Page 89 of First Down Promise

He runs his hand over his shaggy hair. “I wanted to tell him. He didn’t deserve to find out that way. I owed him more,” he says.

“I mean, you could make the argument that he overstepped. He let himself in, came into your room…” Josh just shakes his head.

“No, he was following his intuition, like he does on the field. He knew I was fucking up,” Josh says and takes a bite.

I grip my plastic fork so hard it might snap like my heart just did. “Am I a mistake to you?” Josh’s head snaps up. “All those years of being in love with you…”

“No, I didn’t mean it that way,” he says, getting off the barstool to stand by me before I can even blink. “Abby, you’re not a mistake. I meant that I should have talked to him about this long before now. Fuck, I still haven’t talked to him. I meant it when I said I wouldn’t end it with you because he didn’t like it.” He brushes some of my hair behind my ear. “I’m glad he’ll pull through and that he knows now.”

I search his eyes as he presses his forehead to mine. “But Murph knows too. I can’t imagine tomorrow will be a friendly conversation.”

“Worst case—you’re off the squad, and they slap me with a fine. Doubt they’ll bench me with only two games left and Pete out. The best case—you’re off the squad. You hate it. You hate the other cheerleaders,” Josh says.

I shake my head. “No, not Sadie.”

“She’ll still be your friend.” His lips turn upward into the boyish smile that I fell in love with all those years ago. “And you can wear eighty-one.”

“I need eighty-one merch.” I trace my fingertip over his chest.

“You’ll find plenty in my closet to start with,” he replies. “And I still have that shirt from Family Day four years ago you can have.”

“You still have that?” My smile widens.

“Of course I do.” He shrugs like it should be obvious.

We finish eating, and Josh follows me upstairs to my room. I told him I wanted to shower after sitting in the ER for most of the day, and when I come out of my bathroom with a damp towel tucked under my arms, I find him lying on my bed in only his briefs and typing on his phone.

“Emails,” he murmurs, nodding to the phone. “How was the shower?”

“Definitely needed.” I step over to my dresser and drop my towel to the floor as I reach into one of the top drawers for a slip to wear to bed. I leave my freshly washed hair in its towel and carefully pull the slip over my head. I move to my bed to plug my phone in, but Josh surprises me when he leans over, lifts my slip up, and plants a kiss next to my belly button ring. “Josh!” I giggle as his lips tickle my stomach, and I pull it down to cover my stomach again.

“Couldn’t help it. Haven’t heard you laugh much today.”

“Are you always going to make me laugh when life gets heavy?” I ask.

He looks up at me with those puppy eyes and smiles. “Of course. What else am I here for?”

“Get on your back.”

He raises his eyebrows but doesn’t argue. He rolls over, and I straddle him, putting my knees on each side of him. His fingers graze over the satin slip by my belly ring again as he bites his lip and releases it. “I like your little belly ring. It’s always sexy as fuck when you’re in your cheer uniform,” he says.

“You weren’t supposed to look.”

His brow flicks up. “I looked at you every damn time I could.”

Warmth blooms through my chest before reality sneaks back in. “Think they’ll make me turn in my uniform when I inevitably get kicked off tomorrow?”

“Probably, but spending the offseason with you on a beach and in a bikini sounds even better,” he says.

“Are you implying you’ll be in a bikini, or I will?”

Josh chuckles and slips his hands under my slip, pressing his fingers into my hips.

“Whichever at this point.” He gently pulls the microfiber towel from my hair and tangles his fingers in my damp curls. “I like your hair like this.”

“What are your offseason plans for real?” I ask.

He sits up and gently cups my chin. “You just heard them. But now that QB one is out, our season will be over right after New Year’s since the playoffs should be off the table. You’ll need to stay close by while Pete recovers, but after he’s better, I want to take you somewhere warm and beachy with fucking privacy.”