THE CRAZY GOOD SERIES - Rachel Robinson Page 0,209

“Sounds like everything is checked off your list. It’s all on the up and up. Plus, it’s Christmas. Maybe we should make this a holiday to remember.” Stevens swings on the doorframe with a huge grin on his face.

He looks fifteen.

Bending down, he whispers in my ear. “Ho. Ho. Ho.”

I can’t help but laugh, an exasperated noise, because his humor makes my muddy, cloudy world clearer. I decide to throw in a joke of my own for good measure.

Grinning, I fire back, “Well, I do have an empty space of my own you need to fill… with something.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Steven

“I TOLD YOU this is how it would happen, man,” I speak into my cell phone. Cody called to wish us a good holiday. Or, in other words, he called to see if I’ve bagged Morganna. Confessing I hadn’t yet was awkward, but the guys know exactly the type of hardball Morganna plays. It has to be perfect. The setup: perfect. I’ve told very few people the extent of my friendship with M. They know we are from the same hometown and that we have a history before she married Stone, but not that I’ve wanted her for most of my life.

“You said that you’ve talked to her father. All that should be left is some candles to light,” Cody growls through the static. Cell service is sketchy where we grew up in the country. I didn’t even have a cell phone until I moved away. When you wanted to talk to a friend, you stood in the kitchen on the corded home phone, or you took a ride over to their house by bicycle. Much simpler times.

“You’re such a fucking fairy, dude. What’s the work schedule look like when I get back?” I ask, trying to salvage the rest of the conversation.

“Hectic as shit. A couple weeks away in North Carolina for CQB. Out to Cali a week after we return and I’m not sure after that, the schedule isn’t in front of me at the moment,” he explains. Close Quarters Battle is an important block of training. It’s where we practice the procedures that got Stone killed. Clearing kill houses, going through the steps to make sure mistakes never happen. Again. I close my eyes and lean back on the couch when I remember the awful night when Maverick was off the rails. Would I have swapped places with Stone, now? Knowing what I know? To save Morganna the heartache? In a heartbeat. I suppose that’s how you know what I feel for her is real—her happiness is above all else, even when it wasn’t mine to give.

I cough to cover emotion. “Why am I still talking to you, then? Better get busy seducing if I’m barely going to be around to sample the goods,” I say, loudly. Morganna sat next to me on the couch a few moments before. I knew my crass language would get a rise out of her. The horrified look on her face proves I was right.

“Who was that?” Morganna asks as I slide my phone onto the nearest flat surface.

“It was my boss. Don’t worry, he approves.” I pick up my legs and set them on her lap. I feel like I could crush her femurs with the weight of only my calves.

She sets her hands on top of my shins. “Do you remember when you asked to borrow my electric lady shaver? You wanted smooth legs.” The memory causes a chuckle. She rubs her hands over my currently not smooth legs. I want her hands on other parts of my body.

“It really does cut time off of a swim,” I tell her. She looks at me dubiously. “Seriously,” I say a little louder. She shakes her head knowing there isn’t any sense arguing with me.

“My daddy won’t be home for at least an hour,” Morganna replies, eyes narrowed—challenging. It’s refreshing to see her makeup-free face. She never wore a ton of makeup until she became an attorney. I imagine she uses it as another layer to hide her true self from the rest of the world.

Sitting up, I scoot next to her on the couch placing my leg against hers. “I think we need more than an hour. Rock, paper, scissors?” I offer, running my hand over her exposed thigh. Goosebumps rise in my finger’s wake—it makes me feel victorious.

“Don’t think like such a guy, Steven Warner. It’s a start. You can’t jump a cold car,” Morganna quips. “What are we playing for?”

“Best