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released my held breath.
    "I missed you too, Tristan. What ' s wrong?"
    "Do you think I made a mistake turning down the football
deal here? I mean, I ' ve knocked some of these guys off their asses, but ya know
what I mean." I felt his chest rumble with quiet laughter, and relaxed
further into him. "What do you think?"
    "I think you ' re the only person who can answer
that question. Does this have to do with what you and Jarred were talking about
at the party?" I knew it did.
    "I ' ve been thinking about being here for a while now." His
arms tightened around my middle, unknowingly pressing the ache for him closer
to the surface.
    "It's not too late to change your mind. Maybe it's too
late to get on the team this year, but you know if you talked with your dad, he
could pull some strings. That is, if playing here is what you really want."
He remained quiet for a minute.
    "Thanks for listening. I don ' t know what I ' d do without you."
    "Anytime," I said, seeming the only comfort I could
offer. Before I allowed myself to hope for something I knew didn ' t exist for him,
I moved from his hold. "Goodnight, Tristan."
    "Night, Spud," he said, rolling to his back. I
turned and headed down the hall.
    In the stilled darkness, I relaxed my head against my pillow,
hoping the silent tears that had started to fall before I made my way back to
my room would deliver the numbness of sleep soon. Being in love with someone
was supposed to be a sweet and tender release. However, being in love with your
best friend, who didn ' t interpret those feelings in the same way, became a
violently brutal ache. I knew being around Tristan would be difficult. I just
hadn ' t prepared myself for the full brunt...until tonight.

 
    Chapter
4
     
    Tristan
     
    My sanity wavered when Elle crawled in next to me on the
couch, carrying the floral scent of her shampoo with her. My arms had wrapped
around her in a sudden need to breathe her in. I hadn ' t meant to. But
holding her in my arms felt natural, right, and too fucking good. God. I wanted
to feel the pressure of her pouty lips against mine, and when she left, the
damn pillow she gave me left traces of her succulent scent to torture me.
Natural like the shampoo she used, her beauty was as easy as breathing.
    My phone lit up, squashing the fantasies, and I opened the
text.
    Miss
and love you- xoxo Kellie.
    Miss
you too . I hit send and chided myself for lying. I did miss Kellie,
but around Elle, I didn ' t want any other woman.
    I texted back. What are you wearing?? I waited for Kellie ' s reply.
    Nothing…
    I sighed. My distraction. Kellie ' s ability to
create new games inspired me at times.
    Touch
yourself.
    Oh
Tristan.
    I groaned.
    Reading Kellie ' s heavy words in the dark turned me on. Then she sent me a
picture of her naked body draped over the bed in her hotel room. My mouth
watered and the pressure in my boxers increased. I turned further into the
pillow and caught the shampoo smell again. My distraction came to an abrupt
end. I hurried to end the heated texting.
    Can ' t wait to see you.
    Me
too. See ya soon Babe.
    I moved to my side, avoiding the damn spring, and forced my
eyes shut. My ability to block out Elle ' s image wasn ' t as easily
constrained. Sleep was overrated anyway, right?
     
    * * *
     
    I slept worth shit last night and as result, the muscles in
my neck were stiff. If I had told Elle about me going to school here, I ' d be sleeping in
my own bed.
    With a groan, I shoved myself off the couch, straightening my
sore muscles. My neck popped, followed by a crack radiating down my spine when
I bent over to grab my shoes. After I laced them up, I opened the front door
and headed out for a run.
    The warm air quickly evaporated the early morning dew. My
shoes beat against the gravel. Loose pebbles hit the back of my calves a few
times as I sprinted down the road. Sweat streaked down my face and my eyes
stung from the salty drips falling from my hair, but I didn ' t mind. The
stiffness in