Convenient Fall (Players of Marycliff University Book 2) (26 page)

“What can't you do? What's not working? There's something you're not telling me. Something you've been keeping from me since the Halloween party. What happened there? I don't want this to end. If something's wrong, tell me, and we can fix it. Don't just walk away.”

She wrapped her arms around herself and tucked her chin down, withdrawing. “I can't be your convenient fuck buddy anymore. I want more than that. Just let me go.”

He flinched and dropped his hands, giving in to her request to let her go at last. “A convenient fuck buddy? Is that what you think you are? Is that what you think I am?” His voice grew louder with each question. The wind off the lake picked up, slicing through his sweatshirt, freezing the wet spot on his chest.

Megan put out a hand, almost like she was reaching for him, but she dropped it. “Don't you?” Her tone sounded almost pleading. “If that's not what I am to you, then what am I?”

He put his hands in his pockets, trying to adopt a casual stance and expression, but the harshness of his voice ruined the effect. “Well, I sort of thought you were my girlfriend.”

Megan looked stunned. Her mouth fell open and she froze. “Really?”

The tortured hope in that one whispered word almost broke Chris's heart. He reached for her, and she didn't back away or try to escape. “What did you think was going on? You said you wanted to be exclusive way back in September. That usually means girlfriend, doesn't it? Did I miss something?” Chris pulled her in closer, holding her against him again, driving out the cold with her warmth.
 

She had her hands over her mouth and shook her head. “We never defined anything. I didn't want to assume. And then at the Halloween party, someone was saying—” She shook her head again. “Never mind. It doesn't matter.”

He squeezed her. “Yes it does. What happened? What did someone say?”

“Someone told me that you were only with me because I was a convenient fuck. Having me in the house saved you from having to go out and find someone to hook up with. That you'd get tired of me sooner than later, especially once the season ended.”

Chris's fingers tightened in the fabric of Megan's coat, his jaw clenching again. “Who said that?”

She shook her head. “I don't know. Some girl. It was when I went looking for Matt, Lance, and Abby at the party. I'd checked all the back rooms and was headed back to the living room when I saw the girl in the slutty devil costume hitting on you. A redhead dressed as a Playboy bunny came up next to me and started talking.”

Chris closed his eyes and let out a breath. “That's why you started doing shots in the kitchen?”

She nodded, not meeting his eyes again. “It made sense. What she said made terrible sense, and I couldn't get the idea out of my head.”

God, what had she been thinking? Believing some jealous bitch at a party instead of the evidence in front of her? He rushed home to her every night, texted her and called her as much as possible when he was out of town. Hell, he even did homework with her. If that didn't seem like a commitment, he didn't know what did. “You know I turned the slutty devil down, don't you?” He waited for her nod before he continued. “Why didn't you talk to me about it? You of all people should know better than to listen to gossip at a party.”
 

Her eyes came up then, wariness settling on her face. “What do you mean by that? What have people been saying about me?” She started to push away again, but Chris tightened his arms, not letting her get away.

“That Isaac motherfucker has been running his mouth all semester. You know the kinds of things he was saying over the summer. He hadn't been given a reason to stop yet. He has now.”

“What does that mean?” She'd stopped trying to get away, but the wariness hadn't left her face.

“I overheard him talking to his friends earlier this week. I convinced him that continuing to talk about you wasn't in his best interests.”

“Did you beat the shit out of him?” Her gaze was direct and unflinching. He couldn't bring himself to dodge the question.

He shrugged one shoulder. “Not quite. He could still walk when I was done, but he got the point.”

Chris felt Megan deflating in his arms. She rested her forehead on his chest for a minute, and he relished the feeling of her in his arms again. Letting him hold her. He'd missed holding her this last week. So much.

She lifted her head. “You didn't need to do that.”

“Yes, I did.” He said it definitively, wanting to end any argument about this before it could start. “I’m never going to stand quietly by while some asshole talks shit about my girlfriend. Especially when I know what he's saying is a goddamn lie.” Megan's eyes grew wide, but he didn't let her say anything. He'd let her talk enough already. And he was tired of listening to this bullshit about how she thought she was just a convenient fuck buddy that didn't mean anything to him. If his actions hadn't been enough to show how he felt, then he'd damn well better lay it out for her.

“How do you not know that you're more to me than just a fuck buddy? I spend every free moment with you. Which, admittedly isn't a lot during football season between practice and workouts and class. But fuck buddies don't talk every night they're apart. They don't do homework together.”

“But we're also roommates, so doing homework together isn't that ridiculous.”

Chris gave Megan a stern look for interrupting, especially to say that. “Do you think I'd do homework with you if you were just my roommate? Did I ever do that before we got together?” She shook her head and opened her mouth, but he kissed her, wanting to stop her from saying something stupid again. She stiffened at first, but softened under his mouth, opening for him, letting him deepen the kiss. She was more passive than normal, lacking the participation and enthusiasm that he'd grown used to, but at least she didn't pull away or slap him. The icy lump in his stomach that had taken up residence on Saturday night began to thaw and the tightness in his chest relaxed, warmth spreading through him.

He finally broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. “Do you really not know how I feel about you?”

Her dark brown eyes stared into his, not breaking his gaze as she shook her head. “Tell me.”

“I’ve been going crazy since you left the party Saturday. Abby delayed me so I couldn't get out of there to talk to you and Lance wouldn't let me see you that night at all. You wouldn't return my calls or texts and all I've been able to think about is getting to you so I could explain what happened and beg you to forgive me. I even waited outside the tutoring center on Monday hoping I could catch you there. I went home yesterday like I'd planned, but the whole way to Port Orchard I just kept thinking about how wrong it was that I'd left without talking to you, without seeing you, without saying goodbye. I wanted to take you home with me to meet my family. My sister and her husband are there, and I know she'd get a kick out of you. She already thinks it's hilarious that some girl has got me going to classes and doing homework and set up to graduate in May.”

“You want me to meet your family?” Her eyes glittered with moisture again, and he sucked in a breath, worried about why she was starting to cry again, but decided to plow on.

“Of course. I just wasn't sure if you'd want to come. You never talk about your family. I didn't even know you were from here. I just assumed you were going home for Thanksgiving, so I didn't want to put you on the spot by inviting you to come home with me. I didn't think about it until I was on my way and everything just felt so wrong without you there. I'm tired of leaving you behind while I go out of town. I miss you when I'm gone. I don't sleep as well without you in my arms.”

Chris took a deep breath, prepared to go on, but stopped when he saw tears making their way down her cheeks. “What's wrong?”

She shook her head and let out a choked laugh. “I don't sleep well without you, either. Why didn't you tell me any of this before? I thought— God, I already told you what I thought. I've been falling for you for weeks and I assumed you didn't feel the same way. I couldn't continue seeing you, knowing that you didn't care about me as much as I care about you. I've stopped myself from telling you I love you more times than I can count.”

The air grew solid and time stood still. Chris couldn't breathe. Megan loved him. She just said she loved him. Is that what this was called? This feeling that you could never get enough of another person? Like you were missing a piece of yourself when you were apart?
 

The mysterious thickening of the air vanished and he sucked in a breath. “I love you.” He was breathing hard now, like he'd been playing an entire football game by himself. “Oh, God, Megan. You have no idea how much I love you.”

This time she kissed him, her mouth crashing into his. He crushed her to his chest and her arms went around his neck. They stayed locked together until a car drove up and honked at them for standing in the middle of the road. They broke apart, sheepish smiles on their faces, and moved back toward Chris's car, offering apologetic waves to the driver.
 

Chris held open Megan's door and closed it behind her after she climbed in.
 

“Take me home,” she said when he got into the driver's seat.

“What about your car?”

“I’ll ask my brothers to bring it to me or we can go get it tomorrow. I don't care. I just don't want to be apart right now.” She shot him a smile, but her face was serious.

He reached over and held her hand, maneuvering the car with his left. “That's fine with me.” He was breathing easier than he had in almost a week. He'd drive Megan around himself and leave her car at her parents' house forever if it meant they were together.
 

* * *

Megan stumbled after Chris as he practically dragged her through the door. He whirled around once he was inside, pulled her in, and slammed the door behind her. With a flick of his fingers he locked the door and pushed her against it.

“God, I've missed you.” His mouth crashed onto hers, firm and demanding, all the softness and exploration from earlier when they were by the lake gone.

Megan's hands went to his shoulders, first clutching him by the fabric of his sweatshirt, then pushing him back. “Where's Matt?”

With his face only inches from hers, she could watch the minute details of Chris's expressions. Confusion passed over his face before the haze of lust lifted from his eyes for a moment after he processed her question. “Still in Westport, I'm pretty sure. Why?”

“I thought you guys were driving over there together, so if you're here I was just wondering if he came home too.”

Chris shook his head. “We drove separately. I haven't been very good company this week. Matt didn't want to be stuck in a car with me for six or seven hours. Can we stop talking about Matt now?”

A smile stretched her lips wide and she nodded. Chris's mouth was on hers again, his tongue sweeping into her mouth, tangling with hers. Megan sucked on it, which made Chris groan. His hands slid under her jacket and around her back, then down below her ass to lift her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and hung on while he pinned her to the door and rocked his hips against hers. She could feel his cock, hard and ready, through the fabric of their jeans.
 

She turned her head, breaking their kiss. Unfazed, he kissed down along her jawline to her ear, sucked the lobe into his mouth, and scraped his teeth over the sensitive skin. She gasped. “Chris. I need you. Now.”

He lifted his head, a cocky grin on his lips, and kissed her hard once more before he pulled her away from the door and carried her into their room. Their room. She'd stopped herself from calling it that before, even in her own head. It had always been her room, and the other bedroom that he never slept in was Chris's room. Even though most of his clothes had migrated into her room a long time ago, she hadn't let herself think of him as sharing her room because that implied more of a commitment than she thought they had.
 

Chris tossed her onto the bed. Their bed. Megan couldn't wipe the smile off her face.
 

Chris yanked his sweatshirt and t-shirt off together, standing before her in just his jeans, an answering smile on his face. “What are you smiling about?”

Megan shook her head. She felt stupid trying to explain, so she didn't. “Nothing. Everything. I'm just happy to be here again with you.”

He crawled over her, the look in his eyes that of a predator stalking his prey. Megan shivered in anticipation despite the fact that she still wore her cashmere sweater and a wool coat. Chris laid himself on top of her and fitted himself between her thighs. He pressed her down into the mattress, bracing himself on his arms so he didn't crush her. He kissed her hard then pulled back to look down into her face. His hazel eyes looked like a ring of gold surrounding the darkness of his dilated pupils. “I’m happy you're here again, too. I'd be even happier if you weren't wearing so many clothes.”

Her mouth curved into a wicked grin to match his own. “It's hard to get undressed with you on top of me.”

He hummed in agreement before he kissed her again, sat back on his knees, and pulled her up with him. “Get undressed. Now. I'm tired of waiting.”

Megan opened her mouth to argue, but closed it again. They wanted the same thing, arguing with him wouldn't help her either. She pulled off her jacket and tossed it onto the floor. “Fine. You need to finish stripping too.”