Misadventures of a Rookie Read online

  A small smile curved her lips as she slowly shrugged. She was holding a piece of paper, but I was too freaked out to read it. “Gus—”

  “Wait,” I said, holding my hand up. “Are you okay?”

  She looked around, and I did the same. The room was a standard room, but it was full of candles, and then on the bed was a box of pizza and some beer. Wasn’t sure how she got that in here since they wouldn’t let us bring in beer in Malibu, but then maybe the rules were different here. Not that that mattered, since she was supposed to have been hit by a car!

  “Yeah, I’m fine. We always said we should have date night here—”

  I held my hand up again, stopping her. “My mom told me you got hit by a car.”

  Her jaw dropped, and then she started to sputter with laughter. “What! I told her to tell you I twisted my ankle again!”

  I inhaled hard, running my hands down my face. “I’m going to kill her.”

  “You guys have a really funny relationship.”

  “Yeah, they’re basically children and I’m the adult.”

  Bo scoffed at that. “I mean, I wouldn’t go that far.”

  I tucked my hands into my pockets and looked up at her. She looked back at me, her cheeks full of color as she chewed on her lip. I wanted to close the distance between us, kiss away all the lip gloss she wore, but I wasn’t sure what was going on here.

  But that didn’t matter, because without thinking, I reached for her, pulling her hard to me before crashing my lips to hers. She kissed me back with just as much need as her fingers trailed up the back of my neck into my hair. Squeezing her in my arms, I heard the crunch of the paper she was holding, but I didn’t care because I wanted to cry out in elation. I parted only slightly and whispered, “I texted you.”

  “I know,” she whispered back, moving her hands down my face, her thumbs resting against my lips. “I wanted to answer back, but I couldn’t do it over the phone. I wanted to do it in person.”

  Swallowing hard, I held her gaze. “So what did you want to say?”

  “That I was sorry,” she said as an exhale. “That I was an idiot, and that I can’t keep trying to make you pay for the pain that Jesse brought me. You aren’t him, and I knew that from the beginning, which is why I stopped hating you so quickly.”

  My face broke into a grin. “You never hated me.”

  She eyed me. “I did.” Moving my hands up her back and into her hair, I searched her gaze. She was just so beautiful. “But, um, I was talking to my mom today, and she made a good point, that I’m dragging around my past as if it’s chained to me. I don’t want to do that anymore. I don’t want to think of my past. I only want to live in the now, with you.”

  I pressed my forehead to hers. “That’s all I want.”

  “I don’t know what is going to happen.”

  “It doesn’t matter, because the thing is, Bo, I’ll never finish loving you. It just keeps going on and on. I’ve finished a lot of things. A period during a game, a goal, and plenty of women that I shouldn’t really be bringing up, but oh well, it’s part of my point. With you it’s constant and I can’t… I just can’t finish. And all I want is for you to love me back and for us to be happy. The future will fall into place as long as we have each other.”

  She sighed softly as she gazed up at me. She wiggled her arms up, and I pulled back some so she could hold up her piece of paper.

  I want to make promises with you.

  Everything inside of me just blew up as I met her gaze again.

  “I didn’t want this. I really didn’t, you know I didn’t, but it just seems like we’re supposed to happen. I have never made anyone a promise because of what happened, but now, I want to make the same promises you made to me. Because I don’t want anything other than to be with you.”

  “Me too. Fuck, baby, me too,” I demanded, cupping her face. “Listen, I want you to move here with me. I really do, but if you want to finish school, that’s fine. We’ll make it work because we won’t settle for anything el—”

  “I want to move with you,” she said, cutting me off. “I’ll transfer, or whatever, I’ll make it work. I want to be wherever you are. And Sweetie. I can’t forget Sweetie.”

  “Really?” I asked, and I felt the tears burning my eyes. Every single dream I’d had since the moment I met her was coming true. “You really want that?”

  “I do, as long as you want it.”

  “You’re damn right I do,” I said before taking her mouth with mine. As I drew out the kisses, she melted against me, and I wanted nothing more than to spend my days doing just this. Being with her. Loving her.

  She was what happiness felt like.

  Pulling back, I moved my fingers along her temple, into her hair, as she said, “I can’t promise that I won’t bring up my past again.”

  “That’s fine.” I pressed my nose to hers. “I can’t promise I won’t annoy the fuck out of you.”

  “You will, and I’ll hold out on sex.”

  “Seems fair.”

  “I thought so.”

  We shared a smile. “But something I can promise, there will always be a seat for you at all my games.”

  She beamed up at me. “I’ll be there, as long as I get to come home with you.”

  “Done deal,” I answered as our gazes burned together. We shared a smile, and my eyes slowly drifted shut as I wrapped my arms around her neck and hers came around my torso. “One more thing.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I promise I’ll love you. For the rest of our lives.”

  “Good, ’cause I can promise the same thing.”

  “Can’t say it, huh?”

  She giggled against my lips. “Gus.”

  “Bocephus Jane St. James?”

  She didn’t even glare. She kept smiling as she held me in her arms. “I love you too.” She let out a long breath. “I love you so damn much.”

  Oh, those words. Just four simple little words that basically demolished my world within seconds. I thought hearing my name fall from her lips was the best sound in the world. Boy, was I wrong. I knew from this moment on, I’d never be the same.

  Never.

  What more could I ask for? Well, maybe fewer trips to the ER, but then again, I fell madly, deeply, insanely in love with Bo there.

  So yeah, I wouldn’t ask for that. Instead, I’d kiss her again.

  Because I was Bo’s.

  And she was mine.

  And I was cocky enough to know that life was going to be great.

  Acknowledgments

  I’m going to try not to forget everyone. I’m so awful at these things.

  First, I want to thank my amazing family, Michael, Mikey, Alyssa, and Gaston. Everything I do, I do it for y’all. I love you all, so damn much, and nothing will ever change that. To the rest of my family, I love you.

  Then my tribe, Bobbie Jo, Kristen, and Nortis. These women are my rocks. They believe in me when I don’t believe in myself.

  To my life manager, Lisa Holleta. Everyone knows I can’t do life without you. You truly have my best interest in mind and I truly appreciate that. It’s amazing to be able to trust someone so completely and know they have you. I will always love you, Holletta. Thank you for all you do.

  When I started in this business, God gave me women to help me make sure to give the best book I can, my betas, Laurie, Heather, Jessica, Althea, Franci, Susie, and Nicole. They are the best, I love y’all.

  To Chelle Bliss. I love you girl. Really. I couldn’t do a lot of my work life without you.

  To my editing team: Scott and Jeanne. Thank you so much for dealing with all this crazy. I know it hasn’t been easy but I am blessed to have y’all in my life. Thank you so much for all you’ve done. I look forward to our future together.

  To Meredith Wild and her amazing husband, thank you for being so kind. For always believing in me and for just being effing awesome.

  To my Misadventures sisters, y’all are amazing. Thank you for being there f