OBSESSED Series

Chapter 8

God, I want to go back in time and…

And what?

There’s no way to make this situation better. I’m a nationally ranked collegiate athlete with a barrage of recent troubles. Yet I’m still being scouted for next season’s NFL draft. All eyes are on me, all the time. And now they’re on her, too. I can’t escape the limelight and neither can she. I didn’t give her a choice, did I? I can’t. There’s only one option and it’s being together, so I guess I have to get used to this?

One of the player’s girlfriends approaches cautiously.

I’ve met her before but can’t remember her name.

“Uh, Gage?” The girlfriend’s gaze is fastened on my hands. My fingers are buried in Stella’s hair and I’m holding her face to my chest. When did I start breathing so hard? “Do you want to introduce me to your…friend?”

“Girlfriend,” I correct, hoarsely. I can’t help claiming her.

Mine, mine, mine.

“Girlfriend. Wow.” Her interest grows. “Well, I’m watching practice from the stands. She can come sit with me and the others while you’re on the field, if you want.”

I scrutinize the girl, trying to figure out if she’s being friendly or if she has an ulterior motive. Of course she does. She wants to be the first to meet Stella, the girl who locked down Gage Weston for life. But since I can’t leave Stella alone without worrying, this girl might be the lesser of two evils. “Yeah.” I kiss Stella’s forehead, absorbing her scent. Her warmth. The goodness she permeates me with. “That okay with you, honey?”

“Yes.” She smiles up at me, brighter than sunshine. “Go. I’ll be fine.”

No. No, she’s going to disappear or fall and get hurt or get swallowed up by a sinkhole. A million other possibilities bombard me at once. She’s so fragile. She’s not going to be safe anywhere but in my arms. But I’m on thin ice with the team as it is, since my status for the championship game is questionable, due to my failing grade in Western Civilization.

“Later, it’ll just be you and me,” I whisper against her mouth, unable to resist kissing her. A long, slow indulging of her sweet mouth, turned on by the way she gasps when our tongues lick together. “Later.”

Her eyes are a little dazed as they search mine. “I was thinking…”

I tilt her face up, eager to hear what she’s going to say. “Yeah?”

“There’s a place off campus where I go sometimes. To study. To block out the noise.” She drops her voice to a whisper. “I could bring you there after practice.”

In that moment, something occurs to me. Something incredible. I’ve claimed Stella without even asking if I’m what she wants. Maybe I was afraid to ask. But this? Her wanting to share her secrets with me? It’s proof our relationship isn’t one-sided. She wants me back. Thank God. The dread in my stomach dissipates and I can breathe again. “I’ll go anywhere you go. Anywhere.”

“Same,” she says, going up on her toes to kiss my chin shyly. “Anywhere.”

There’s a fucking grapefruit in my throat when she walks away to join the other girl. “Keep her where I can see her,” I bark, already missing the feel of her skin in my hands.

One of the girls in nice. Mindy. She’s the one who offered to keep me company while Gage is practicing. The rest of them scan me like I’m a barcode and decide, apparently, that I need some work. “Oh my God, that skirt,” says one of them—a pretty, raven-haired girl with a dozen hoops in one of her ears. “Are you wearing it that long on purpose?”

Mindy smacks her in the shoulder. “Shut up, Krissy. Leave her alone.” Her lips tilt up in a smile. “You’re risking the wrath of Gage Weston. He’s extremely protective of her.”

“How did you manage to reel that one in?” asks Krissy. “He’s got a reputation for being ice cold with women. Barely gives them the time of day. Unless he needs to blow off steam, of course, then he just grabs whoever is available—”