“And how’s my Baby G? You being good for Mommy?”
A dull thud vibrates my insides as Baby G kicks. Gray chuckles and gives the spot another kiss. “Yep, Daddy’s home. All is right with the world once more.”
I run a soothing hand over my side. At eight-and-a-half months pregnant, I’m ready for the little guy to come out. Fi called us crazy when we decided to have a baby so soon. But something had happened to us after the miscarriage. A seed of want had been planted. So, yes, we’re both just starting out in our careers, but we also want to start a family. And because we’ve decided to live life how we want, when we want it, we decided not to wait any longer.
It might be difficult. But we’ll manage.
“You don’t find it ominous that Little Dude here kicks your face every time you put it near me?” I ask, smiling down at Gray, who continues to baby talk against my belly.
“You’re just jealous that he responds to my voice,” Gray says happily.
“He responds because your voice is so loud,” I retort, teasing him.
“I’m not the one who’s loud. Have you heard yourself when you—”
I end that line of conversation with a hand to his mouth. Grinning like a fiend, Gray jumps to his feet. People are starting to notice him, or rather who he is. I’m pretty sure a few camera phones went off when he was kissing The Belly. It’s the price of fame. But Gray doesn’t let it bother him. He simply grabs his duffle and takes my hand in his.
“Uncle Drew gave us a little hat for Baby G.” Gray directs this toward my belly as we walk along. “I told him we’d use it for target practice come toilet training.”
“You do realize that I practically grew up in New York, and that’s like my home team?”
He halts and gives me an outraged look. “Hush your mouth, Mac. Little Dude might hear you.”
I roll my eyes. “Won’t matter if he did. Because our favorite team will always be the one you’re on.”
Gray’s eyes light up, but his smile is soft. His bag lands on the linoleum floor with a thud. A little shiver goes through me as he cups my cheeks. His mouth meets mine, the kiss so tender it makes my chest clench, but there’s heat behind it. A promise for later. When he draws away, his voice is husky. “Take me home, Mac. We’ve got shenanigans to get to.”
Thank You!
Thank you for reading The Friend Zone! I hope you enjoyed it!
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Author Note
Devotion to a team can be absolute. To that end, I deliberately did not name a college or a team, preferring to leave that to the reader’s imagination.
The 2014 NCAA football season marks the beginning of a four-team playoff. However, in order to tell Ivy and Gray’s story the way I needed to, I had to take a bit of artistic license with the dates of the post-season game schedule.
The Hook Up —Book One in the Game On series
The rules: no kissing on the mouth, no staying the night, no telling anyone, and above all... No falling in love
Anna Jones just wants to finish college and figure out her life. Falling for star quarterback Drew Baylor is certainly not on her to do list. Confident and charming, he lives in the limelight and is way too gorgeous for his own good. If only she could ignore his heated stares and stop thinking about doing hot and dirty things with him. Easy right?
Too bad he’s committed to making her break every rule…