Instead, I find Ryan still standing near the stage where I last saw him talking to Torres and Brookes and ask, “Hey, do you have Stella’s number?”

He lifts an eyebrow. “I do. Why?”

“Can I have it?”

He looks like he wants to argue about me answering a question with another question, but he doesn’t. He hands over his phone without a fight, and I steal the number before going off to search for a quiet place to call.

Brookes calls out, “Go get ‘em tiger!” as I leave.

Torres does a mock cheer, complete with a red and black pom-pom he must have charmed off a cheerleader. I smile, flipping them both off as I walk away.

TWO HOURS LATER when I’m supposed to be resting (Coach’s orders), I’m making potentially the worst or best decision of my life. I check my watch again. Stella promised she’d have Dallas home by eleven, and she told me which window is hers.

The lights are all off, and I just pray to God that Coach is a heavy sleeper. I don’t even want to think about what he’d do if he found me. I’d most likely be going home missing a body part or two.

I duck under the peach tree outside her window, step over the shrubbery that lines the house, and knock quietly on the glass. I don’t hear anything, so after about thirty seconds, I knock again.

“Oh my God, Stella. What did I tell you about using the—” She tears open the curtain and her jaw drops before she finishes. “—door.”

“What are you . . .”

“Can I come in?” I whisper.

Please, please don’t let Coach be a light sleeper.

She shakes off her surprise and heaves up the glass partition of her window. I grip the brick exterior of the house and push one leg through. I nearly endanger my ability to have children a few times as I try to squeeze my too-long limbs through the opening. Dallas has to keep a hold on me to make sure I don’t fall and wake the entire neighborhood, but after a mortifying minute or two, I’m in and she closes the window behind me.

She wears a pair of Rusk sweatpants in black slung low on her hips. They’re paired with a strappy white tank top, which I can’t see much of because she’s got her arms clamped over her chest. Doesn’t matter, though. With her creamy skin and soft hair and striking eyes, there’s plenty else for me to look at.

“What are you doing here?”

“You didn’t have a balcony for me to climb, but I figured this was the next best thing.”

She covers her mouth with her hand and blinks at me a few times before glancing at her closed bedroom door.

“You have got to be out of your mind.”

I grin. “A little bit.” Or at least it’s felt that way this week.

“If he catches you—”

I step closer and lay my hands on the curves of her shoulders.

“He’ll kill me and use my body as a Halloween decoration. I know.”

“I’m serious, Carson. You’re lucky that he’s taken all this so well, and it hasn’t affected your spot on the team. I don’t know if you’ll get that lucky again.”

I run a hand up from her shoulder to the hollow of her neck. Goose bumps break out over her skin, and she closes her eyes.

“Lucky was hearing you scream at that frat party. Lucky was you falling quite literally into my lap. I’ve had a lot of luck the last few months, Daredevil. And I’m just here hoping that it hasn’t run out. Besides . . . I think your dad actually gave me permission.”

“To sneak in my bedroom window, really?”

“Not for that. But he told me I should find you at the bonfire. It’s not my fault that there were an ass-ton of people there.”

“Ass-ton? Ass-ton? Really romantic . . .”

I slide my hand up from her neck to tangle in her hair and tip her head back to look at her. “You can make fun of how I talk another time. Right now, I just need you to tell me if I’ve screwed this up too badly for you to forgive me.”

She licks her lips, and I almost forget what answer I’m waiting for.

“And what exactly did you do to screw this up?”

“I let you walk away from me without a fight. I thought I was doing what was best for both of us.”

“I wasn’t going to walk away, you know. I was going to make you sneak around with me until things with Dad settled down, but I had no intention of giving you up until you all but pushed me away.”

My heart twists in its cage.

“This is why you are the smart one.”

She smiles, but she still looks almost sad.

“That thing your dad mentioned tonight about learning from mistakes. Was I that mistake?”

I resist the urge to tighten my hold on her in case I am, in case I’m too late.

“The only mistake I made was not being honest with you about what I was feeling, so let me fix that now.”

She steps into my embrace, dropping the shield of her arms and wrapping them around my waist.

“Carson McClain, you scare me like nothing has ever scared me before. You drive me crazy and make me laugh and push my buttons on purpose. You make me feel safe and smart and pretty. Sometimes I think I might actually melt when you wrap your arms around me, and right now I feel a little bit like I might die if you don’t kiss me.”

I have a thousand things I want to say in response, but I’m not about to keep her waiting for another second.

I swoop down to lay my lips against hers, and her fingers dig into my lower back as soon as our mouths touch. I cup her head, burying both my hands in the long hair that has driven me wild since the first night I saw her.

I kiss her harder, exploring her mouth like it’s the first time, and I swear she’s even sweeter than I remember.

She takes a step back, pulling me with her toward her bed. I can feel her frenzied breaths against my mouth and I whisper, “I’ve missed you.”

The back of her knees hit the mattress, and she pulls until we crash back on the bed, my body pressing down into hers. I lift myself up on my elbows while she inches her way farther up the bed. I stalk after her, caging her in with my arms and legs on either side of her.

I lean down, nipping at the skin of her jaw, and she squirms below me, stretching her arms up above her head. I continue down, teasing her neck with my tongue and growl, “I’ve missed how you taste right here.”

Her legs fall open, her knees bumping against mine, and I shift until I’m kneeling between her thighs.