Page 23 of Praised By the Cornerback

The question is polite, casual, like I’m a guest who stopped by for a completely normal reason. Like it’s not almost midnight and I didn’t just ditch two women to come here.

“No, I just…” I trail off, feeling idiotic. What am I doing here? I don’t have a good answer for that. “I wanted to hang out.”

One corner of Adrian’s mouth lifts. Not quite a smile, but close. “To hang out?”

“Yeah.” I cross my arms over my chest. “If that’s okay.”

He tilts his head, studying me, and that almost-smile becomes more pronounced. “So let me get this straight. You had two gorgeous women in your room. And you sent them away and came here to hang out?”

Heat crawls up the back of my neck. “Well, it sounds weird when you say it like that.”

“How else would I say it?”

“I don’t know. Less weird.” I rub my face with both hands. “Look, if you want me to leave—”

“Don’t leave.”

The words stop me cold. His tone has shifted, gone serious and low, and when I drop my hands, he’s closer than he was a second ago. Not crowding me, but close enough that I can see the darker ring around his irises, the faint stubble along his jaw.

“Okay,” I say quietly.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

The tightness inside me eases. “Yeah?”

“Yes.” He holds my gaze, steady and sure, and I can’t look away. “What do you want to do?”

The question hangs between us. The truth is, I don’t know why I came here instead of staying in my room, or what I expected to happen. All I know is that sitting in my room alone felt wrong, and the idea of being here with Adrian felt right.

But I can’t say that. Can’t put words to this strange pull I’ve been feeling all week, the way my attention keeps drifting to him during practice, how that morning in his room keeps replaying in my head when I’m trying to sleep.

So I don’t answer. I just stand there like an idiot, my pulse loud in my ears.

Adrian steps closer. “Connor. What do you want?”

His voice is softer now, and he reaches up to cup my jaw with one hand. His palm is warm against my skin, his thumb swiping gently across my cheekbone. His touch is so careful it undoes me.

I lean into it without thinking. A long breath escapes me, tension draining from my shoulders. His thumb moves to my bottom lip, tracing the curve of it, and before I can stop myself, I kiss it.

Just a press of my lips against the pad of his thumb. Barely anything.

Adrian’s pupils dilate, black swallowing the dark brown of his eyes.

“You have no idea how gorgeous you are, do you?”

I huff out a laugh, trying to break the intensity of the moment. “That’s not the word people usually use to describe me.”

“What do they use?”

“Funny, mostly. Easygoing. Sometimes a pain in the ass.”

Adrian laughs, low and surprised, like I pulled it out of him, and I want to make him do it again. Our faces are inches apart now. I can feel his breath against my mouth.

“You are a pain in the ass.” His hand is still on my jaw, thumb still resting on my bottom lip. “But you’re also selfless. Kind. You make people around you feel comfortable.”

He pauses, his gaze dropping to my mouth before lifting again.

“And I don’t think you know how special you are.”