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“It was Jude’s idea,” I told him, even though he probably could’ve guessed.

“Matching?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Wyatt got the brontosaurus, and Jude got the—”

“T-rex?” Rhodes finished for me, laughing. “That kid always did love the goddamn T-rex.”

“Yes, he did,” I agreed. I leaned back on one hand and just stared at him. His simple touch was hot against my skin. It didn’t matter that we’d had sex or that I’d come twice already; my body responded so readily to him that I felt the light brush of his fingers deep in my core. I grasped at something to distract myself. “Why do you wear earrings sometimes?”

“Why does anyone change out their jewelry?” he countered. I opened my mouth to reply, but promptly closed it. I didn’t have a good answer. “People react to men in earrings differently, depending on the circumstance. Professionally, I tend not to wear them. I could. Nothing says I can’t. I just have no desire to deal with assumptions or judgments. I’ve learned to pick my battles.”

I felt like I was a part of those assumptions. I never would’ve asked my mom why she changed her earrings or when she wore them. Why did it matter that he did? It didn’t.

“Can I ask you something?” Rhodes said softly, and I nodded. He didn’t continue right away. Instead, his focus remained on my tattoo. I gave him the room he needed to work it out, recognizing the shift in his mood. The light back and forth had been a precursor—a comfort in the comedown—but we had to talk about this thing between us. “Earlier, you said you were going to love me…”

Oh. That. Closing up the pizza box, I set it on the floor with the candy. The fewer distractions, the better.

“I do love you,” I replied honestly.

“Why?” he asked, his eyes flicking up to meet mine.

“Why do I need a reason?” I shrugged. “Everyone acts like love needs a reason, but I don’t think it does. I look at you, and I just know. I don’t think it has to be more complicated than that.”

At least, I hoped it didn’t have to be.

“If love had to be earned over a list of reasons, it wouldn’t be love at all,” I added with a smile. “And I don’t need you to say anything. Not because I don’t want to hear it—I do—but because I know that you’ll mean it when you do say it.”

He nodded slowly, and I could practically see him processing my words. I just hoped he believed me. Love was such a fickle thing. At least what I’d seen of it. People shared their feelings and demanded others reciprocate them for validation. How could no one see how disingenuous that was? I’d rather wait for a real I love you that was felt than hear it just for the sake of hearing it.

“I can’t date you publicly, Theo,” Rhodes said. “Not because I’m not out to my family, but I’m your coach. Coaches dating students is why I’m in my position.”

“So, I’d be your secret boyfriend.” His secret boyfriend was a step up from his dirty secret. I could handle secret dating as long as he was willing to admit to us dating.

“That’s better than non-boyfriend boyfriend,” he muttered.

“What?”

“It’s nothing,” he replied a little louder. “It’s just something Sariah would say.”

“You’ve talked to your best friend about me?” The statement took me by surprise.

“More than I want to admit in this very moment,” Rhodes muttered under his breath. “Yes, I’ve talked to her about you and about us, but I talk to her about everything, which naturally includes you. She’s quite a big fan of yours, and I don’t mean football-wise.”

Well, shit. I couldn’t stop the slow smile that turned my lips. Something warm melted through my chest. He’d talked to his best friend about me—many times. I knew what that meant. It made this whole thing between us so much more real because it wasn’t just him and me. We didn’t exist inside some secret only we knew about.

“I hope I get to meet her one day,” I said.

“She’s getting married next month in Florida,” he told me. “She and her fiancé are getting married on a yacht, and all of my friends will be there. You should come with me.”

“What?” I stared at him, dumbfounded.

“Be my date to her wedding,” Rhodes repeated. His thumb mindlessly stroked the edge of my tattoo as he held my gaze, intense as ever. “We’ll make a whole trip of it. I can show you my life.”

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. This wasn’t just a wedding invitation. He wanted me to meet the people that mattered most to him and to see what his life was like outside of Everdale. It wasn’t some secret rendezvous—not really. It was me and him going on an actual vacation together.

“Do you mean it?” I whispered. He smiled, nodding. “But what would I tell everyone?”

“You don’t have to tell anyone anything.”