I wrap my arms around his neck and squeeze him closer to me. “Same,” I whisper, opening his mouth with mine.

Instead of kissing me back, he smiles and smacks me on my ass. “You cheated.”

“I love you too,” I say, laughing, and it’s embarrassing and my chest is pounding and the words are too fast, but I don’t care.

He pulls back and gives me the softest peck on my forehead, like he’s kissing a kitten. “Seriously, don’t let these people get you down.”

“I won’t.” I lean against him, this huge wall of muscle, and listen to the pattern of his breathing, matching it with mine.

Nate sighs, and my head moves with his chest, his hand sliding up my back. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that shit.”

I look up at him. The way he gazes at me is so pure, it almost takes my breath away. He leans down and brushes another kiss against my hair.

“Thanks for understanding,” I whisper into his neck. I can smell the sweat on his skin, that sweet, feral scent, an extra layer of warmth. “Do you really have to go back to Ohio in two weeks?”

It’s a pointless question. I know he does. But he smiles anyway. “Don’t worry. I can fly back every other weekend before the season starts.”

But that isn’t enough. It’s never enough.

And when he kisses me again, it’s both too little and too much, and in his arms, I’m shy for a moment. Then I feel the tickle of his breath on my skin, his palms warm on my body, and I lean in all the way and it feels so good. Everything about this moment feels good. And then we’re both breathing hard. Kissing hard. Gripping hard. I kiss his neck, and he moans into mine, and it melts me completely. I need to feel him, all of him. I want to give him everything inside me, everything I have. I straddle him and find the hem of his shirt and pull it hard, yanking the damp fabric over his shoulders, then reach for the string on his sweatpants.

He laughs softly against my lips and gently moves my hand. “Let me hop in the shower real quick.”

He starts to shift from beneath me, but I hold him steady. “No. I ordered tacos right before you got here. It’ll be here soon.”

His smile widens. “Five minutes. Just let me rinse off.”