“Well, little miss obsessed with the football player,” she joked, pointing out that I had probably missed a lot of the details of her life lately. “We’ve been seeing each other a lot over the last few months, and we both went to that same weekend music camp and sort of got really close.”

“Uh, exactly how close,” I teased, but was desperate for details now.

“Not that close,” she corrected, but then smiled. “Not then, at least.”

“So, when did it happen?” I asked.

“Last weekend after the homecoming dance,” she was grinning ear-to-ear. “My parents were out of town, so he sort of just stayed the night…with me.”

I needled her for a few more details, like how much it hurt, did she like it and what did they use for protection – I felt like a parent on that one – but I really was happy to hear how much he seemed to care for my friend. They were a pretty exclusive item now, and I was happy to see her so loved. It also dawned on me, though, that I was the only one in our group of friends who would be able to check the virgin box at the doctor’s office, and that left me conflicted.

After a few hours of sorting and working with Sienna’s box of supplies, we had a good start on Reed’s birthday gift. I was pretty sure I would be able to get it done by the weekend. I just needed to pay one visit to Buck to get what I needed.

I knew he would be home on Sunday watching all of the games, so I stopped in while Reed was out running with Sean. Buck had become like a second father to me over the past few months, and when he found out that Reed and I were officially dating, he beamed with pride. “That boy and his thick head finally figured it out,” he joked.

Buck was able to get me more than I had hoped for, including several awards, medals from Reed’s youth, older newspaper clippings and the hype articles that I had missed this year, including the mention of Reed as one of the nation’s top 25 high school quarterbacks in Sports Illustrated. I hid everything under the seat of my car to ensure Reed wouldn’t notice and came back inside to curl up on the sofa across from Buck and take in some football.

We were both yelling at the screen when I heard the door shut and Reed came walking in. “That’s bullshit!” Buck was flaring at the television, and I was just agreeing, standing with my hands on my hips.

He slid his arms through mine and put his chin on my shoulder to greet me from behind and I squeezed his arms around the front of me as if they were safety belts on a daredevil roller coaster. “Mmmmmm, so what’s all the bullshit?” he half whispered in my ear.

Buck started explaining the bad call to him, something about two feet being in, but I had honestly stopped paying attention. All I could hear, all I could feel was Reed’s breath on my ear.

“Hey, pops, I’m going to take my girl upstairs while I get changed. I’ll be a boy scout, though, I swear,” Reed crossed his heart. Buck just waved us off, still mad at the referees on TV.

Reed slung me over his shoulder and started for the stairs. I kicked a little and then forced my way out of his grip. He frowned a little, but I stopped him quickly.

“I’ve just seen you pull that move on too many other girls… I want something that’s my own,” I sheepishly grinned, a little embarrassed at how jealous and shallow I could be.

Reed pursed his lips a little and then let them slide into a smile as he swung his arms under my legs and carried me up the stairs like it was our wedding night, my arms slung around his neck. “Well then, this will have to be our move,” he joked.

Once in his room, he shut the door and I sat back on his bed, my feet dangling a bit over the edge. I smiled and laughed a little to myself because at my house, there was no way that bedroom door would ever be shut. Especially if Reed was pulling off his shirt to take a shower, which, oh my, he was doing now.

He tossed his stinky shirt at me and I chided him for being gross and smelly, but when he went into his bathroom I pulled the shirt in close just to remember his scent. When he came out in just a towel, I blushed a little, taking less-than-obvious peeks at his abdominal muscles and defined chest. Catching me, he narrowed his eyes and bent his smirking face down just enough to startle my vision back up to his eyes.

“Why, are you checking me out Miss Nolan Lennox?” he teased.

“Uh, yeah, I was. Now, could you turn around and walk that way for a bit,” I scratched my chin and acted like a gymnastic judge at the Olympics, not willing to let him embarrass me. He just grabbed a sock and flung it at me, laughing.

Once Reed was changed he sent a text to Sean asking him if he and Becky wanted to come over for the afternoon games and pizza with us.