Chapter 23

Carmina had her Call of Duty character jump from one building to another to avoid Tom, but he still killed her. “Arrrr!” she yelled in frustration. “How are you so good? Not fair.” She tossed the controller down on the couch beside her.

It was Christmas Eve and they were at his apartment. He had something delicious cooking in the oven. Carmina knew she should miss her parents and her family, but she didn’t. This was the first Christmas she’d spent away from them, not counting when she was stationed overseas or in the hospital. They’d already called her five times that day. And Sam had called three times. In self-defense, she put her phone on Do Not Disturb.

“I play it a lot,” Tom said with a shrug. “This is how I decompress after games or practice. If you think I’m good, you should see Danny play. The man is a secret weapon in Call of Duty. I think he’s, like, on the worldwide leaderboard or something.”

“Is he coming back?” Carmina asked. According to Tom, Danny had left to go work out before she got there. She got the feeling he was avoiding her. She hadn’t seen him since the day they’d supposedly settled things, after they’d done it in the shower. She’d been so nervous about seeing him she’d felt sick to her stomach before she got here. Now she felt uncomfortable and guilty for driving Danny out of his own apartment.

“Yeah,” Tom said. He looked at the clock. “Actually, he should be home any minute now. He said he’d be back at five, and it’s a quarter to.” He stood up and stretched. “Want something to drink?”

“Just some water, thanks.” She grabbed a pretzel from the bowl on the table while Tom went to the kitchen. Just as she popped it into her mouth, the front door opened and Danny came in. She jumped up off the couch and immediately she began to choke on the dry pretzel.

“Whoa,” Danny said. He tossed his duffel bag on the floor and walked over to her in three long strides. Then he pounded her on the back, nearly toppling her over. “Arms up,” he said, grabbing her arms and yanking them over her head.

“Are you trying to kill her?” Tom asked as he rushed over. “You’re going to crack her ribs if you hit her that hard.” He set down two glasses of water on the table and pulled her arms out of Danny’s grip. She stared desperately at the water, coughing as her eyes streamed, but Tom still held her arms.

“I was just trying to dislodge whatever’s in her throat,” Danny said defensively. “I didn’t break a rib. Let her go.” Danny tugged on her arm. “She needs some water.” They played tug-of-war with her arm for a few seconds before she got fed up.

“Enough,” she said loudly, which prompted another coughing fit. They stopped and she yanked her arm free. “Water.” She reached down for the glass and drank it all as they stared at her. “I’m fine,” she said in a gravelly voice. “Really.” She coughed again.

“I’m getting you more water,” Tom said, grabbing the glass and heading for the kitchen.

“You okay?” Danny asked, concern on his face. “He means well, but everyone knows that when you’re choking, you lift your arms up.” He was nodding sagely.

“Thanks,” she croaked out, feeling like a complete idiot as Danny continued to stare at her. “Breathing now,” she said with an awkward smile. “See?” She took a deep breath and coughed some more.

“Mmm-hmm,” Danny said skeptically. “Well, if you’re not going to pass out on the floor, I’m going to take a shower.”

“No passing out,” she assured him, wrapping her arms around her middle. “Promise.” She cleared her throat and choked back another cough.

“Good.” Danny walked over and grabbed his bag. He turned to face her as he walked backward a couple of steps. “No more choking,” he said, pointing a finger at her. “Tom has been working on this meal all day.”

“Why did you have to tell her that?” Tom yelled from the kitchen. “Now I sound lame.”

Danny laughed as he turned and headed for his bathroom. Carmina couldn’t stop herself from checking him out. He was wearing a gray hoodie with a tight pair of joggers in a jagged black-and-white design that made him look really tall and muscular, which he was. He had the greatest ass ever, tight but not small. It would be a handful. Danny turned in to his bathroom and Carmina looked away, blushing as she remembered what they’d done in there. She hadn’t gotten the chance to grab his ass. That was a regret. When she looked over at the kitchen she saw Tom standing in the doorway with her water, watching her.

“I know,” he said. “He’s got a great ass.” Carmina gaped for a second and then she laughed. She just nodded. What else could she do? She’d been caught in the act.

Tom handed her the water. “Sorry about that,” he said. “I worried that it was awkward with Danny and I didn’t want you upset, so I jumped in and made it worse. I guess I’m a little nervous about us all being together tonight, too. I want it to go well.”

“It actually wasn’t awkward,” she said. “Except for the choking. I guess he’s over it. What happened.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Tom said. He snagged her around the waist and she sloshed water over her hand and onto his T-shirt. She groaned and pressed her forehead into his shoulder in frustration that she couldn’t seem to do anything right, but Tom just laughed. “Trust me, you’re not that easy to get over.” She peeked up at him with a doubtful look. “I bet he keeps picturing you naked,” Tom whispered in her ear. “I know I do.”

“Tom,” she protested, shoving him away with a laugh. She set her glass on the table and wiped her hand on her jeans. Danny was probably not thinking about her naked. There was nothing sexy about her. She was dressed casually, as usual, in a cream-colored Henley with jeans and a pair of Chucks. Luckily, Tom didn’t seem to mind that she wasn’t a fashion model. He was usually in jeans and T-shirts, too. She wondered if someday he’d realize he could do better than Carmina. It probably wouldn’t be long. He was becoming famous outside of Birmingham now. His game on the field and his antics off of it had caught the attention of the Internet. He already had women sending him photos and videos and stalking him on social media. Eventually he’d look at some of them and wonder why he was with someone like her. But for now he was interested in her, and she planned to enjoy it for as long as she could. He’d made her come! And he’d taught her some pretty important stuff about herself in the process.

Tom came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, snuggling her in against his body as he kissed the side of her neck. She loved when he did that. She loved how much he liked to kiss her, period. “I’m serious, sexy Carmina,” he teased. “You look better in a pair of jeans than most people look naked.” He tucked his fingers into the front pockets of her jeans and pulled her back into his hips. She could feel that he was getting hard. “I like having you here,” he said into her hair. “This is the first time I’ve been so far away from my family at Christmas.”

Carmina turned in his arms and went up on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck. “Me, too,” she said. “Except when I was overseas.”

“That must have sucked,” Tom said, making a face. “And here I am complaining about being in Alabama. Go ahead, call me a crybaby.”

“Never,” Carmina said. She kissed his jaw and he turned his head and caught her mouth with his. This kiss was different. Most of their kisses had either been leading to sex, or right after. This kiss was just because. Because they were both a little homesick, because it was Christmas Eve, because they wanted to. Like everything else with Tom, there was no pressure with this kiss. Just something sweet and wonderful and all for her.

“I’ll call you a crybaby,” Danny said behind them. “Quit making out in the living room. I have to live here.”

Carmina pulled away from the kiss with a jerk, and wiped the corner of her mouth self-consciously. Tom groaned. “Where’s the love?” Tom grumbled to Danny. “Friends aren’t supposed to interrupt when you’re making time with your girl.”

“Time isn’t what you were making,” Danny told him, laughing. “Unless that’s some new code name.”

“It is now,” Tom said. Carmina stepped out of Tom’s arms and he let her go. Danny started to sit in Tom’s chair. “Don’t sit there,” Tom said, panicked. Danny glanced over at the TV.

“Call of Duty?” he asked.

“We’re in the middle of a game,” Tom said. “Wait your turn. And get away from my lucky chair.”

“Lucky for me when I beat him,” Danny murmured to Carmina as he glided past her to the other end of the couch. “Go ahead,” he told Tom. “I’ll just watch.”

Even though he hadn’t meant it in a sexual way, Danny’s comment had Carmina blushing. She was seriously going to have to get a hold of herself tonight if she was going to make it through dinner. Why couldn’t her lust for Danny fade once she’d had him? Or at least once she had Tom the way she’d had him last night? Or he’d had her. The point was, she needed to get over Danny. She had Tom and that was enough. It should be enough. He was more than any lucky girl deserved. Wanting Danny too was just plain greedy. With a deep, determined breath Carmina sat down on the couch with Danny and picked up her game controller.

“Let’s do this,” she said.