“I’m not! You are incredible, Daisy.” I run my thumb over her cheek, banishing tears. “I haven’t told you this, but I am so proud of what you’re doing here.”

  Her lip quivers. “Really?”

  I nod. “If I were in your shoes, I probably would have made a different choice. But I’m glad you didn’t.”

  “What if I made a mistake? What if I can’t…” Her voice falls. “What if the time comes, and I can’t do it?”

  “Then I’ll be there,” I say, shifting closer. “I won’t let anything happen to you. Either of you.”

  I take her shaking hands, gently raising them to my lips. I kiss her knuckles, leaving no finger untouched as she gazes at me. She smiles, thankfully, but a few spare tears fall out of her eyes.

  I wipe them away. “It’s going to be okay,” I whisper.

  I kiss her softly on the lips. On her cheeks. On her nose. I rest my forehead on hers, locking eyes with her, refusing to let her go. She looks at me now a little less broken, her eyes full of love and trust.

  Love. There it is again.

  Is this love?

  The toilet hisses loudly beside us. Daisy jolts up, clinging to me in fright, before immediately deflating and cursing under her breath.

  “I fucking hate that thing!” she says.

  I laugh. I can’t help it. “Come on,” I say. “Let’s get to bed.”

  Daisy nods. I help her off the floor. She rinses her face in the sink and uses a little mouthwash before joining me in the hallway. “Hunter,” she says, pausing.

  “Hm?”

  “I’m still hot, right?”

  “Oh, Daisy…”

  “Is that a yes?”

  “It’s a shut the hell up and get on this cock.”

  She slaps my arm. “Stop.”

  “I’m serious.” I loop my arm around her waist as we head toward her room. “In fact, I might be more attracted to you now than I was when we first met.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’m gross.”

  “You’re beautiful.” I stop her in the doorway, pinning her against it. Gently. “I don’t know if it’s physical or psychological, but there’s something about a pregnant woman that gets me nice and hard.”

  I kiss her neck. She scoffs.

  “Now you’re just making fun of me again,” she says.

  “I’m not.” I kiss her again, brushing my lips against her chin. “Your boobs are rounder. Your hips are wider. You taste different.”

  “I taste different?”

  “In a good way.” I kiss her cheek, the edge of her mouth. “Daisy, I would still tear that pussy up.”

  Her jaw drops. “Tear that— okay, you’re not allowed to go to the Delta Xi house ever again.”

  “I haven’t even gotten to the best part about you.” I walk us toward her bed. “The fact that you can be all that — tits, ass, hips, legs — while growing life inside of you… is fucking extraordinary.”

  I release her onto the bed, staying close as we crawl under the covers together.

  Still, Daisy doubts, softly rolling her eyes. “You’re drunk.”

  “You’re a fucking goddess.”

  “But what about the millions of other women who do this every year?” she parrots back at me. “Are they goddesses, too?”

  “Those women aren’t carrying my baby, Daisy.” I curl an arm around her. “You are.”

  Finally, she softens, relaxing into my embrace. “Thank you, Hunter,” she says.

  I brush her cheeks, clearing the last of her tears as I lean in again. “I mean every word,” I say, full of truth. I take her hand, entwining our fingers together. “Try to get some rest,” I whisper.

  “You’ll be here?” she asks.

  I kiss her forehead in response, the only answer she needs before closing her eyes. In the dark, she turns onto her side, gently pulling my arm around her until we’re spooned together. Without thinking, I rest my hand on her stomach. She doesn’t move it away.

  This is as close to silence as one can get around Daisy Hawthorne. I keep watch for the next while, listening to her breathe until her body goes limp and her heart beat settles. She rests without tears. Content. Happy. Fearless.

  I take back what I said before.

  This is my favorite sound.

  CHAPTER 28

  DAISY

  I slowly open my eyes, squinting at the morning sun shining through the window across the room. Exhaustion carries over from the night before. My eyes and stomach muscles are more than a little sensitive, but I feel… happy.

  I fell asleep in Hunter’s arms and woke up still held in his embrace.

  I smile. I shift, slightly stretching my limbs as I wake, and feel something hard brushing against my lower back.

  An even wider smile. He’s got an erection.

  I wiggle my rear, purposefully nudging it, and Hunter stirs. His hips unconsciously thrust forward to rub against me. I smother my laugh. Definitely one of the more underrated aspects of having a boyfriend.

  Boyfriend.

  My glee cuts short. There’s that word again.

  After a minute, Hunter moves around. I listen to him take consciousness, his head lifting off the pillow to check his surroundings before settling in again, his arm still tight around me.

  “Good morning,” I say.

  Hunter hums. “Good morning.” He kisses my cheek. “How do you feel?”

  “Better.”

  “Good.”

  Hunter goes quiet, obviously snoozing, but I’m wide awake now.

  Talk to him.

  Rose’s voice echoes in my head. How annoying.

  “Hunter?” I say.

  “Hm?”

  Do it. Do it. Do it.

  “Aryoumaboferned?”

  Hunter lifts his head again. ”What?”

  Idiot.

  I clear my throat. “Are you my boyfriend?” I ask, careful to separate each word.

  Hunter takes a moment to think. “Yes.”

  “You are?”

  “Aren’t I?”

  I twist in his arm to face him. “Are you?”

  He looks at me, tired and squinting. “You certainly have girlfriend qualities,” he considers. “Why do you ask?”

  “I was just curious,” I say. “We haven’t had that talk yet, and I figured, since we’re pretty deep into this thing we’re doing here, we should probably… have that talk.”

  “The relationship talk.”

  “Ah, so you’ve heard of it.”

  He chuckles. “I’ve heard of it.”

  “Then, Hunter…” I press my lips together. “Are you my boyfriend?”

  He looks at me, staying quiet despite the sparks in his eyes. “Yeah,” he says again. “I’m your boyfriend.”

  We drift closer, our lips curling into smiles before we kiss. Hunter pulls me toward him again, and his erection digs even harder into my hip.

  “Oh,” I tease. ”Good morning to him, too.”

  He chuckles. “Good morning.”

  We kiss deeper. He slides one knee between my legs, rubbing a fire between my thighs as he cups my ass and squeezes.

  I moan softly, my body reacting to his touch. Throbbing heat spreads across my skin and I roll my hips forward to grind against him. Hunter gropes me, his hand pushing beneath my top to find my breasts. I quiver, warm and greedy, as his touch moves downward and into the front of my slacks.

  I gasp, enjoying the slow rub of his hard fingers. He kisses me deeply, tasting each moan he gives me during the playful tease.

  But I don’t just want a tease.

  I silently guide him onto his back. As he lies down, I pull off my slacks and panties, and he takes the hint to push his pants down, too. Straddling him, I align us together, gently hovering over his cock as our mouths crush together again.

  Without a word, I lower down, taking him as deep as he can go. Filled and blissful, I cling to him, our tongues stoking fire as I rock back and forth.

  Hunter groans, breathy and wild. His hands grip my hips, fingertips digging in deep enough to leave bruises, but I delight in every delicious pain.

  “I love having a girlfriend,” he says.

  I laugh as I kiss him.

  Honestly, it doesn’t sound all that wrong anymore.

  CHAPTER 29

  HUNTER

  May

  “Hunter.”

  “What?” I murmur, my eyes closed.

  “Hunter.”

  “What?”

  “Wake up.”

  “No.”

  She nudges my arm. “Wake up.”

  “Why?”

  I hear the shutter of her camera. Repeatedly.

  I squint at the morning light bleeding in through the motel windows, just barely making out her shape.

  “Dais…” I push up onto my elbows. “What are you doing? What is happening?”

  She snaps one more picture of me before lowering the camera, revealing her smiling face. “Twenty-seven weeks,” she says.

  I sit forward and rub my eyes with one hand while extending the other. “Okay, give me the damn thing.”

  Daisy drops the camera into my palm and takes a step back to stand against the far wall of my motel room. “Remember to get my whole body,” she says, raising her shirt over her head, leaving nothing but her bra and panties on. “Head-to-toe.”

  “I got it.” I twist the camera horizontally, centering her in the frame. “Say unexpected pregnancy.”

  “Unexpected pregnancy!”

  I take the photo and immediately extend it back to her. “Can I go back to sleep now?”

  She walks over and grabs the camera. “You have to leave for the stadium in an hour. Go shower.”

  I groan and fall back onto the pillows. “Why would you wake me up an hour early when you know I can take a shower, get dressed, and feed myself in twenty minutes flat?”

  “Because it’s funny.” She plugs the camera’s memory card into her laptop on the table by the door. “Get up and come see how huge I’m getting.”

  I balance on my arms. “You’re not huge, Daisy.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “There is a noticeable difference between weeks twenty-five and twenty-seven.”

  “No, there’s not.”

  “Yes, there is.”

  I throw the blanket off and plant my feet on the floor, combing my fingers through my hair as I stand up. “Okay, fine,” I say, lingering over her shoulder. “Show me this noticeable difference.”

  She points at the screen. I look at both photos side-by-side; the one I just took and the one I took at home two weeks ago. I squint, focusing my tired eyes as I look between them.

  In truth, she’s right. There is a difference. Her stomach is larger, rounder. Noticeable.

  “There’s no difference,” I tell her.

  “You little liar!”

  “Daisy, you look great.”

  “I look different. And if I look different, then Trisha will notice.”

  “Trisha will not notice. Calm down.”

  “No, I think you need to calm up, Hunter.”

  I sigh and step into the bathroom to grab my toothbrush. “I think you’re overreacting. Even if she found out, it’s illegal for her to fire you for being pregnant.”

  “I know.”

  I brush my teeth, staring at her through the bathroom mirror. “Then what’s the problem?” I mumble.

  She spins back around and stands up to slip into her jeans.

  “Daisy…” I turn into the room, walking and brushing at the same time. “Are you feeling insecure because of your weight gain?”

  “So, you do think I’m huge!”

  “I said you’ve gained weight, which is completely natural. I never said you were huge.”

  “You know what?” She throws her shirt on and grabs her phone off the table. “I’m going to send these pictures to Rose, and we’ll let her decide.”

  “Send away,” I say, shuffling back to the bathroom to spit. I rinse my mouth out and search for my razor while she taps away at her screen.

  Daisy’s phone instantly rings in her hand and she answers it, flicking on the speaker so we both can hear. “Hey, Rose.”

  “Oh, my god!” Rose says. “You’re so huge!”

  Daisy glares at me.

  I roll my eyes. “Thanks a lot, Rose!”

  “Good morning, Hunter!” she greets me. “Final game, huh?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Nervous?”

  I scoff. “Of course not.”

  Daisy laughs. “That means yes.”

  “Tell John congrats for me today, will you?” I say, ignoring her.

  “Will do!” Rose says. “I’m so proud of him! Summa Cum Laude!”

  “Sorry we can’t be there.”

  “Don’t be. You’re earning a championship! Go, Bearhawks!”

  I chuckle. “Hopefully.”

  “Take lots of pictures, Daisy,” she says.

  “You, too,” Daisy says. “Especially when halfback falls on his face while crossing the stage.”

  “Don’t you dare even joke!”

  Daisy chuckles to herself, so very proud.

  “So, Daisy, since you’re super showing now, you think it’s about time for you to tell Mom?” Rose asks.

  Daisy’s smile falls. “Uh-oh, Rose— shhhh— it looks like— chhhhhtt— we’re heading through—pffffft— a tunnel.”

  “Daisy, knock it—”

  “I can’t hear you. Talk later. Bye.”

  Daisy hangs up and drops the phone on the table.

  “Really?” I ask. “The tunnel gag?”

  “Hey, I don’t see you rushing to tell your mother about your bastard.”

  I pause. “What if it’s a girl?”

  “Still a bastard.”

  “There’s no girl word for bastard?”

  “Why should there be?” She grabs her hairbrush from her bag. “Why can’t girls be bastards, too? Why you gotta be so sexist?”

  I step away from her devilish eyes. “Never mind. I take it all back. It’s too early for this—”

  “Why do we need feminine words for everything?” she quips, rolling the brush through her blonde locks. “It’s not like we call female baseball players baller-inas or something— actually, wait—” She cracks herself up. “I’m gonna stop because that word is perfect and, starting right now, I will forever refer to girl baseball players as baller-inas.”

  “How am I supposed to win banter battles with you if you keep pulling out at the last second?”

  “Hey, if you had pulled out at the last second, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.” She holds up her hairbrush and drops it to the floor like a microphone. “I’ll see myself out.”

  “I give up,” I say, shaking my head.

  “I’m going to run down to get some breakfast before the guys hog all the bacon again. Want me to save you some?”

  “Yeah, I’ll take a slice.”

  “A slice?” she scoffs. “You’re a guy, so that means four.”

  I throw up my hands. “Why you gotta be so sexist?”

  “Oh, fuck off, bar guy.”

  “Hey, hey. Wait.” I rush across the room. She pauses with smirking eyes and tilts her head up to accept my kiss. “You look great,” I tell her.

  “Thank you.” She smiles and pops up onto her toes to kiss me back. “Don’t take too long or I’ll eat your bacon.”

  “I’ll be right down.”

  Daisy leaves, flashing another one of those sweet smiles at me before disappearing out the door.

  I strip down and step into the shower to rinse off last night’s fun and sweat, feeling a little warmer than usual. Life right now is… well, great. Finals are over and done with — my final finals. I’m graduating tomorrow. And today is the last game of the season — the one that determines whether we go to the college championship in June. The team is on edge, but I’m not. For the first time in my life, I feel like I’m right where I’m supposed to be.

  And me and Daisy.

  We’re happy together.

  It’s hard to believe. Six months ago, we were strangers who had sex once. Now, we’re a couple. A team. Dare I say… a family? I don’t panic when I think about the baby anymore. I want to meet it more and more every day.

  I grab a towel off the rack and slip it around my waist as I step out of the shower.

  “Jeez—” I pause in the doorway, my senses flinching at the new presence in my room. “Hey, Trisha.”

  She sits on my bed with her legs crossed, gently flicking through her phone while she waits for me. “Sorry, Hunter.” She smirks. “Did I scare you?”

  I grip my towel a little tighter. “No.”

  She stands up and doesn’t even try to hide the fact that she’s gawking at my naked chest. “Hunter, I need to run something by you.”

  “Can this wait until after the game?” I ask. “I’m in a rush.”

  “It’s obvious,” she says, ignoring me, “to everybody, what is going on here between you and Daisy.” She points a long fingernail at me. “Don’t deny it. I am not stupid.”

  “With all due respect, Trisha, that really isn’t any of your business.”

  “And you’re right. It’s not. But I feel I have a responsibility to, at least, bring the realities of your situation to your attention.”

  “What situation?”

  She takes a step closer to me. “Hunter, you’re in a unique position here. In all my years of covering this sport, do you have any idea how many times I’ve seen a college athlete be first pick on… pretty much every 40-man roster there is?”

  “Yes,” I answer, truthfully.

  “But what you probably don’t realize is what kind of toll that takes on a person. If you think college ball is rough, just wait until that five-month semester becomes a seven-month season.”

  “What’s your point, Trisha?”

  “You and Daisy should plan for whatever this is to be temporary because, more often than not, that’s exactly what it is.”

  I flex my jaw, unsure how to reply.

  “I’m not the bad guy in your story, Hunter,” she says. “I consider Daisy to be my friend as well as my co-worker, and the last thing I want to see is her getting jerked around by someone who isn’t going to give her the life she deserves.”