Page 45 of The Player

He wanted to crawl back under the sheet, spread her thighs, and wake her with his mouth on her pussy before burying himself inside her all over again. But he had a morning workout to get to, and he still needed to swing by his place to shower and change.

He was crouched beside the bed, tying his second shoe, when Nicole made a small sound. She rolled onto her side and propped herself on one elbow, blinking at him through all that hair.

“Hey,” he said.

She looked him over, still half asleep, until she got to the clothes. “You’re leaving?”

“Yeah. I’ve got a busy day.” Drew tightened the knot and stood.

Nicole pulled the sheet over her breasts and tucked it under her arms. “Oh.”

Drew wanted to lean over and drag it right back down. He bent and kissed her forehead instead. “I’ll call you.”

Nicole nodded, then shifted like she was about to get up. “Oh, um . . .” She caught her lip between her teeth and looked around the room instead of at him. “Let me walk you out.”

“Nah, stay in bed. I can let myself out.”

She nodded again, and he brushed his knuckles along the side of her face, then kissed her on the mouth, because no way was he leaving without doing that. Her lips were soft and still warm from sleep, and for half a second, walking out felt like the dumbest thing he could possibly do. Then he looked at the clock, and that settled it.

He straightened up before he could change his mind and eased the bedroom door shut behind him. The rest of the house was silent as he crossed the living room and let himself out. On the front porch, he stopped and glanced back at the door, already figuring out when he could call her and how soon he could see her again.

By the time he reached his truck, he’d nearly turned around twice.

Chapter Twenty-One

After Drew left, Nicole pulled the covers to her chin and rolled onto her side, trying to get comfortable. There should’ve been plenty of room now that six feet four inches of man wasn’t sprawled across half her bed, but the mattress felt too big without him. The sheets still smelled like him, and closing her eyes only made it worse.

He had a busy day. Fine. Sunday or not, Drew had a life to get back to, and he’d said he’d call. Nicole wasn’t going to lie there picking apart his exit, deciding he’d gone quiet on her again before the sun was even up, or finding reasons to regret something she didn’t regret at all.

She must’ve fallen asleep soon after, because the next thing she knew, thin lines of morning sunlight striped the rumpled bed and Bailey’s voice carried down the hall from the kitchen.

“She’s my best friend, and she needed me,” Bailey said.

“She was fine,” Ryan said. “More than fine. You heard her last night.”

Nicole groaned and dragged the pillow over her face. Wonderful. Just wonderful.

Their voices dropped until she could only catch a word here and there. Eventually, Bailey would come looking for the 411. Nicole didn’t mind that part. What she minded was the two of them sitting out there all up in her business while she was stuck in bed trying not to die of embarrassment.

There was no point trying to sleep after that. The second she got out of bed, she felt last night in several very specific places. She smiled all the way to the bathroom.

By the time she walked into the kitchen, she’d showered, dressed, and brushed her hair back. Bailey and Ryan were at the counter talking and eating breakfast, and they shut right up when she came in.

“Hey,” Bailey said.

“Hey, guys.” Nicole went straight to the coffee maker and poured herself a cup, keeping her back to them while she added cream and sugar.

“You okay?” Bailey asked.

“Yep.” Nicole stirred her coffee way longer than it needed.

“Where’s Drew?” Ryan asked. A second later, he grunted and jerked on his stool. Bailey kept eating like she had absolutely nothing to do with it.

“He left. Team stuff.”

That was the version she was giving them. Team stuff sounded a whole lot better than “I don’t know,” and until he told her otherwise, she was sticking with it.

“That’s probably what it was,” Ryan said, then winced and shifted on his stool. Nicole didn’t need to see under the counter to know Bailey had kicked him again.