More With You (2 page)

Reluctantly, I pull my lips from hers and drop a kiss onto her forehead. I release her from my hold and make my way to Liam and Allie and engulf them at the same time. “Panthers, man. We’re going to the same fucking team.” I release them and strut off toward the stage to do the same hat and jersey dance Liam just completed.

I’m smiling so big I feel like my face is going to crack. This moment is surreal and my smile gets bigger, if that’s even possible, when I think that Hailey was the one next to me when I heard the news. 
Life is good.

As I exit the stage, everyone is waiting for me -; my parents, Mr. and Mrs. MacCoy, Liam, Allison, and Hailey.  I stop to stand beside Hailey. We are so close that our shoulders are touching.  I want nothing more than to hold her close to me again and taste her.  Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen.  I was lucky to sneak in our little celebration while no one was looking, but that ship has sailed.  I need to remember what’s at stake.  As if she can feel the tension rolling inside of me, Hailey steps closer and hugs me.  The hug is over just as quickly as it began, but those few seconds helped calm me. Hailey’s arms are then replaced by Allison’s.

“You did it, Ace!” she says as I hug her tight.

“Hey, now get your paws off my fiancé
e
,” Liam chides me. I can hear the smile in his voice. He just wanted to call her his fiancé
e
, yet again. Damn, Allison has turned him into a sappy bastard. Never in a million years would I have ever imagined my best friend turning into Mr. Romance. They say love changes you, and Liam is a prime example of that.

After Liam and I schedule meetings first thing next week to meet with our agent for contract negotiations, we all head out to celebrate.  We end up at the local steak house, and surprisingly, Liam and I are asked for our autograph before we can even make it to our table.  This happened in college with younger kids and girls who were throwing themselves at us.  This is different.  These are grown men who love the sport who are now asking. 
This shit is real.

We finally break free from the crowd and make our way to the table my parents had reserved for all of us.  Everyone is already seated.  Mom and Dad at one end and Mr. and Mrs. MacCoy at the other.  Hailey is sitting next to Mrs. MacCoy with the only empty seat being between Hailey and my mom.  This is just another example of how we have been paired off over the last year.   At first, it never bothered me, but the closer Hailey and I become and the more I get to know her, the harder it is for me to resist her.  The fact that she looks hot as fuck tonight, is so not helping.

Taking a deep breath, I slide into the seat next to her. This table is supposed to be a table for eight, but with four rather large guys, it’s more suited for six.  This means that my thigh is resting against hers. I know it’s wrong, but I gradually scoot a little closer, just to be near her.  No one at the table pays attention; they’re all wrapped up in the menu discussing what they want.  Hailey on the other hand, well, she notices.  Her eyes find mine in question, so I wink at her.  Yep, I decide to be my normal flirty self and act as though my entire body is not on fire for her. 
Good plan,
Emerson! 

Hailey, the minx that she is, winks back and licks her lips. 
GAH! 
She can’t possibly know what that does to me, or she wouldn’t keep doing it. On second thought, yes she would. Hailey and I have very similar personalities. We both flirt, harmlessly of course, and we both like to laugh and have a good time.  Just another reason why I want her.

Today has been surreal.  I was able to witness my brother and his best friend accomplish their dreams as they were both drafted into the NFL.  The icing on the cake is that they were both picked up by the same team.  I know their dynamics on the field had a lot to do with this as well as their agent.  On the field, they are always in sync.  This is why they were able to lead UNC to their third championship in a row this past season.  They both deserve this and I cannot be happier for them.

As I sit here at the restaurant listening to the conversations and excitement, my mind drifts to earlier and the kiss between Aiden and I.  For some reason, tonight I can’t seem to get him out of my head.  I’m pretty sure that it’s not just the kiss.  My hormones are in overdrive having to sit so close to him all night.  If we were sitting any closer, I would be on his lap.  Would I mind that?  Hell to the no.  Aiden on the other hand, probably would.  He doesn’t need me, his “friend,” cramping his style.  I’ve been in love with Aiden for what seems like forever.  It started out as a crush on my brother’s best friend. That crush has grown into love.  Aiden is six foot three with shaggy brown hair.  He has a lean yet muscular build, that of a runner.  This of course works in his favor since he was just drafted as running back for NC Panthers.  I have worked hard to hide my feelings for Aiden.  I know a relationship would complicate things within our group.  I also don’t want to lose him in my life if things were to go wrong between us.  I’ve done really well with hiding it except for my slip-up before I knew that Aiden was Allison’s Ace. I told her how attracted I was to him, only to find out the next day that he is her best friend.  They actually consider each other adopted siblings.  At first, I wasn’t sure how to take their relationship.  They both said it was a sibling love they have for one another, and once I saw the connection Allison has with Liam, there was not a doubt in my mind that is all there is between the two of them.  Anyway, after my little slip, I made an extra effort to be nonchalant about my feelings for Aiden.  Allison has questioned me a few times and I avoid the conversation all together.  Childish, yes, but I’m too afraid to let her know.  What if he never feels the same?  What if he does and then changes his mind?  Too many risks.  Either way, I think she’s onto me.

Today was the second kiss that Aiden and I have shared, and just like the first, it left me wanting more.  More than anything, I want to be that person for him.  I want what Liam and Allison have, and I want it with Aiden.  I know it’s a pipe dream, but it’s mine, and I’m holding it close to my heart for now.

“Hey, where are you?” Allison says as she links her arm through mine. 

I break away from my thoughts and realize that she and I are the only ones left at the table.  “I was just thinking of how happy I am for those two.” I motion my head towards the door where the rest of our group is standing while my dad and Mr. Emerson argue over who is paying the bill. 
Our families mesh so well together.
 

“Me too.” She is glowing with happiness.  She has come a long way since her Gran died.  We were all worried that we were not going to be able to pull her back to the old Allison.  After our trip to Tennessee, she seemed to be coping better.  Of course, a lot of that has to do with my brother and the way he dotes on her.   I always told him that he was going to fall and fall hard, but damn that boy is weak when it comes to Allie.  Liam is a big guy and can often be intimidating, but one look from my BFF brings him to his knees.  He is constantly touching her; telling her how much he loves her.  My brother is whipped.  I smile because his whipped ass is making my BFF my sister, and I couldn’t have picked a better person for either of them.

As Allison and I stand up to leave, she lets out a squeal.  I turn to see that my brother has snaked his arms around her and has his face buried in her neck.  Like I said, whipped.

Aiden appears. “Let’s go, lovebirds,” he says as he places his hand on the small of my back and leads the way to Liam’s Pathfinder.  He opens the front passenger door for me as he smiles and shakes his head.  “No point in making them suffer,” he says, laughing.

I nod my head in agreement, those two are inseparable.

“So, Hales, are you staying at our place tonight or do you want me to drop you off at the dorm?” Aiden asks as he pulls out of the parking lot.

Allison doesn’t give me the opportunity to respond. “She’s coming home with us, Ace. We have more celebrating to do,” she chirps.

Aiden glances at me before focusing his attention back on the road. “You okay with that, Hales?”

My hand apparently has a mind of its own, because the next thing I know, my hand is on his thigh and I’m responding.  “Yeah, sounds like a plan.”  I feel Aiden shift underneath my palm and I quickly move my arm back to rest on the console.  I see his jaw tighten out of the corner of my eye.  He then rests his right arm on the center console as well, and loosely twines our fingers together.  There is no way that Liam and Allison could tell this is happening, even if they were paying attention to us.  It seems as though since New Year’s Eve, the lines have started to blur.  We touch more, or maybe I just notice it more because his touch sets me on fire.  Case and point, I can still feel the heat of his hand on the small of my back where he led me to the car.

Once we arrive at the condo, Allison and I head to the kitchen to gather the champagne and snacks that we hid earlier.  Presumptuous of us, yes, but what can we say, we had faith in them. 

“So, are we gonna talk about that kiss earlier?” Allison asks me.

“No, it was nothing. We were both caught up in the moment.” I shrug my shoulders, acting as if it was no big deal.

“Um hmm,” she winks at me.

“Charlotte is about a three hour drive with traffic. How do you think you and my brother are going to handle the distance?” I ask her, changing the subject.

“I don’t know,” she whispers while chewing on her bottom lip. “I can’t stand the thought of being away from him. I mean, I know he’ll have away games just like he did with UNC, but that was only for a few days at a time.  Three hours is too far to drive each day with classes.” She takes a deep breath.  “We haven’t had a chance to talk about it.”

Liam and Aiden come strolling into the kitchen. Apparently, we’re taking too long. Either that, or my brother is having Allison withdraws.  “Haven’t had a chance to talk about what, baby?” he asks her as he pulls her tight against him.

The look in Allison’s eyes tells me that she’s afraid of long distance. I can understand with losing her Gran recently. We’re all she has, and I know being all alone is her fear.  She is still chewing on her lip and my heart aches for her with everything that she has gone through.

“Allie and I were just talking about how long it takes to get to Charlotte from here. I asked her how you all were going to handle the distance,” I tell my brother. He is shaking his head no before I even finish.

“No distance! Allison is coming to Charlotte with me.” He turns her to face him, cupping her cheeks. “Right, baby, you’re coming with me to Charlotte?  I can’t be that far away from you every damn day.” He kisses her forehead.  “Not gonna happen, beautiful girl.”

I look away from the love fest and see Aiden watching me. He smiles a shy smile, almost apologizing for getting caught. “All right you two, I thought we were going to celebrate.  You can do that on your own time.  Hales and I don’t want to lose our dinner.” He winks at me. 

We all laugh as we make our way to the living room. The rest of the night is more laughing and joking, We Talk about the NFL and their move to Charlotte.  I can’t help the ping of sadness I feel that my group is leaving me.  The three of them are moving to Charlotte and I’m going to be here in Chapel Hill…all alone.

I shake the thoughts away and rejoin the conversation.  Allison is watching me closely, being my best friend, she knows when something is bothering me.  I smile at her to let her know I’m okay.

“Well, training camp is only, what, six weeks away?  I think we need to plan a trip before then.  Once camp starts you two are going to be busy for the next several months,” Allison suggests.  We can also celebrate Hailey’s birthday while were there.” She winks at me. 

“Don’t forget you have a wedding to plan, beautiful,” Liam tells her as he pulls her on his lap.

Aiden and I both laugh out loud. It’s still hard to see this version of my brother.

“How about the beach house?  Mom and dad are never there. Even if they are, the place is huge. You two,” I point to Liam and Aiden, “need to kick back and relax.  Being rookies, you know they’re gonna be tough as hell on you,” I tell them. 

“I’m in,” Aiden says

“Sounds good, let’s plan on leaving in two weeks.  That should give us enough time to get our contracts squared away. Worst-case scenario, we have to come back for a day or two,” Liam says.

After working out the details, Liam and Allison say goodnight and venture to their room. This leaves Aiden and me alone in the living room. “Feel like watching a movie?” he asks me.

“Yeah, I’m still on an adrenaline high. I can’t believe my big brother is now a part of the NFL.” I smile at him.

“Hey, what about me?” he pouts, sticking out his bottom lip and looking adorable.  Truth be told, my adrenaline rush is just as much from our kiss as it is happiness for my big brother.

“Aww, did I hurt your feelings?” I laugh as I chuck a pillow at him and stand up. “I’ll make some popcorn while you start the movie,” I say over my shoulder as I walk away.