“I-I think I do,” I said. “At least, I hope I do.”
But instead of confirming, he asked, “And what about the practice kiss?”
The practice kiss.
Yeah…that kiss hardly qualified as a mere practice kiss in my book—unless there were such things as practice kisses that turned into full-on make-out sessions.
Yikes! I still couldn’t believe this was even my life anymore.
I pressed my lips together and made myself meet his gaze as I bashfully said, “I, um…I don’t think your kissing skills are going to be an issue.”
More like he needed to put a disclaimer out to warn women everywhere that one single touch from his lips would basically destin them to want to spend all their free time from then on kissing him.
I certainly wished I had a convincing reason to tell him I needed to practice with him again.
“Anything else I should know before going into another date? Anything I need to improve on?” he asked.
I ran through all the events of last night in my mind. It really had been my dream date. But there was one part I still hadn’t touched on.
I stared at my fingers. “I guess I just want to thank you for being so understanding when I told you about Harper.” Then I cautiously met his gaze. “And I, um, I hope you didn’t feel betrayed or disappointed that I didn’t tell you sooner.”
I searched his face for signs of betrayal, but yet again, just like last night, there was only a sincere understanding in his eyes, and also something that I was starting to wonder if it might be love.
Did Cole love me?
I knew he cared deeply for me as a friend. I’d never had to wonder how much he cared about me and our friendship.
But was it possible that the way he was looking at me—this look that I had seen a few times when I’d caught him staring at me—was something more than I’d ever thought?
Was it possible that my best friend was in love with me, and had been for much longer than I’d ever guess?
“I don’t feel betrayed.” He cleared his throat and gently tucked some hair behind my ear. “Do I wish you’d told me sooner? Yes. But that’s only because I wish I could have been there for you when you were having a rough time.” He pressed his lips together in a sympathetic smile. “But I understand. I’m just thankful you felt you could trust me with that part of you now.”
I nodded, and the sincereness of this sweet, gentle man brought tears to my eyes again.
The universe really had outdone itself when it created Cole.
“I wanted to tell you so many times,” I said, my voice coming out just above a whisper. “There just wasn’t really the right moment to talk about something like that. And I don’t know, I guess I just had bad experiences with telling people in the past and I didn’t want to make things weird between us since you’re kind of my best friend and I never want to lose you.”
He covered my hand with his. “You’re my best friend, too.” He gave me one of those soft smiles that made my heart twist. “You’re never going to lose me.” And when he lifted my hand to his lips to kiss it, my insides went all tingly. Because there was no one else in the entire world that I wanted to keep in my life more than him.
I wanted to keep him forever.
But he was going to visit with the 49ers in a few days so his future was still very much up in the air.
So even though it was the last thing I wanted to bring up, I asked, “Are you any closer to deciding what to do about your contract? Are you still considering switching teams?”
He breathed in deeply, his whole torso expanding. “It’s a great opportunity,” he said. “The contract is really competitive and the team has a good shot at making the Super Bowl next year, which is something I’ve dreamed of playing in ever since I was a kid.” He shrugged. “But my family and friends are here. And the Dragons is also a great team, and I think we could also have a good chance at the Super Bowl.”
I was just wondering whether I factored into any of the pros and cons of his decision when he caressed my cheek with his thumb and said, “And you’re