“Rai, hey. It’s time to wake up, sleepy.” I give Raia a nudge.
She mumbles in her sleep, and I smile. She looks peaceful and innocent. Her sass is checked, and her expressive reactions are resting.
I run my thumb over her eyebrow, and she swats my hand away.
“She’s awake,” I joke.
Raia groans and opens one eye. It stares straight at me. “I don’t want to leave.”
Me neither. The last thing I want to do is board a plane and return to Knoxville. Not when the alternative is being tucked away with Raia, lost in each other.
“I know,” I agree. “At least we got to enjoy our time here and didn’t have to head out early like your friends.”
“Whatever.” She pouts, not in the mood for my positive outlook.
Her grumpiness causes my grin to widen. I slap her ass, grabbing one healthy cheek and give it an extra squeeze. “Move your body, babe. We don’t want to miss our flight. I texted your brother last night and he’s going to pick us up.”
“’Kay,” she mutters, closing her eye.
I chuckle and slide from the bed. While Raia takes her sweet time, I brew a pot of coffee, finish picking up the chalet, and ensure our bags are mostly packed.
When Raia enters the kitchen, dressed in baggy jeans, a cropped sweater, and boots, I pull a beanie on her head, kiss the tip of her nose, and press a to-go cup of coffee in her hand.
“You’re the best,” she breathes out.
I press a second kiss to her mouth. “This time with you was the best.”
Her eyes flicker to mine. I note the uncertainty swimming in her gaze and wish she wanted this thing with me as much as I do. But Raia’s always been honest and upfront about what this is—and isn’t. I know better than to push her just because we obliterated the lines.
“Yeah,” she says softly.
I dip my head and pull away. Heading into our bedroom, I grab her suitcase and load our rental car. I snap a quick photo of Raia, hanging on the front porch, gazing longingly at the mountains, her coffee in hand.
Man, I’m going to miss waking up to her each morning. Fucking her into slumber at night. This trip was a hell of a lot more than helping her save face. It was a game changer.
The way I feel about her, the things I want with her… I’m falling in love with my best friend’s little sister. And I’m scared she doesn’t feel the same way. That’s not entirely true. I’m scared she won’t let herself experience what could be with me.
A little twinge of doubt flickers in my chest and I rub the spot, as if that will extinguish the uncertainty.
“You ready?” she asks when she looks my way.
“Whenever you are.”
Raia smirks and walks over to the car. She slides into the passenger seat, I drop behind the steering wheel, and we set off for the airport. Now that the snow has been cleared and the blizzard has passed, it’s time to re-enter our reality.
I hope it doesn’t shatter the illusion of us. Because our fake relationship feels real. Our playing house filled me with yearning instead of terror. And the thought of kissing Raia goodbye for the last time haunts me.
“You ready to face off against Dallas?” she asks once we’re on the highway.
I look at her. I have a game in three days, and I haven’t thought about it once. Discomfort twists my stomach. “Uh, yeah,” I mutter.
“Their QB has been on a roll lately,” she adds, her hands doing half the talking. As Raia continues to fill me in on the backstory, a human-interest commentary, of Oliver Williams, I nod along.
But my thoughts splinter and spin in different directions.
Is she coming to the game?
Will she wear my jersey or Avery’s?
How did I go three days without an intense workout?
How did I mentally block out the game against Dallas?
Will Mom and Dad be thrilled or appalled that I’m dating Raia?
Are we even dating? Or is this the beginning of the end?
Technically, we’re supposed to break up before the Christmas holidays.
Thanksgiving is in a few days. Are we doing that together? Presenting a united front?
I glance at Raia. How is she so cool? Normal?
Does her heart not race like mine? Is she not agonizing over what comes next?
I shake my head and turn on my blinker to exit the highway.
“Here we go,” Raia sighs as I pull into the car rental lane. She reaches over to touch my wrist. “Thanks for this week, Cohen. I, God, I don’t think I could have done it without you. I’m glad I didn’t have to.”
“Anytime, champ.” I park our rental and turn to look at her.
She stares at me for a long beat, her eyes brimming with emotions she usually locks down. Before I can ask what’s wrong, she leans over the center console, grips the back of my neck, and kisses me hard. She tastes like hazelnut and snowflakes. She feels like home.
“I owe you,” she murmurs.
“It was my pleasure,” I reply earnestly.
She arches an eyebrow, and we both laugh.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” I admit.
“Sure, you didn’t,” she scoffs.
Then, she slips from the car, and I force myself to stop checking out her ass. Instead, I settle up with the rental company, grab our luggage, and follow Raia to our terminal.
To our hometown.
Even though right now, it doesn’t feel like home to me either.
We both zonk out during the flight. It passes quickly and before I realize it, our time together is officially over. We’re waiting at baggage claim when I can’t stand the uncertainty any longer.
“Rai,” I sigh.
“I know.” She steps closer to me.
I give her a look. “Know what?”
“We need to talk.”
Jesus, thank you. “Yeah, we really do.”
Raia slips her hand in mine, her eyes darting around the airport. “Now’s not the time. Avery will be waiting outside. But, this week with you, Cohen, it means something to me. Something more than fake.”
Relief flows through me like an open faucet. I drag in a breath, feeling like I can inhale deeply for the first time in days. “Good. Me too. I am, fuck, Rai, it’s all different now. I can’t pretend this week didn’t happen. I don’t want to.”
She grins, her eyes dancing. “Me neither.”
I squeeze her fingers. “Where do we go from here?”
“I’m not sure,” she admits. “But I want to figure it out. I think we owe it to ourselves, to each other, to see…what could be between us.”
“Hell yeah, we do.” I nod. “We gotta sit down and talk though. Work through things.”
“I know.”
“Before Thanksgiving,” I tack on. I don’t want this shit hanging over my head during the holiday, during our game against Dallas, during the rest of the damn week.
“We will,” she promises, shuffling closer. She looks up at me and smiles. Her gray eyes shimmer and her expression is filled with an affection that’s warmer than any hug. “Thank you again, Cohen. What you did for me…”
“It was nothing.”
“It was everything.” She presses up onto her tippy toes.
“Ah, champ.” I drop her hand to sling an arm around her waist. Then, I kiss her, pouring everything I hope we’ll be down her throat like a shot of tequila. It’s a quick and dirty kiss, given our surroundings. But still, hot as hell, and I wish we had more time.
Just, more.
When Raia pulls back, she rolls her lips together and suppresses a giggle. “I could get lost in you, Cohen.”
“You say it like it’s a bad thing.”
Raia shakes her head but she’s grinning. “There’s my suitcase.” She points to the carousel.
I swipe our luggage off the belt, and we turn toward the exit. As soon as we step outside, I note Avery’s truck. He’s staring at us through the windshield, his expression tight. His fingers drum on top of the steering wheel.
“Damn, what do you think crawled up his ass?” Raia asks.
I shrug. “Bad date?”
She snorts. “My brother doesn’t waste his time on dates.”
I let that go, knowing that for as much love as there is between the Callaway siblings, there’s also an undercurrent of competition and pain. Something I’m only just beginning to recognize.
Now that Raia confided in me, I see how difficult it would be to grow up in Avery’s shadow. Hell, sometimes it’s tough to be his best friend.
I roll our suitcases around to slide them into the bed of the truck.
Raia jumps into the passenger seat, and I slip into the back. Avery meets my gaze in the rearview mirror. His jaw is tight, his eyes hard.
“Hey! All good?” I ask.
He pulls away from the curb and eases into the traffic.
“You tell me,” he replies, his tone clipped.
I jerk back, surprised by the coldness in his voice.
Raia rolls her eyes. “The trip was great, thanks for asking. Cohen totally pulled it off.”
Avery snorts.
“Everyone bought it,” Raia continues. “I think Beck tried to initiate a bromance with Cohen, too.”
Avery grins for real at that comment.
“So, it was a good week?” Avery asks, merging onto the highway.
“A great week,” Raia confirms.
My best friend nods. His eyes flick to me in the back seat before turning toward his sister. “And is your fake relationship over now that your mission is accomplished? Or are you guys seriously dating?”
Fuck. I straighten in my seat.
Did one of Raia’s friends tell him we slept together?
Did he see a photo from the weekend?
Did he catch on by how many of his calls I avoided answering?
“Because the way y’all fucking kissed in the airport looked a lot more than a friend helping out a friend.”
Ah, shit. The airport kiss.