Page 30 of Blitz

Barrett glances at Tucker, who nods again. “We’ll be there.”

I look at my—what is he? Is it too early to call him my boyfriend? I don’t know. I’m not entirely sure where we stand. We’re taking it slow. I’ll move at a glacier’s pace if it means getting to be with him again.

Tucker reaches out and wraps a tendril of my hair around his pinky. “You good with us crashing your meet?”

“You know I run my best when you’re in the crowd.” I set my hand on his leg. Tucker closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “You okay, baby?”

He swallows and meets my eyes. “This isn’t a dream, right? You’re really here?”

I squeeze his leg. “I’m really here.”

His kiss is soft, a quick brush of lips. He needs to reassure himself. He needs to process this in his own time.

Barrett gags theatrically. Tucker flips him off, and the guys laugh.

The blonde girl turns to me with a bright smile on her face. It has to be fake. Nobody is that cheerful. “Hi, I’m Sam.”

“I’ve heard so much about you,” I say neutrally.

“That’s Miles,” she says, pointing to the guy across from her. Right. Her boyfriend. “And that’s Wes on the end.”

The fair-haired guy hasn’t looked up from his book. He gives a two-fingered salute at the sound of his name and turns the page.

“So you guys are a thing now,” Greg says, giving me the once-over.

Tuck sets his arm on the back of my chair. “You’ve got a problem, man?”

“No, no problem,” Greg says coolly. “It’s just fast, isn’t it?”

I set my hand on Tucker’s thigh. I need to touch him. “It might seem fast to other people, but they don’t know us or what we’ve been through.”

I don’t care that we’ve only been back in each other’s lives for a week. I’ve been missing him for the last two and a half years. My feelings haven’t gone away just because I broke up with him when I was young and dumb.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Tuck adds. “We’re going to take it slow. I’m not rushing into anything.”

Unease poisons my stomach. That doesn’t sound good. I catch Barrett’s eye, and he gives me a small smile. Encouraging.

I can do this. We can do this.

Tuck squeezes my arm and turns his attention to his meal. The guys seem to take this as him ending the conversation. Talk moves on to which James Bond movie they want to watch first. Well, Amir and Barrett talk. Miles is quiet, playing footsie with Sam under the table. He pipes in occasionally. Greg is watching me. Wes is absorbed in his book.

Tucker tips a few cubes of mozzarella cheese onto my plate.

“What’s this for?”

“Mozzarella is your favorite cheese,” he says. He’s right. I do. My heart warms at the thought that he remembered.

He brushes his finger over my cheek, a sweet caress. “I’ve got you, girl.”

I lean into the contact. Little glimmers of happiness run through me. I never thought we would get back to this place again. His easy affection makes my heart sing.

We have a lot to talk about. We’ve grown up, developed into fully grown adults. I’ve changed in the last two years. I’m guessing he has, too.

But I have faith. We can make this work.

He wants to take this slow. That probably means he won’t want to get naked tonight. Especially if I have a meet tomorrow. He’s always been very conscientious about that. Maybe tomorrow night we can properly celebrate our getting back together.

It’s been too long since I’ve gotten laid. Those kisses earlier will keep me going for a little while longer, but they won’t satiate me forever.