Philip rewrapped the ACE bandage and secured it around his knee before pulling on his short pajama bottoms and climbing into bed. He briefly checked the football section of his favorite online sports pages before setting his phone aside.
He laced his fingers behind his head and watched the reflections coming through the window from the street and creating shadows on the ceiling. Over the years, he’d made a million plans for his life staring up at that ceiling. He still didn’t know whether any of those plans would come to pass.
Taking a deep breath, he thought about the new additions to his family and the fact that his parents were now grandparents. It felt like things were shifting fast, like one era was ending and a new one beginning, and it made him feel a little uneasy inside. The future seemed so uncertain. Up until the injury, Philip’s future was set in stone, or so he thought. Now, only time would tell what the future held. The only thing that gave him any comfort and felt solid right now was Sara, despite the fact that she too was a new addition to his life.
He wondered why Sara had disappeared all of a sudden. One minute she was there. The next she was gone. He hoped she wasn’t feeling awkward or uncomfortable. Hell, of course she felt awkward and uncomfortable. Without warning, she was thrust into the midst of “Life With the Masons.” Even if she thought his family was the best thing since sliced bread, it was still a lot to take in.
He hadn’t known her for very long and they were just warming up to each other, learning more and exploring their attraction. He smiled, thinking about how open and receptive she was to his advances. Sure, he was used to girls being receptive. In fact, the girls he’d known often played the role of aggressor. But with Sara, until he kissed her for the first time the day before yesterday, he only suspected she was interested; he wasn’t completely sure until she returned the kiss. Hell, until a couple weeks ago, she seemed to actively dislike him.
Somewhere along the way—and he wasn’t even sure where—things changed for the both of them. And now? Now it just felt right, like they were meant to be, but not just for today. Sara wasn’t someone you had a fling with, that much he knew right off the bat. Philip had plenty of girls, but he never had a serious girlfriend before. Not enough time and not enough interest—until now. Sara was someone he felt he could have a real relationship with and that’s what he yearned for—a relationship with a girl he could really talk to, who he could really care about, and who really cared about him—about Philip the person, not Philip the Star Quarterback for the Barracudas. Maybe it was because Sara didn’t care about his stats or his status. She asked questions about his life, about what he thought, how he felt. She seemed more interested in what was on the inside than what was on the outside. The essay topics she’d assigned him were proof of that, and this evening when he opened up and revealed his fears to her, she was unconditionally supportive.
Philip quickly sat up. He felt an insatiable urge to see her. Now! He threw back his covers and got out of bed.
»»•««
After dinner and dessert, Sara had slipped out of sight. She’d wanted to give the Masons some time alone. They’d just gotten some wonderful news and she was sure they needed to talk and make some phone calls, and it just didn’t feel right for her to intrude on their moment. After all, she was little more than a stranger to them.
So she went to her room—well, Philip’s sister’s old room—and used her cell phone to call each of her parents and wish them Merry Christmas. You’d think they might have called her, but they hadn’t.
When her mother picked up the phone, Sara could hear loud chatter in the background and presumed she was hosting a big holiday dinner. Her mother asked where she was spending Christmas. With a friend, she answered.
Her father didn’t even ask where she was. After a brief conversation and terse “Love you’s,” Sara did a little reading on her mobile phone. She thought Philip might pop in to say good night, but when he didn’t, she washed up and brushed her teeth in the bathroom down the hall. On the bathroom counter, Sara found a basket with a lovely collection of miniature toiletries, including pink grapefruit soap, lemon shampoo, mini citrus deodorant, lime body lotion, a new toothbrush, and orange-clove flavored toothpaste. There was a card in the basket that read “
To Sara—Merry Christmas from The Mason Family.”
Sara was awed by Diane’s thoughtful gesture.
Back in the bedroom, Sara slipped into one of Kelly’s pullover night shirts. The day before yesterday, she’d spent an hour going through Kelly’s closet, trying on some blouses and shorts to see what fit and what looked good on her. She was heartened to learn that she wasn’t the only one who had clothing in a variety of sizes. Kelly’s weight must fluctuate a little too, just like her own.
She settled into the full-size bed, which was pushed up against the wall opposite the window. Even though the days were still warm, the nights were cooler, and Sara was glad to have a thin blanket covering her body.
Turning her head to face the window to her right, she could see a sliver of the moon through the small opening in the curtains. A smile spread over her face as she wondered if Philip was in bed by now.
Shaking herself, she snapped out of her little dream world.
What am I even doing here,
she asked herself. Everything that happened in the past few days was so unexpected, almost magical. Here she was, a smart, level-headed, somewhat cynical girl who believed love was a myth, and in spite of it all, she was falling for this amazing, popular guy who she wasn’t even supposed to like, let alone love. What made this whole thing even more surreal was that he felt the same way about her. He could hardly keep his hands off of her yesterday in the family room and in the kitchen tonight—not that she minded. She just felt a little funny about it because they were in his parents’ house. She wanted to be considerate of them.
Sara knew it would have been a very different story had they been alone.
There were moments in the past couple days when her head advised her to keep her guard up. That nagging voice warned her he was going to drop her like a rock when they returned to campus and he was back among his entourage. But her emotional side didn’t care. Even if this relationship—or whatever it was—lasted for only a week, it would be a week she’d never forget for as long as she lived. It would be worth risking the heartbreak, because she was having the time of her life.
Sara squeezed her eyes shut at that thought. How could she be so cavalier and think about what a great time she was having when Philip was fretting about his future as a football player? Of course he’d be worried! How could he not be?
She was glad he shared his feelings with her tonight and she had the opportunity to be supportive. She typically kept her walls up nice and high, and it was good to know she could also lower them at the right moments. She smiled, thinking about how he seemed to bring out a softer, more nurturing side of her personality, a side she wanted to explore.
Her thoughts were broken by a knock at the door. Before she could answer, the door opened and a beam of light cut through the room. “Sara? You still up?”
Philip didn’t wait for an answer. He walked right into the room and closed the door. Her heart began to thump at a medically impossible rate when he sat down on her bed. She instantly scooted herself into an upright position, with her legs still under the covers and her back leaning against her pillow.
“Why’d you leave like that?” he asked, as he rested his hand on top of hers.
Her fears told her to pull away, but she didn’t. She liked the warmth of his hand holding her hand on top of her thigh. “Oh, um.” She nervously tucked her hair behind one ear with her free hand, self-conscious about the way she looked. No makeup. Just a thin sheath of a nightshirt covering her body. The room was dark except for the moonlight coming through the window, so she hoped he couldn’t see her very well. “I just wanted to give your family some privacy.”
“You’re sweet,” he said, removing his hand from hers and touching her cheek.
She looked into his eyes, which were the only things glowing in the room, except, perhaps, for her own. “You might be the first person who’s ever called me sweet.”
Her gaze traveled downward, and for the first time, she became aware that he wasn’t wearing a shirt, only pajama shorts. She’d never seen him shirtless before and she found herself staring at his extremely muscular chest as her eyes re-adjusted to the level of light. “Um.” She blinked and tried to concentrate on something else. “Um. Did you talk to your sister?”
“Yeah, we all talked to her,” he answered, dropping his hand back to her thigh. “She texted pictures of the boys. Jarrod and Jackson.”
“Cute names. I’m so happy for your family, Philip.” She really was. “Who do they look like?”
“Who does who look like?” She noticed he was focused on her scooped neckline instead of on the conversation.
“The babies,” she said, chuckling nervously.
“Oh. Right. I don’t know.” He looked away and shrugged his shoulders. “They look like newborn babies.”
Sara laughed. “Did you expect them to look like adults?”
“Nah…Hey, move over a little.” Nudging her toward the wall, he didn’t wait for Sara to react. He climbed onto the bed next to her, physically pushing her toward the wall as he got comfortable. His body remained above the covers, and hers was beneath them.
Sara wasn’t exactly sure what to do or what he thought was going to happen, but the heart rate that couldn’t go any higher just did. He didn’t make a move to touch her, though, and she wasn’t sure if she was glad or disappointed about that. He merely laid next to her, sharing her pillow, his hands folded on top of his stomach and his eyes fixed on the ceiling.
“So, um.” She followed his gaze upward toward the ceiling and searched for something to talk about, but she kept drawing blanks. His bare chest was exceedingly distracting. So was his scent, so fresh and clean, like…“Citrus.” She turned her head toward him. “You smell like citrus fruit.”
“Orange grapefruit soap. You like it?”
Sara leaned closer until the tip of her nose touched his shoulder. She closed her eyes to inhale him. “
Mmmm
. Yes. I do,” she whispered, letting her lips graze his skin.
“We sell it in the store. I’ll get you some before we go back to school.”
He apparently didn’t know that his mother had already gifted Sara with her own assortment. Forcing herself to lean away, she looked up at his face. He was no longer staring at the ceiling. Now he was watching her intently. If she didn’t think of something to say soon, she’d be in deep trouble. “Um. Are you going to go see them?”
“See who?” Philip was apparently equally distracted.
“Your sister and the twins. In Texas.”
He looked away. “Oh. Right. Um. My parents already booked a flight for tomorrow.”
“You’re leaving tomorrow?” She tried to show no reaction, but the panic in her voice probably gave her away. She hated the thought of him leaving.
“No, not me. Just my parents. I’ll see the twins another time.”
Even though she was relieved, she couldn’t imagine why he wouldn’t be going with his parents to see his sister. “But why?”
“I don’t feel like navigating airports on crutches,” he answered flatly.
“But they have those carts you sit in and somebody drives you to the gate.”
Philip turned his head and looked at her quizzically. “You trying to get rid of me?” His tone of voice told her he was teasing, but there’s always a hint of truth tucked inside the humor.
“No, of course not,” she assured him. She quickly refocused on the ceiling to keep from staring at his body. “I just thought you’d want to be with your family at a time like this.”
He moved his arm up over her head and stroked her hair. “There’s someplace I’d rather be.”
Sara turned to look at him, his face so close to hers. Staring at his lips, she felt her heart rate slow to a complete stop. “Where?” she asked in a barely audible whisper, even though she knew the answer.
His lips parted as if he were going to answer her, but he hesitated for what felt like an eternity.
“Right here,” he whispered, as he rolled onto his side and leaned closer. “With you.” He searched her eyes for a moment, like he wanted to be sure his reply didn’t scare her. It didn’t. It was, in fact, exactly what she was hoping to hear. Her heart rate immediately sped up again.
Her small smile was all the encouragement Philip needed. He leaned closer until their lips met. Again. And again. He placed a hand over her ear and stroked her cheek with his thumb as they continued to kiss. The soft kisses quickly intensified when his tongue swiped her lips, requesting entrance to her mouth. She parted her lips, consenting to the deepening kiss, and let her hand touch his bare chest.
His hand began to travel from her ear, down her neck, to the front of her night shirt, resting on her breast for a moment, testing her. When she didn’t stop him, he stroked her breast through the fabric with his thumb while deepening the kiss further still. She felt dizzy with emotion. Gliding her hands up over his shoulders, she urged him closer.
His hand dipped downward under the covers until he reached the hem of her nightshirt, gripping it briefly as if he were planning to pull it off of her. Instead, he released the hem and ran his fingertips up and down her bare thigh. She tingled where he touched her and she shifted closer. Before she knew it, he was heading for higher ground. Slipping a hand underneath her shirt, he journeyed upward from her thigh, skimming her torso on his way to her breast.
She knew where he was heading, but the way he touched her came as a surprise. He cupped her left breast and squeezed it lightly, almost like a hug.
She had hoped to keep a level head, to not get caught up in the moment, to retain her composure, but her involuntary reactions took over. She squirmed with pleasure when his fingertips eased their way toward the center of her breast, where he gently twisted the tip of her nipple between his fingers. Then he opened his palm and swirled it over her breast in a circular pattern again and again.