really consider me your girl?”

“I always have. You’ve always been mine, Hazel. That’s something I realized on this trip, probably from Pops’s doing, but, yeah, you’re my girl. No one has ever matched up to you. No one ever will. And I’ll be damned if I lose you again.”

“You . . . mean that?” she asks, looking so timid and fragile that I wonder if this is the same girl I’ve fallen for. Where’s her fierce spirit? Her tough exterior?

You smashed it to smithereens when you ignored her for years, you moron.

Realizing there must be an immense amount of insecurity where I’m concerned, I try my best to reassure her.

I cup her cheeks and look her dead in the eyes. “I mean that. I’m not letting you go. I’m not letting you push me away. And I’m not letting anything come between us. It’s you and me when we get back, just like on this trip. It’s still going to be you and me.” I bring her mouth to mine and tentatively kiss her. When her hands slip up my shoulders, I deepen the kiss and let my hands fall down her back to the clasp of her bra. I undo it and drag the fabric off her body, revealing her round, gorgeous chest. Gripping both breasts, I lift them to my mouth, and I pull one nipple into my mouth at a time before releasing them and using my fingers to roll her hardened nubs.

“I could never leave this behind. Leave you behind, not when I’m the happiest I think I’ve ever been.”

“You are?” she asks in surprise, her hips starting to rock over my already hard cock.

“The fucking happiest.” I cup her jaw, staring her in the eyes. “I came into this trip depressed, unsure, and confused. In this short time, it almost feels as though you’ve opened my eyes and shown me exactly what I’ve been missing. And what I’ve been missing . . . is you.”

Her teeth pull at her bottom lip, and she takes a moment to remove her underwear, as well as mine. She then climbs on my lap again; this time, she takes my cock and drags it over her aroused center.

“My life has been missing you, too, Crew. My backbone, my strength, my courage. You carry the key to all of those.”

She lowers down on me and I suck in a sharp breath from how warm and tight she is. This feeling, being deep inside of her, it’s not something I’ll ever get used to and something I’ll forever crave.

“That’s not true. You’re all those things without me.”

“I’m versions of that person, but I’m not fully me. I haven’t been fully me since you left.” She rocks her hips and presses her hands to my shoulders. “You taught me what it’s like to stick up for myself. You taught me how to fear nothing. You taught me how to be strong. When you left, I was never the same. Every day, every unanswered email, felt as though a part of me was slowly crumbling inside, and I didn’t know how to fix it. But with you here”—she rocks a little harder and I clench my teeth, holding it together—“it reminds me just how much of an impact you have on my life. I don’t want to lose that again.”

“You won’t,” I answer. “I promise, Hazel, you won’t lose me.”

Her hands travel up to my jaw where she holds me tenderly and then lowers her mouth to mine. I grip her sides, helping her rock up and down, back and forth, while my tongue swipes against hers. As fucking mind-blowing as sex is with Hazel, this almost just feels like a natural extension of us. She’s soft to my hard. We were made for each other, and I’m thankful to Pops for opening my eyes to that.