Page 16 of Jason

“Rory, my sweet Rory,” he smiled drunkenly, astonishing clarity washing across his face, and he muttered, “I love you.”

Then, he dropped down, passed out and left me completely stunned. So yeah, fuck yeah, he was shaping out to be the perfect guy, and all the evidence told me that the cocoon he wrapped us in was made of steel, and nothing could rupture it.

Chapter Eight

Rory

“You still ignoring what happened last night?” Jason whispered in the skin of my neck. He wrapped his arms around me and did what I thought was impossible, pulled me even more into him. “Or this morning?”

He was asking about the I love you that fell from his lips. I convinced myself that I misheard him last night, that he didn't say the words.

While I was brushing my teeth, he changed the routine this morning, and instead of putting the coffee mug on the island, he carried it to my bathroom and put it next to the sink.

“Hurry up, baby,” he said, looking at me in the mirror. “We need to get to my place so we can do the therapy and get me ready for tonight’s game.”

I nodded, looking back at him. I was probably just as excited as he was for his first game after the injury.

We had a meeting with his doctors, coach, and the owners of the team a few days ago, and all agreed that as long as Jason stayed in his place after he threw the pass and not go running around the field, tackling or pushing through the other players, he could play. He wasn't happy about that, since he was probably the only QB in the league who tried to play all the positions and didn't care he was only supposed to throw the damned ball, but he agreed. Until he was fully healed, to prevent a repeated injury, he'd play “like a granny,” as he called it.

“Okay, hurry, I'm going to get dressed so we can go,” he leaned into me, kissed my hair, and whispered in my ear, “I love you.”

He didn't give me a chance to tell him I loved him, too. He just left the bathroom, and by the time I managed to get myself into gear and ready, he was gone. I was too nervous to tell him I felt the same way.

“Hmmm...” I hummed, turning my head toward him and pushing at his chin with my forehead so he had no other choice but to lift his head and look at me. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, nothing important,” the small smile he had on his face was filled with nervousness. “Just the fact that I told you I love you. Twice.”

Looking at him, I felt like something in me released. My heart was beating fast, but it was light. My hands that were behind his back, around his neck and head, started tingling now for a totally different reason. And my legs became like jelly.

“I love you, too,” I whispered, looking deep in his eyes. As the words came out of my mouth, his eyes started to get darker until they almost looked black.

“Fuck, we don't have time,” he growled, pushing the air from my lungs as he squeezed me, his eyes that were becoming even darker now trained on my mouth.

“Time for what?” I whispered.

“For me to fuck you again,” he leaned down and gave me a light kiss. “I love you, baby. Now, I have to let you go so you can go into the other room to get ready. If I don't, we won't come out for three more days.”

He did warn me, but the swift way he did it had me reaching to the cold marble to prevent myself from falling down. Still, I didn't try to hide the huge grin I had on my face when he looked back over his shoulder seconds before he pulled the door closed.

*~*~*

“I doubt that you'll be here ever again, or that you'll even last until the next game the Thunders will play, but you need to learn the rules,” the nasty voice stopped me as I was coming out of the family box at the stadium.

It was after we finally made it out of the apartment, after we came to the stadium and I pushed the last cortisone shots into Jason's ankle, taped him up, and got here to watch the game. The game was over, and I was on my way to the players’ exit to wait for Jason. They won, and we had a lot to celebrate. I looked behind me to see four women standing in a straight line, their arms crossed over their chest, hips cocked out, and each wearing a matching sneer on their face. Behind them, Mindy was lurking, looking between them and me, and an ugly smile spread across her face.

“I'm sorry?” I asked. What the hell?

“You need to learn the rules,” the blonde one said.

“Most importantly, you need to learn the hierarchy,” the one with jet-black hair finished.

I looked them over. They were all kitted out like they were on their way out to a club, dressed to the nines, hair big, and makeup thick, prowl ready.

“Oh” was all I could say.

They ignored me the whole game, only occasionally throwing dirty looks my way. But when I chanced one more look Mindy's way and saw she settled in for the show, I knew this showdown was her doing. They were her friends, or they tolerated her enough to believe all the bullshit that came out of her mouth. The only problem was, I had no idea how it involved me.

“Yes,” the redhead, I think her name was Autumn, continued, taking a step toward me. Clearly, she was the leader of this little pack.