you leaving?”
“Not yet,” I said, moving the comforter off and placing it on top of her.
Before I knew it, I was taking off my shirt and hopping into the bed right next to her. I wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her tight against me, noticing how perfectly she fit there. Like she had been made for my body, and how good it felt scared the shit out of me. Her body was so warm and soft, and her hair smelled like the beach—coconut, I thought.
The last thing I remembered was breathing in the scent of it before my alarm blared to life at six a.m. sharp. Patting my jeans, I quieted it, not ready to get up yet, and even though Sunny stirred, she didn’t fully wake. She moaned something unintelligible before backing her ass into me, and I fought the urge to start grinding my morning wood against her, creating a problem I wasn’t quite ready to solve. But damn, she felt so good against me.
My alarm started up again, and I realized I’d hit Snooze instead of Dismiss. Irritated, I took it as a sign that I should probably head back home to the baseball house and deal with whatever shit was waiting for me there. Most likely a trashed house and passed-out teammates all over the place. All I knew was that no one had better be in my bedroom.
Tossing the covers off my body, I pressed my feet to the floor and held my head in my hands before cracking my neck and stretching.
“You’re leaving, huh?” The sound of Sunny’s groggy voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
I hadn’t meant to wake her.
“Morning, gorgeous,” I said without thinking as I leaned over and planted a peck on the side of her head and then another on her cheek. “I have to go work out, hit, and take some ground balls.”
“But it’s Sunday.”
“No days off,” I said, letting her know how serious I took my sport.
If I didn’t do something baseball-related every single day, I felt like a slacker. Like I was basically telling the baseball gods that I didn’t want it bad enough and to give my spot to someone else. Someone who was willing to put in the work. An athlete who wanted it more than I did. And there wasn’t anyone who wanted this more than me. So, I had to prove it. Seven days a week.
“No days off,” she repeated without judgment, like the words were soaking into her skin as she processed them and my mindset.
“It’s not an excuse, and I’m not trying to get away from you. This is my last season playing here. I have to give it everything I have. I can’t quit now.”
“I get it.” She rolled over and faced me, her hand reaching out for my cheek. “I understand. You have to fight for your dreams.”
Her smile was soft, her body warm, and part of me wanted to crawl back under the covers and hold her all day. But I couldn’t.
“And I’m running out of time,” I said again, the honesty spilling from my mouth before I could stop it.
“Do you want me to drive you home?” she asked as she started to sit up, rubbing at her eyes with her fists.
“It’s okay, babe. I’ll call a car.”
“But I can take you. Really.”
“Go back to sleep. I’ll call you later,” I insisted before standing up, tucking the sheets tight around her so she couldn’t move, and pressing another kiss to her forehead.
“Mac,” she said my name like a promise, and I stared at her, taking in the silver strands of her hair spilling all around her pillow. It looked like stardust. “We’re good, right? You and me, I mean.”
My skin heated with her question. She was nervous, and I didn’t blame her. I had been more than a little wishy-washy, and she was right not to trust me even though I knew she wanted to.
“Yeah, Sunny, we’re good.”
“Good.” She smiled like she couldn’t help it as she nuzzled back into her pillow. “I want to be with you, so let’s just do that, okay?” she said through a yawn as her eyes closed, and I wasn’t sure if she would remember that later or not.
She made it sound so simple, us being together. Hell, maybe it was for all I knew. Maybe it could be. Maybe simple was exactly how it was supposed to be.
Flinging open the door of Sunny’s building, I stepped into