Assumptions

by Melanie Codina

  When she stopped and turned back to me, she winked. “Don’t worry, baby, you’re secret’s safe with me. Now where’s that adorable little sister of yours? I want to hear her giggle again.”

  I kept my mouth shut and led the way to Ella.

  Later that night, as Jonathan drove us back to my place, the feeling of utter exhaustion set in. Jonathan had said his family could be overwhelming, but after today, I had to search for a better word to define them. The best I could come up with was … exhausting. Probably because that was all I could feel. Well, that and my sore feet. Which were only sore because Allie had insisted that I show her what kind of squats I did to get an ass like mine.

  “What’s so funny?” Jonathan asked before opening his door and letting the cold winter air in. The chill helped spur me into action, and I quickly exited my side.

  He took my hand, and we walked briskly. “Your family, that’s what’s so funny. Are they always like that?”

  Jonathan huffed a laugh as he opened the lobby door. “That depends.”

  “On?”

  “On what all you witnessed. I fear confessing something and you passing judgment on them but holding it against me.”

  Laughing at his comment, we stepped into the elevator. “Well, I think I might have witnessed a lot. Do they usually force your dates to do squats while they all examine her ass?”

  Jonathan’s head fell back against the elevator wall with a deep groan. “Dear God, they didn’t.”

  I giggled. “Oh, they most certainly did.”

  Jonathan pushed off the wall and pinned me against it instead. When his face was an inch from mine, he whispered in a husky voice, “This leaves me no choice.”

  His tone had my attention, and my eyes darted between his as I took in his suddenly hungry expression. It was enough to chase away the haze of exhaustion as I asked, “No choice about what?”

  “Looks like I’m gonna have to convince you to stay with me somehow. I think there’s only one way to make that happen now that you’ve been exposed to my family.” His lips hovered over mine, but didn’t touch. I was tempted to lean up and close the distance, but I had a feeling he wouldn’t allow that.

  “Only one way?” I asked. My voice was low and scratchy as the sexual energy between us continued to multiply. He nodded, bringing his lips slightly closer to mine as the elevator doors opened at my floor.

  I was hoping it had something to do with my body under his, but he took that moment to smile and say, “I’m gonna have to buy a lot of cherry blow pops.”

  It took me a second to comprehend what he was saying since my brain was headed elsewhere. “Seriously?” I demanded as I glared and pushed him off me in time to catch the elevator doors from closing us in. “You went and got me all riled up like that, when you were really only talking about cherry blow pops!”

  Of course he was laughing now as I walked past him, planning to get through my door quickly and lock his ass out in the hall. He must’ve figured out my plan, because, next thing I knew, I was being swooped up in the air and tossed over his shoulder.

  “Serves you right, baby. Next time contain your inner smartass, and I won’t feel the need to torture you with the promise of my manbits,” he said condescendingly as he snatched the keys from my hands.

  He moved us through the doorway of my apartment, and I smacked him on the ass and said, “Well played, soccer player. Well played.”

  His hand squeezed one cheek of my ass as I heard my keys hit the kitchen counter. When we made it to my room, I squealed like a girl when he tossed me down on the bed and grabbed one of my boots. He slipped one off and then the other before he positioned himself suspended above me. A smirk crossed his face and he said, “Now, that great ass everyone has been talking about … I’m thinking I need an up close and personal inspection of its greatness.”

  I started to laugh, but it turned into a groan as his lips closed over mine, and his hands made their way to my apparently great ass. Never in my life had I ever been so grateful for doing all those damn squats.

  Over the next two weeks, Jonathan and I spent as much time together as we could. We seemed to be beyond the calling and asking what the other had planned; we just assumed. It was the first time I was fine with assumptions. He spent almost every night at my place and did his best to make me late to work every day.

  In the past, my mornings were “me time” since Mari was a grab-a-coffee-and-go kind of person. Just me, my music, and usually a workout. But since Jonathan had been around, and had decided to join me, it complicated things. At first, I cringed at the thought of him intruding on my time. Then I tried, and failed, to come up with a polite way to tell him I didn’t work out with anyone. He just rolled his eyes as he drank a protein shake and scarfed down his banana. I might have been grumbling a little that first day as he shoved me out the door and we walked the block to the gym.

  To my relief, when we walked in the door, even though I was preparing for him to hover, Jonathan kissed me firmly on the lips, smacked me on the ass, and said, “Have a great workout.”

  It was as he walked away I realized I had nothing to worry about with him. He was intensely focused in his rehab, and, as I caught glimpses of him in the mirrors at the gym, he was just as intense with the rest of his body. It was only slightly distracting, too. Watching him. No matter how hard I tried, my eyes would constantly seek him out as I pretended to focus on my own routine.

  Now, as I was lying in bed, with his body pressed up behind mine, I was bumming hard over the fact that he was heading back up to school today. I knew it was coming, and I’d told myself that it would be no big deal, but now that the day arrived, I wasn’t sure.

  People complained that being in a relationship was frustrating because the other person changed things, got in the way. But not Jonathan. He didn’t try to change anything; he just slipped right into my schedule like it was his own. I sighed, already missing him just thinking about him leaving.

  His arm tightened around my waist, and his lips pressed up against my shoulder, making me smile.

  “Good morning,” I offered as I snuggled further back against him, enjoying the comfortable warmth for just a little while longer.

  “Morning, baby,” he mumbled in his sexy, sleepy voice of his, before pressing another kiss to my shoulder. “We better get up or you’ll be late for work.”

  I smiled to myself. “I actually took the morning off since I knew you’d be heading out around lunch time.”

  His body stiffened slightly, and I had a moment of apprehension as I wondered if I’d been presumptuous to think we could spend a little more time together. My fears were laid to rest when he rolled me beneath him and buried his face in my neck. Between nibbles he said, “So what you’re saying is that after we workout this morning, I’ll have a few more hours to fill up on you?”

  I groaned. “There you go being all responsible. I was thinking maybe we could skip the working out altogether today.”

  His head popped up quickly, and he gave me a look of utter disbelief. “Who are you, and what did you do with my girlfriend? She would never skip her workout.”

  Laughing, I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled his hips down against mine. “Maybe your girlfriend is feeling a little greedy and wants a different kind of workout with you.”

  Jonathan’s answering groan had me smiling, and, when he dropped his face back to my neck, I knew I’d won. A second later he said, “Okay, we can just cut a few minutes out of our cardio this morning.”

  I grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his face back so he could see me. He didn’t resist, and, when I had his attention, I teased him, “Only a few minutes of cardio? I think you can handle more than a few minutes, soccer player.”

  The smirk that spread across his face melted me. The promise of what it meant only feeding my need to be close to him. “Is that a challenge, my spandex wearing goddess? Because I accept.”

  A giggle escaped me as Jonathan amped up the “card
io” portion of our workout, but it quickly turned into a sigh as he treated my challenge with the same intensity he did his regular workout.

  “Stop your grumbling, woman, and eat your salad,” I ordered with as much sternness as I could muster. Watching Leeann lift her fork to her mouth, after working our arms that morning, was beyond comical. It had only been three hours, but she was already feeling it. Personally, I loved that feeling. The one you got after a great workout, telling you you’d be sore in the morning. It was the sign of progress. I fucking loved it.

  “You stop your grumbling,” she delivered with what I could only assume was her stern voice. Though it was ruined by the whimper she made at the end. “When did forks become so damn heavy? Or is it the lettuce?”

  “It’s not the fork or the lettuce. It’s your wimpiness that’s weighing it down.”

  “You’re an ass. This is your fault, you know,” she grumbled again.

  “My fault? Nobody told you to push the extra weights,” I defended, but totally knew it was my fault.

  “You said there was no way I could do it. That’s a silent dare and you know it—Ow!” Her arm dropped to her lap with a huff. My silent laughter elicited another glare from her. Thankfully her arms were too exhausted to stab me with that heavy fork of hers. “Don’t laugh! I still have to go to work this afternoon, and I don’t even think I’ll be able to pull up my own damn pants.”

  Forking some of her salad, I lifted it to her mouth. She smiled slightly, unable to resist my charm, and took what I offered. With a mouth full of food she said, “Thank you.” She chewed for a moment then added, “Just so you know, I’m talking to you with a mouth full of food because I can’t lift my hand to cover it. Also your fault.”

  “I accept that,” I acknowledged with another laugh as I lifted her iced tea for her to take a drink. Damn, I’m gonna miss her, I thought as I set down the drink and took a sip of my own. Taking a bite of my salad, I had a thought. “You’re not gonna cheat while I’m gone, are you?”

  All humor fled her face as she gave me a look that clearly said what the fuck. She confirmed that by actually saying, “What the fuck?”

  Ignoring her look, I pressed on, “Seriously? Are you gonna cheat on me while I’m off at school trying to better myself. That’s pretty messed up if you are; I’m telling you right now.”

  I managed to keep a straight face as I waited for her to respond, but I almost broke when she huffed a sound that was a cross between a groan and a laugh. Clearly I’d shocked her, so I added, “Being faithful is the least you can do, Leeann. I mean, really, I’m not going to eat salad with anyone else, so you can’t either.”

  I shoveled a mouthful of salad into my mouth as I watched understanding set in on her face. It morphed from disbelief to shock as she began laughing out loud. A second later she was out of her chair and in my lap, kissing my face. Wrapping my arms around her, I let her smother me—as much as her limp arms could, at least.

  When her kisses died down, she settled on my lap like there was nowhere else she’d rather be. I’d admit, I was perfectly content with her there, too. She sighed, catching my attention.

  “I’m gonna miss you, my super-sexy-soccer-guy.”

  Kissing her on the lips, I whispered, “And I’m gonna miss you, my sexy-spandex-covered-goddess.”

  “We really should have shirts made. Mari hates my workout clothes, and it would definitely go a long way in irritating her.”

  Laughing, I said, “Keep me out of that. I’ve discovered it’s better to stay on Mari’s good side.” I recalled the time she’d spread Nair on my legs when I fell asleep on their couch. It was apparently payback for leaving her without milk for her cereal. I feared what might happen if we ever allowed Aunt Allie and Mari into the same room.

  “Now who’s the wimp?” Leeann teased. Just thinking about it made my legs itch.

  “She created a pattern down my legs, Leeann. Thank God I was wearing pants,” I argued. It looked like crop circles on my legs. I refused to shave, though, because that would’ve given her the impression she’d won that battle-of-the-wills.

  “It’ll all grow back, so stop being a baby about it.”

  “Yeah, in like four to six weeks,” I grumbled, pulling her closer to me and nuzzling my face into her neck—one of my favorite places to be. Her fingers played with the ends of my hair, the scent of cherries filled my nose, and I let out a long, dramatic sigh. “Promise you’ll miss me?”

  She kissed the top of my head. “Of course I will. Who on Earth will feed my buffalo chicken salad addiction?”

  “Nobody, that’s who,” I growled before nipping the skin of her neck.

  “Nobody,” she agreed, appeasing me only slightly. This was the first time I’d not been excited about going back to school. The past two months were actually the longest I’d been away from there since starting school. I’d always freely gone back and forth because there was nothing that held me in either spot for any set period of time. Until Leeann.

  Insecurities were not something that usually got the best of me. In most cases, it was easy to just say fuck it. But the insecure feelings currently brewing in my gut were getting to me. I needed some kind of reassurance. Pulling my face from her neck, I said, “Hey, babe.”

  She smiled. “Yeah?”

  “You do know I’ll be harassing you every day, right?”

  A laugh escaped her. “I’m counting on it.”

  “So you’ll be fine with calls, texts, emails, and even an occasional fax?”

  Shaking her head at me, she softly kissed my lips. “I’ll take you however I can get you. I’ve grown kind of fond of having you around, you know.”

  I liked that. Really fucking liked hearing that. “Good, but you’ve been warned. No running away, complaining that I’m harassing you or some shit like that.”

  “Duly noted.” She kissed me again and settled in for a deeper one.

  Pulling my lips from hers, I added, “Maybe I should get that in writing. I’d hate for you to get confused later on and sic Mari on me.”

  “How about I swear on our kiss?” she offered.

  “And how exactly does that work?” I asked, wondering if I could make her swear on our kisses for everything. To hell with that pinky-promise crap Ella always made me do.

  “If I go back on my word, then I will never be able to kiss you again.”

  “Are you crazy?” I exclaimed. “Never kiss me again. That’s just bullshit, you need to take those words back—”

  “Stop overreacting, you weirdo.” She hushed me with a finger to my lips. “It means that if I go back on my word, I’d lose the right to kiss you, therefore proving I would never do that.”

  “Ah, I see. Wow, that was some serious panic that slammed into me. I think you need to kiss me now until I forget all about that bullshit you said.”

  I was already bringing my lips to hers when she smiled and said, “With pleasure.”

  Rolling over, I glared at the clock. It was Saturday, and it was past the time I normally got up to workout, yet I was still in bed. I’d like to say the comforter was holding me down like some invisible force field, but no, it was all my own lack of discipline. I’d discovered that I had grown accustomed to working out with Jonathan. Gone were my selfish ways of working out alone and not wanting company. Here to stay was apparently some sick form of co-dependency that threatened my ability to workout at all. Ridiculous.

  A text from Jonathan caught my attention, and I glared at my screen when I read it.

  Jonathan: Get up you lazy bum!

  Me: Good morning to you too, jerk face!

  Jonathan: How about: good morning you sexy bitch ;-)

  Me: Did you just call me a bitch??

  Jonathan: I’m sensing the need to retreat…

  Me: And I’m sensing the need to give chase.

  Jonathan: Nice! I’d totally fake an injury so you could catch me!

  Me: That implies you think I can’t catch you. How rude :-(


  Jonathan: No, it clearly means that I would want you to catch me so badly, I would practically play dead if it meant you’d catch me sooner.

  Jonathan: Admit it. That was a pretty awesome comeback. Come on now…you know you’re swooning for me.

  Laughing to myself, I shook my head. No way was I admitting that.

  Me: Jerk face

  Jonathan: Yeah, but I’m your jerk face ;-)

  Me: (sigh) this is true.

  Jonathan: I’ll call you after our meeting. Have a good workout babe.

  Me: Can’t wait. Have a good meeting.

  I knew he was nervous about the team meeting. He was utterly convinced he’d have to do something to prove to his coach he was going to be ready by the beginning of the season. Or course I didn’t know him, but I felt Jonathan was obviously a dedicated athlete, and his coach would have to be a moron to not know this. He had at least three more months of rehab before he should be expected to play. He knew this, and even though I was no longer taking care of his knee, I was going to follow it closely to make sure everything was happening as it should for him.

  I was invested in that knee for more than a few reasons. The primary one being his disappointment at losing his starting position. No way did I want to see the look on his face when he was told he wasn’t going to be starting for his team again. I was certain that kicking puppies would be a step up from seeing that.

  Looking at the clock again, I groaned. I really needed to get moving. Rolling my lazy bum out of bed, I started pulling my hair into a ponytail before I even made it to the bathroom. Taking care of business, I set about getting ready when an idea crossed my mind. Maybe Mari would come work out with me.

  Mari was sitting on the couch reading a magazine when I found her. Dropping on the cushion next to her, I asked in a playful tone, “Whatcha doing?”

  Without even looking at me, she huffed, “What do you want?”

  “You wanna go workout with me?”

  “I’m already working out, and I don’t appreciate you interrupting either.”