Page 19 (1/2)
"Cheating is allowed!" Sa my foot
"What rule book?" Matt says with a chuckle He hefts hirins atently and setsan runs down the field, and I chase him He turns to catch the ball Sam throws, and as soon as he has it, I tackle hi on to his shirt, until I can wrap around his legs He goes down like a big oak tree falling He lies on his sto atthe ball fro my feet wildly He lets me sit there on top of him for a minute as his breath heaves in and out under me But then he upends me He rolls me under him "You cheated" He says His hands hold rip
"There’s no rule book, rele when he tickles beneath my ribs "Stop!" I cry
He looks intoin love with you," he says softly
My breath catches "Yeah, me too," I say
He s
"If you two are done playing lovey dovey," Matt yells, "we have a gales his brows at me Suck every an
It has been almost teeks since her declaration in the park She hasn’t said it again, and neither have I But I know she loves me There’s no doubt in ht, and we spend every wakingher at my side, I’m not sure I’ll survive it at this point if she leaves me I’m hopeful that she’ll be ready for what I want soon Because I want all of her I want her past, her present and her future I want to ask her to marry me, but I can’t Not yet
Sometimes, there’s a look in her eye that I don’t fully understand She’s longing for so she doesn’t have I’ else
She’s learned to sign in the past teeks, and she can carry on conversations She’s actually really good at it, and she’s found that spelling isn’t as hard for her when she’s fingerspelling as it is on paper So of the letters, she says
She’s sitting on the couch noith Hayley in her ar a story she has made up The corners of rin She fits so well into my family
She still busks in the subway every day while I work at the tattoo shop And last Friday night, the band encouraged her up on the stage when the crowd started chanting for her They passed a hat through the audience and she got to keep the money they put in it It was just over one hundred dollars and she only played one or two songs
She saves every dime of the money she has made We won’t let her pay rent My brothers and I had a frank discussion about it and we all agreed She does too e her rent She cooks often And she can’t seeh we tell her not to
Pete’s on the couch across froo They’ve been necking for about tenin the kitchen with Paul I jerkto Pete, who looks up sheepishly He adjusts his junk and lifts the girl up, taking her down the hallway toward his room Paul yells at him, and he cooes to his roorouses "I’ll have to sleep on the couch"
Paul smiles "There are two beds in there"
"Yuck," Sam says "I don’t want to have to hear then
Kit scolds ht her to speak sign language I can’t keep anything a secret any sons to me
Did you really just call me a prude? I ask as I stalk toward her She sets Hayley to the side and ju for her
She darts around the sofa and dodges back and forth, trying to avoid my hands But I catch the tail of her shirt and jerk her tomy arm around her waist, I pick her up and take her to our roo the door behind us I toss her onto the bed and she bounces, laughing aths as I tickle her and she squir her, because I know it drives her crazy
"Prove it," she says She’s signing the whole ti with her anyrowl as I press my lips to her throat "Don’t tempt me," I warn
She taps my shoulder until I look up at her "I want to tempt you I want to tempt you really bad" She throws her head back on the last word and I can feel her throat vibrating as she growls "You’reme crazy"
I chuckle "I think that’s er will you makeht I take long, cold showers every day, just so I can take so me nuts But she’s not ready for e into a pair of jeans while she watches I don’t even try to hide my erection from her anymore She knows it’s there She kno much I want her I think she kno much I love her I feel certain she loves"I have to work tonight at Bounce Are you co with me?"
She shakes her head "I don’t think so I have a date with Hayley to read a book" She doesn’t look atHayley with hiaze
"You’re worried about Matt, aren’t you?" I ask her I frame her face with my hands and look into her eyes
She nods "He’s been sleeping too ood"
We all dance around the fact that Matt will be going back to the doctor two days fronosis Everyone but Kit She thinks about it a lot, I think I try not to think about it at all "You want to stay hoth of her hair and press a kiss to her forehead
"Would you mind?" she asks She looks hopeful
"You know Pete’s here," I reoing to know if Matt’s ok or not?"
She’s right "Thanks for staying," I say I kiss her forehead again "I’, ok?"
She nods She flops back on the bed and I want to clio Sam beats on the wall I can feel the vibration of it "What do you want, Sales his brows at Kit
I punch his shoulder "She’s taken"
Kit grins, shaking her head She has gotten used to all of us I walk over to her and tip her head up to look into her eyes "I’ll see you later"