Page 111 of Hometown Halftime

“So,” I say lightly, mostly because the silence feels too charged, “what are we watching?”

“Actually,” Riley glances toward the television briefly, “I have no idea anymore.”

I nod slowly as his attention slides back to me again.

“You’re not wearing shorts, Kinsey,” he says, voice strained.

His eyes focus on my legs, and I feel the heat of his gaze.

“I’m wearing a shirt.”

“Yeah, but you always wear shorts.”

“Maybe I just wanted to be comfortable.”

“Mm-hmm,” he says, looking at the television.

The room suddenly feels warm.

Before I can overthink it, I scoot closer, tucking myself against his side beneath the arm still draped along the couch. Totally breezy, totally casual. I feel Riley tense when I settle beside him. His head tilts down slowly, eyes finding mine.

And Jesus.

His eyes are dark and heavy with appreciation. The intensity in his gaze makes me feel exposed as it drags over every inch of me before returning to my face. His arm slides from the couch to my shoulder, pulling me tighter to him.

“You know,” he says as his thumb sweeps against the sleeve of my shirt, “you’re very distracting at the moment.”

I bring my hand to his chest. “Oh, yeah?”

He places two fingers under my chin, tilting my face to look into my eyes.

“Yeah. And Kinsey, it’s not just right now.” His thumb sweeps across my bottom lip. “I want you to know that it doesn’t matter if you’re on the field or in a room full of people, you’re all I see. No matter where, you’re impossible for me to ignore.”

The confession sends warmth spiraling low through my belly. I swallow hard, because even with all the tension building between us, there’s still gentleness beneath it all. Riley isn’t pushing or trying to impress me. He just looks genuinely overwhelmed by me in a way that makes every nerve ending in my body light up.

“Fuck, I need to kiss you, Kinsey,” he says, voice desperate.

I don’t even think before I lean into him.

His hand stays at my jaw, holding my face toward his as our mouths meet, and the second it happens, everything inside me melts. The room seems to disappear around us, the television fading into the background along with the lingering nerves I’ve carried around for days, until all I can feel is the ache building between my legs.

Riley kisses me with an overwhelming tenderness that feels impossible to defend myself against. He runs his nose along mine before he kisses me again, deeper this time, and the shaky breath that leaves him nearly wrecks me.

Dear God, no man has ever kissed me like Riley does.

When I move my body closer, Riley’s breath catches softly against my mouth. One of his hands slides carefully along my bare thigh before stopping high enough to make my body tense beneath his touch. Riley presses his forehead against mine, both of us breathing harder while his hand stays warm against my thigh.

His thumb brushes lightly against my heated skin once more, and all I can think of is that I want his hand higher. I need his hand higher. So, I wrap my fingers around his wrist and guide it to the place I want it.

“My clit is a little higher, Rookie.”

Chapter forty-five

Riley

I’m hanging on by a thread.

“Kinsey,” I say carefully as she presses my hand against the apex of her thighs.