“Do I?” I kissed the edge of her jaw. “You like it?”
“It’s terrible,” she said breathily. “Who needs a home gym and a comfortable place to watch movies or three extra bedrooms with their own bathrooms?”
With our hands joined, I gently raised the hem of her shirt, teasing the soft skin on her belly. “Analise has the room to the left.” I kissed her shoulder while my pointer finger traced around her belly button. “The other two are guest rooms.”
She dropped her head back on my shoulder, arching her back slightly when I started toying with the button of her jeans. “Don’t you already have a guest room upstairs?”
“Yes.”
“Show-off.”
I chuckled, mouth brushing over her skin. “I do try.”
Remi turned in my arms, coasting her hands over my stomach and chest while I clasped mine on her lower back. “What did the rest of your letter say?” Her smile was mischievous, tightening my stomach with heady anticipation. “Was it terribly inappropriate for her to see?”
“No.” I grinned. “I wasn’t writing it to seduce you. I just wanted to tell you the truth.”
“And what was that?”
I dragged the back of my knuckles over the line of her cheek. “That I wanted another chance. That I’d wait for you to be ready. That I wanted this to work, no matter what that looks like right now.”
Her eyes fluttered closed as my thumb dragged along the line of her bottom lip. “I would’ve liked to hear that.”
“Eight dates or eighteen or eighty-four,” I repeated, picturing the words on the paper. “It doesn’t matter, because any amount of time is worth it if the time is spent with you. When I told you it shouldn’t be this hard, I was wrong. Fighting myself was hard. Falling in love with you was easy. So easy, it happened before I could even put a name to it.” I ducked my head and ghosted a kiss over her upturned lips, pulling away before it could deepen. “Give us a chance, firefly. I want to know what life looks like with you in it. You and Gavin and Pops—and Ness, probably, because I don’t think I’m ever getting rid of her either.”
Eyes full of tears, Remi shook her head. “I don’t need eighteen dates.”
“No?”
She came closer, her fingers inching underneath my shirt. “I don’t need eight dates.”
My voice lowered to a desperate rasp. “I’d take you on however many you want.”
Remi hummed, sidling her hips closer to mine, her eyes fluttering shut when she felt my aching hard-on between us. “The bar was number one.” She dragged her fingernails down my abs, eliciting a shocked hiss from my mouth. “Number two was definitely when I slapped you in the parking lot.”
“Fuck, Remi, that does not count as our second date.”
Her eyes were devilish as she stared at me. “Are you going to argue right now?” Her palm slid down to the front of my pants, and she rubbed back and forth.
“No, fuck no.” I cupped the back of her neck. “But our entire family is here and you’re about to make me come in my pants, you little devil.”
Remi rolled onto the balls of her feet and sucked my bottom lip into her mouth, releasing it with a dirty pop. “Good. I vividly remember someone whispering in my ear when there were dozens of people around that you’d bend me over and take me right there.”
Her fingers curled around my length, and I groaned. “Remi, have mercy.”
She grinned. “Need a time-out?”
“Yes. Yes.” I plucked her hand away and nibbled at her fingers. “Later. Everyone will leave and we can do whatever you want. Or you can go home and I’ll plan our next date and we’ll have phone sex and I’ll listen to all those sweet little sounds you make, and I’ll be just as happy. God, whatever you want to do will make me happy.”
Her eyes were glowing, and she bit down on her bottom lip. “I don’t want phone sex.”
“No?” I gripped her ass with my hands, leaning down to bite along the edge of her jaw. “Great. Neither do I.”
“Phone sex is bullshit,” she sighed. “When can we kick everyone out?”
As I wrapped her tight in my arms again, I laughed. “Soon, firefly. Soon.”
Soonended up being about forty-five minutes later, when I spied Vanessa and Remi whispering in the kitchen. Most of my teammates had already left, as had the coaches. The only people left were Remi’s family and Analise. And somehow, quite inexplicably, Williams.