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  “My dog. I have a chocolate lab. She has been alone all night and is probably crossing her legs by the door begging to be let out.”

  “Oh fuck, okay. That’s a relief.” He grabbed his keys off the dresser and started lacing up his sneakers.

  “What did you think I meant?” I pulled my shorts on and grabbed my clothes from the night before.

  “Well, honestly? I thought you were about to tell me you had a damn kid at home.”

  I couldn’t help the laugh that left me. “Seriously? You have to have sex to get pregnant.”

  Right as the words fell from my lips, my cheeks and ears stung.

  His stare smoldered as he grabbed my hip again. “How long has it been, babe?”

  Babe. That word sent shivers down my arms. I missed him so much more than I had in years now that he standing next to me. His lust was palpable as I pulled away from him, making my way for the front door.

  “Come on, let’s go.”

  Right as I was about the grab the door knob, Bo grabbed my arm and spun me around into his arms. Before I knew what was happening, his lips were connecting with mine. If fireworks are really a thing people see when they have a magical kiss, then his apartment should have exploded right on the spot.

  He pressed me up against the front door, kissing down my jaw to my collar bone. “I’ve missed you so fucking much, Peyton.” His voice was breathy, lust-filled, and turned me on instantly.

  “I guess Molly can wait just a little bit longer.”

  Bo and I made quick work of tossing our clothes off and making our way to his large leather couch next to us. He knew exactly what to do to send chills up my spine and make me ache for more.

  Standing behind the couch, he bent me over, gripping my hip firmly with one hand and sliding the other softly around my neck.

  “Oh, Bo,” I moaned. Just feeling him positioned behind me was enough to send me over the edge. It really had been too long since I had been with someone that could make me feel that way.

  “Are you still on the pill?” He let his dick press softly at my opening.

  “Yes.” That’s all it took for him to thrust into me forcefully, making me cry out from the most enjoyable pain I had felt in years.

  “What the fuck is this?” A woman’s strongly accented voice broke into my pleasure-induced haze.

  I felt Bo pull away from me and immediately throw a blanket around my body.

  “I should be asking you what the hell you’re doing here, Zara.” Bo’s drawl was thicker than normal, gravely and strong, his words dripping with disdain.

  I was frozen in place, gripping the cream colored throw for dear life.

  “I came back, baby.” She took a few steps closer to him and I could see she was still wearing the ring he’d given her.

  I felt like I was going to vomit. Bo backed away from her, pulling his boxers back up.

  “Zara, you need to get the fuck out of here. We’re done. And leave that, too.” He pointed to her hand, and then turned his back to her to make his way over to me.

  “Are you ok?” he asked, putting his hand on my shoulder. My wide eyes were still locked on the gorgeous model as she took her ring off, put it on the counter, and started to march her way over to Bo with determination.

  “Bo! You piece of shit!” she yelled, tears starting to stream down her face.

  He turned to her. “I told you to—”

  SLAP!

  It rang out through the apartment and I looked down at my hand. I couldn’t believe I had just slapped a fucking supermodel to defend my ex-boyfriend, the star rookie quarterback.

  This all escalated far too quickly.

  “You damn slut! Do you know who I am?”

  “A dumb bitch?” I crossed my arms over my chest, praying that the blanket would stay in place.

  Zara stared at Bo to get him to defend her, but he just shook his head. “Weren’t you leaving?”

  He walked over to the front door and held it open for her as she huffed out. “Fuck you.”

  “Good luck with your sugar daddy.”

  He slammed the door behind her and made his way back over to me. “That was one of the sexiest, most badass things I have ever seen you do, babe.”

  “I don’t know what came over me.” I started to put my clothes back on.

  “Well, I think I need to call a locksmith.” Bo chuckled, trying to make light of the situation while I fumbled with my high heels. I felt like an idiot, about to do a walk of shame out of a pro-football player’s apartment wearing a shirt that was drowning me, Soffes that barely covered my ass, and bright turquoise pumps.

  “I need to get you home now don’t I?” Bo zipped up his pants with pouting lips playfully smirking at me.

  I nodded. “I think this is all the excitement I can handle for one day.”

  With a sigh he grabbed his shirt. “Fine, but have dinner with me tomorrow night.”

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

  He kissed my cheek. “Come on, Peyton. You owe me. I did save your life.”

  I handed him his keys from the counter. “Fine. But it’s not a date.”

  “Whatever you want to call it to make yourself feel better is fine with me.”

  The ride to my home was pretty silent. It was awkward to be so close to Bo again. Our breakup had been mostly mutual, but it hadn’t been my idea. For a while I believed that he had broken with me for Zara, and part of me still believed it, but it was all in the past and the universe had handed us a second chance. Who was I to push him completely away?

  “That’s it right there, the third one in on the right.” I pointed out my house as he pulled off to the side of the road.

  “Is your number the same?” he asked, grabbing my hand so I couldn’t bolt out of the car like I had planned.

  I nodded. “Same as it has been since high school.”

  A flash of Bo holding my hand like that in the senior parking lot when he would drive me to school made my heart skip a beat. They do say your first love is the most powerful, and he was still my only real love. That chemistry wasn’t going to ever go away.

  “I’ll text you now. My number changed when I signed with the Hogs. I needed to weed out the people that wanted to know me just for the fame.”

  “Thanks.” I rolled my eyes at him.

  “I thought you hated me.” Bo’s frown made wrinkles form under his eyes. They were slightly red and had dark circles under them. He had probably been up all night worried about me, checking to make sure I was okay.

  My phone vibrated with a text from Bo’s new number.

  Hey Sexy ;)

  “How could you ever think I hated you?” It hurt a little that he could ever think that.

  He shifted in his seat to look directly at me. “Does it really matter any more? It’s all in the past.”

  “You’re right. Pick me up at seven tomorrow?”

  He leaned over and kissed the nape of my neck. “You know I’ll be a little early.”

  I pulled his chin up and let myself fall into the temptation of his soft lips for a few seconds. The soft, relieved sigh that heaved Bo’s chest escaped into me as my nerves calmed a little.

  “Some things never change. See you tomorrow.”

  Chapter 3

  “She fucking walked in on you?” The appalled look on my best friend’s face made me giggle a bit.

  I took a sip of my iced tea and nodded. “Yup. Both of us bare ass fucking on the back of his couch in the living room. I was freaking frozen.”

  Brittainy’s face was bright red. “I can’t believe you slapped her.”

  “What else was I going to do? She was going to slap Bo if I didn’t do something.”

  She laughed to herself and rolled her eyes.

  “What?” I reached over the table and shoved her shoulder.

  “It’s just cute how easy it is for you to fall right back in love with him.”

  I threw a fry into my mouth and sighed. She was totally right. I
was as giddy as I had been when he’d kissed me on the school bus that first time right before asking me out for our first date.

  “We’re having dinner tomorrow night.”

  “Wow! A date? How long has it been since you’ve been on one of those?”

  “Too long! And this is not a date. It’s two friends catching up over a meal.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “Yeah, right, and I am the freaking queen of England!”

  Brittainy’s phone started lighting up with texts and her face lit up like the Fourth of July.

  “Roxy?”

  She grinned up at me and nodded. “I really like her.”

  It had been far too long since I had seen Brittainy get that excited over someone. It was about damn time.

  “I’m happy for you, Brit. She seems really nice.”

  Our server brought our checks and cleared the empty plates in front of us.

  Brittainy yawned and stretched. “Well, I need to head home and get some sleep before the civil service tonight.”

  “What?” I practically spit out the tea I had just sucked out of my straw. “Brittainy, don’t do it!”

  “What?” Her eyes narrowed at me. “Make money? I’m shooting a civil service at sunset over by the lake tonight for a couple of really sweet guys I met at another wedding I did not too long ago.”

  “Oh.” A nervous laugh escaped me. “I thought you were rushing into something foolish with Roxy.”

  “Honey, I might fall hard and fast, but there is one thing I will never do.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” I rolled my eyes at her, scooting out of the booth. “You say that now, but if this Roxy chick already has you on cloud nine, I am sure you’ll be down on one knee before the New Year.”

  Anticipation bubbled up in the pit of my stomach as I curled my hair, just the way Bo had always liked it. I glanced down at my phone; he’d be showing up in about thirty minutes. My hands were shaky as I tried to get my liquid eyeliner just right.

  Get a freaking grip.

  Flashes of the day before kept crossing my mind. It was all too natural and I was just waiting to wake up and it all be a crazy dream.

  I changed my outfit at least ten times before finally breaking down to text Bo to see what kind of place we were going to.

  Bo: It’s a place you’ll want to wear heels.

  Me: That doesn’t really narrow it down. What are you wearing?

  I got a from-the-neck-down selfie of Bo looking into his full-length mirror with a black blazer, a light blue button down without a tie, and matching dress pants. He was even wearing his good cowboy boots, the ones I’d gotten him for his nineteenth birthday that I had saved all summer to be able to afford.

  Me: Okay, hot stuff. See you soon.

  Bo: Leaving now. Put on the first outfit you had on. I’m sure it’s perfect.

  Of course, he was right. I pulled my leopard print pumps out from under the bed to finish off my little black dress perfectly.

  When the doorbell rang, I practically jumped out of my skin. Molly’s throaty bark rang through the house as I tripped over her bone rushing to the door.

  “Come in,” I yelled, holding Molly’s collar as Bo opened the front door.

  “Wow. You look amazing.” His eyes were glued to my chest for a couple seconds as Molly started to lick his hands, begging him to pet her.

  “So do you.” I kissed his cheek and grabbed my purse from the counter.

  Bo placed his hand on my hip and led me to his ’67 Shelby GT500, the one his father had given him when he was drafted into the NFL. They had restored it while Bo was in high school together. It was the last thing his father gave him before he died. Even though we weren’t together when he was drafted, I’d never forget the day he called me, balling his eyes out as he told me the whole story. A week after giving the car to Bo, Will Briggs had been in a terrible hit-and-run accident. Thankfully, it was reported that Will didn’t suffer.

  I slid into the buttery black leather seat and watched Bo trot around to the driver’s side.

  “So, where are you taking me?”

  Bo turned the key to let the deep, throaty engine growl to life as he looked over to me. “It’s going to have to be a surprise.”

  We pulled off the main exit and into the traffic of a concert that was happening in town that night.

  “Crap, The Hysterics are playing tonight. This traffic is going to be terrible.”

  “It’s ok, I know a short cut.”

  Bo took the next turn, right into the VIP parking area for the venue. He pulled into a front reserved spot, pulled a parking pass out from the glove box, and smiled at me. “We’re here.”

  I glanced around. A parking garage to wait out traffic was not my idea of a date, that’s for damn sure. “What do you mean we’re here?”

  “Come on, you’ll see. Here, put this on.”

  He handed me a lanyard with a VIP pass in a plastic sleeve. “What is this?”

  “Your backstage pass.” With a wink he hopped out of the car and came over to open my door.

  We made our way through the maze of back hallways and the reality of what was going on sunk in. I was about to meet the members of a band I had loved for years.

  “Bo, I’m freaking out over here.” I grabbed his hand to slow him down. My hands were shaking, I could feel nervous sweats starting to come on, and all I could do was pray that I had put on enough deodorant to handle this shit.

  Right then I thought I was going to faint from being star-struck: Fallon Dunbar walked by me and smiled as she went into the dressing room for my favorite band.

  Bo wrapped me in his arms. “Babe, this is a freaking dream come true for you, I know it. This band is your favorite and I am lucky enough to be able to give you what you want. I’m a far cry from the guy you used to date, at least where my wallet is concerned anyway. Come on.”

  With that, Bo shoved open the door to the dressing room where The Hysterics plus their wives, girlfriends, and roadies were hanging out. The freaking Fallon Dunbar glided over to Bo, wrapping him in a hug.

  “Dane said you were coming, I’m so glad you made it! Hi, I’m Fallon.”

  She looked right at me, leaning in for a hug, and like a star-struck robot I squeezed her back and stuttered, “I-I’m Peyton.”

  Bo smiled down at me. “Fallon, this is my high school sweetheart.”

  Cue fire engine red cheeks—my face was on freaking fire.

  Dane, the drummer, walked over and shook Bo’s hand. “Glad to see you kick that freaking two-timing bimbo to the curb, man.”

  Wow! Tell us how you really feel.

  The entire band introduced themselves to us and then they were being called to the stage with a five minute warning.

  Fallon showed us to where we were going to stand backstage and I was still completely in shock. Bo wrapped his arms around me and held me against his rock hard chest. It was all too surreal. I was standing backstage at a rock concert for a band I had blasted on my car radio with my high school sweetheart turned famous millionaire quarterback. We danced and sang our hearts out with Fallon until the audience was begging for an encore.

  Dane jogged over to his wife and kissed her on the cheek. “Fireflies are about to come out.” With a wink he nodded over to Rodney, the lead singer.

  Rodney ran back to his mic. “You guys want more?” he yelled as the rest of his bandmates ran back out to their instruments and the crowd erupted into a roar.

  The bassist, Maverick, with his mohawk and tattooed scalp, started thumping out a beat and the song clicked in my head. It was my favorite: “The Lifespan of a Firefly”. My heart dropped as Rodney’s sweet timbre melted over the words.

  It's a dull kind of pain that just sits in my heart and weighs me down

  And you're the only one who can fix it

  It burns and erupts at the worst times

  Stinging old wounds that have already been licked clean

  Right when headway is made, the darkness crashe
s again

  Closing in on my starlight

  Little flicks of magic extinguished one by one

  The firefly's lifespan gets tested over and over

  Thankfully, she is inked into existence for all eternity

  “That was freaking amazing.” I slid out of my heels right as I threw my keys onto the counter.

  Bo followed me in. “Yeah, that was an awesome show.”

  “I still cannot get over the fact that you’re friends with The-mother-fucking-Hysterics!”

  His hand slid around my waist. “They’re a good group of guys.” Bo’s lips slowly brushed against my ear.

  I took a step back from him, clipping Molly’s leash onto her collar. “I need to take this little girl out for a walk.”

  Bo opened the front door for us. “Mind if I tag along?”

  “What were you going to do? Leave? Do you forget I know you way too well, Briggs?” I rolled my eyes at him and grabbed his hand as Molly rushed down the front steps.

  “So, we haven’t gotten a chance to really catch up.” Bo pulled me a little closer to him and grabbed Molly’s leash from me. “How is photography? Seen the world through your lens yet?”

  My heart started pounding. “Something like that.” I had no idea why I was so nervous to tell Bo that I was actually working for his team.

  “I am so glad that you’re living your dream.”

  “Thanks.” Time to divert this conversation away from me. “How about you? Mr. Pro-Football-Star?”

  He chuckled a little. “I’m not a star by any means. Now Dan Marino, he’s a goddamn star.”

  Molly started to pull us back toward the house and our pace had to quicken; she was ready for bed and was gosh-darn going to let us know it.

  “Yeah, yeah. Well, I saw the draft. I know what a coveted player you are.”

  A small smirk pulled at the corner of his lips. “Yeah, I guess.” He shrugged, opening my front door.

  I filled Molly’s food and water bowls and poured two glasses of wine. “Staying for a drink?” I asked as Bo slid onto the couch and flicked on the TV.

  He flashed me his killer smile, nodding as he grabbed the glass of pinot from my hand.