Page 84 of Play For Me

I blow out a breath, more relieved than I can say. “Me too.” I move in to kiss her again but she winces, just a little, barely noticeable if I wasn’t staring at her so intently. “What’s wrong?”

“Just a twinge.” She stretches her legs. “That’s better.”

“Your knee?” I’m already sitting up, moving to get out of bed. She pulls me back down.

“It’s fine. It’s not swollen, I already iced it. It was just bent weird. Now it’s better.”

I chew my lip, unsure if I should go find an icepack anyhow. She sighs. “Sol. You know it isn’t easy for me to be open about my injury. I’ve really been trying to be honest with you—but that means you need to trust me, too, you know?”

“You’re right.” I lean back down, pulling her closer. “I talked to Devon and your coach after you left.”

She goes stiff in my arms and I rub my hand up and down her back, wanting her to go back to relaxed, sex-happy Cecelia. I’m only telling her this right now because I want to be honest with her, too. I don’t want her to feel like I’m talking to them behind her back when she finds out about it later.

“They were happy you told me about the swelling,” I tell her. “Coach said we’ve clearly developed a rapport.”

She snorts and wiggles her naked body against mine. “I guess that’s one way to describe it.”

I laugh and kiss the top of her head. She’s not going to like this part. “They want you to see the team doctor this week. Just for a check-up.”

She sighs against my chest. “I figured.” There’s a beat of silence. “Will you come with me.”

“Of course,” I say immediately.

I can feel her smile against my chest. “Will you buy me ice cream after?”

“Only if you’re very brave.”

She laughs, snuggling closer, and I feel a wave of contentment. We got through that convo without her freaking out. She’s still here, in my arms, where I want her to always stay. My argument with Em feels a million miles away. For once, my life feels good.

“Do you think they suspected anything?” she asks. “About us?”

“I mean, when they first approached me, I almost pissed myself.” She chuckles. “But no. I didn’t get that impression at all.”

She’s quiet again, and I wait. I get the sense she’s working through something in her head. “I know how important your clinicals are to you,” she finally says, her voice small in a way Idon’t like. “If…if you think this is too risky, if you would rather I stay away?—”

“Cecelia.”

She lifts her face to look up at me, once again stopping my breath with her beauty. Am I ever going to get used to that? “It would be really hard,” she whispers. “To stay away from you. But I’ll do it, if that’s what you want.”

The vulnerability in her expression hits me hard. I know she doesn’t let many people see her like this and it makes me want to pull her close, to kiss her until she stops worrying.

“I do not want that,” I tell her. “Not at all.”

She relaxes a little and gives me a smile so shy and adorable my chest actually aches.

“We’ll need to be careful,” I say. “Stay professional during training, obviously.”

She nods. “We probably shouldn’t spend time together on campus. At least not until the semester is over.”

There’s an eruption in my chest and I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face if I tried. “Until the semester’s over, huh? You think you’re going to stick around that long?”

Her face goes red and I immediately feel bad for teasing her. “I hope you are,” I say quickly. “Around for that long, I mean.”

She sucks in a deep breath. “I hope so too,” she says, so softly I can barely hear her. We stare at each other for a long moment and I wonder if she’s feeling the same way I am. Like we’ve just promised each other something, like this thing between us is real in a way it wasn’t last night. Like we’re actually going to try to be something real.

And maybe she is thinking all those things, because I see the exact moment her expression changes, her eyes lighting up with mischief. Cecelia’s teasing mode activated. “I want to hear more about how you’ve been obsessed with me since freshman year.”

“I did not say obsessed.”