Right for Love(17)

I needed her.

I wanted her.

I loved her.

Fuck.

I still loved her.

She pulled her lips from mine, small gasps breathing past her lips when my hands tightened at her cheeks. My eyes hardened, searching her up and down for the girl I used to know. Discovering the woman she’d become.

She was so lovely it made my chest ache.

“Jesus,” I grunted, then spun, storming back out the doors and into the cool night. I walked a few steps, hands in my hair, mind raging at me to turn around and tell her she belonged to me. She’d always belonged to me. There was no severing what we had. What we had grew stronger, grew more alive.

Fuck, I had to say something.

I couldn’t just turn tail and run like a bitch. I couldn’t stand here with my hands in my hair.

I whirled around, throwing the door open and bursting through again. Walking straight for her, and this time, she didn’t turn when I neared. This time, she stood her ground, eyes watching me intently. She was bold, brave. She’d been through alot in the years since I’d left her.

And it only registered just then that if she was working at the diner, she was probably struggling to make ends meet. She was probably a single mom. No man in his right mind would let his woman work somewhere like this at night, with all the fucking assholes that came into places like this after dark.

“I don’t know what to do about you,” I breathed, lips barely brushing hers.

Fuck, I wanted her plastered to me again.

I wanted her home, in bed, screaming my name. I wanted everything with this woman.

But that didn’t change the fact that she’d still left me. Told me she never wanted to see me again and then walked away, told me to leave and never come back.

Christ, I’d begged her to come with me.

I told her I would stay, forget the NFL, all I wanted was her.

But she insisted.

And now, looking across at her, eyes connecting, shared memories swirling, I couldn’t help the pain clogging my heart.

“Just leave, Hawk,” she finally whispered, eyes turning down.

I caught her chin, forcing her to look at me. “Got news for you, Morgan. I'm never leaving again.”





    THREE





Morgan

His words echoed around my skull.

Never? Did he really mean never?

“I thought you were just here for a break. Don’t you have a big fancy career to get back to?”

His eyes softened for a minute, his hand falling from my chin and leaving tingles in its wake. Everything about him turned me on, still did. Only now, I hated him for it. “Not going back.”

“Ever?”

He only shook his head. As if he didn’t owe me more of an explanation. Of course, he owed me an explanation. This was my town; he’d up and left us all. I was the one who was left behind to make a life here.

“Fucked up my shoulder.” He rubbed at the muscle, and my instincts pushed at me to touch him. Massage him. Ease away the ache. But those days were gone. I wasn't his anymore, and he certainly wasn’t mine. “I’m officially retired.”

“Shit.” I blurted the only word in my head.

“Something like that,” he muttered, eyes trailing around the small diner.

It wasn’t much to look at, the floors dingy, the seat cushions cracked, but Dan had been good to me. Always flexible with hours, understanding when Emerson was sick. And this was just about the only place to work in this town. Anything else would require driving into the city, a good forty-five minutes, and doing that every day with my junk car would be bad news.

We were okay. I could make rent on the wage Dan paid, and if I picked up additional hours, I had enough to buy extras at the grocery store, like ice cream for a treat, or a new pair of sandals for Emerson in the summer.

Life was tough, and looking at Hawk now, I could see he’d left this life far behind.

His shoes were high-end sneakers, brand-new jeans hung just right on his hips, and he wore a designer T-shirt I was sure he paid more for than what I spent a month in groceries. Hawk and I may have grown up together, but our lives sure were different now. His dad had always said I wasn’t good enough for him, and it was part of the reason I’d told Hawk to walk away—because it was true. I couldn't hold him back when his only dream had ever been to play pro ball. I wouldn’t be the weight on the end of his balloon. Hawk deserved to fly. He was the best quarterback Greenville had seen in over a decade. Of course, he was drafted his sophomore year of college, and no way would I be the girl to keep him from chasing his dreams.

I loved him enough for that, at least.

Even if he didn’t see it, standing across from me now.

“Talk to me. Just fifteen minutes,” Hawk breathed against my neck.