Accidental Love (Accidental Crush #2) (5 page)

I love ev
ery second. I still can't believe this is actually happening, that I'm here with Todd. I find myself being grateful for Ryan's concussion, and then I feel horrible for feeling that way
.
I am the worst sister in the entire world. But also the happiest sister in the entire world. My heart is pounding with joy before I glance over at the clock to see it's two a.m. He catches my gaze and glances in the clock's direction.

"
Wow. I can't believe it's two o'clock in the morning already," he says through kisses before he suddenly stops and pulls back ever so slightly. "Crap, we need to get you back to your room." He gives me a crooked smile. "And honestly, we better stop now, or I'm not sure I will be able to."

I just smile and kiss him gently as a response
. "You are amazing."

"
This is true." He returns my kiss, still smiling.

We both know we should stop
, but it's extremely easy to say and extremely hard to actually do. We kiss a little more before Todd pulls back again.

"
Okay, as much as I love kissing you here on Ryan's bed, we really need to stop or I'm going to be in serious trouble." He's wearing an incredibly mischievous grin.

I can
't help laughing. We simply lie there for a few minutes as his fingers follow the curls of my hair. My head is resting on his perfectly defined, bare chest; clothes just don’t do it justice. I feel wisps of his cool breath on my forehead as I rise and fall with each gentle breath he takes. I love the feeling of my cheek against his soft skin. Something is ignited in me whenever our bare skin touches.

It is completely silent except for
our breathing—which is in sync, just like everything else about us—but there is nothing awkward about this silence. We are both appreciating and relishing in this rare moment of being truly alone. My eyes start to feel heavy as I breathe in his amazing sent, reveling in the sensation of being enveloped by him.

I feel his fingers co
ntinue to slowly outline my curls as they lay across his chest. We are silhouetted by the moonlight streaming into the room through the crack where the heavy hotel curtains don't quite meet. I close my eyes to take it all in.

Suddenly
, there is a loud bang, and I hear Brian's muffled voice. "Hamilton, let's go. Rise and Shine. Bus leaves in twenty."

We both bolt up at the same time.
"Twenty what?" I ask groggily, coming to before I realize exactly what's happened. Sunlight is now streaming through the crack in the curtains, replacing the moonlight from what feels like just minutes ago.

"
We fell asleep." Both of our eyes dart to the clock. It's six a.m.

I quickly start to get dressed in a panic. My bus is lea
ving in an hour, but the team bus is scheduled to leave at six thirty sharp, and they all need to be in the lobby by six twenty or the entire team will pay in laps. Even though the season is officially over, Coach never really stops being their coach, and the team never really stops being a team.

"
Shit! Shit, shit, shit!" Todd keeps repeating. He is always extremely smooth and laid back; I've honestly never seen him this flustered. I know there is nothing funny about it, but I can't help giggling because he looks so cute as he paces the floor. "Ash, this isn't funny." He looks at me with such serious eyes.

"
It's kind of funny."

"
How are we going to get you out of here with no one seeing?" He stealthily goes to the door, nonchalantly opening it and leaning against the frame like he's just checking out the hallway because that's a completely normal thing to do.

"
Hey, Hamilton." I hear someone say as they are walking by. It's a voice I don't recognize.

He shuts the door
with a panicked look on his face, a look I've never seen before, even after everything we've been through together. My stomach instantly drops, yet then I quickly realize, if I don't keep it together, we're in real trouble. So, for once, I decide I'm going to be the strong one, the one who will remain calm, cool, and collected.

Th
at's when we hear the scrapping plastic sound of a hotel key being inserted in the door. We both look at each other with deer-in-the-headlights expressions. I mouth to him "
What do we do
?" But it's too late. I must look insane because I'm literally frozen in the middle of a what-the-f#*@-do-I-do-now pose when Ryan, of all people, is standing in the doorway, just as shocked to see me.

I quickly move
only my eyes to Todd. "
Really
?" I mouth to him. Todd just shrugs, but I know he's thinking the same thing. And all I can think, other than how insane it is that Ryan is standing there, is thank God I just put my shirt back on.

"
Well, well, well," Ryan says with the door still wide open.

"
Oh, hey, Ry." Todd instantly falls back into his casual, always in control self.

"
Um, I just came up to say goodbye," I say.
I truly am the worst liar on earth.

"
Riiiight…" Ryan says, not buying it for a second.

"
How about you shut the door, Ry?" Todd questions, treading lightly to maintain control of the situation while also sort of pleading.

Ryan
's lips turn up into a devilish smile. "I guess I could do that." He playfully swings the door like he's going to open it wider then closes it behind him.

His eyes move over to his bed
to see it is a crumpled mess. It's clear Todd's bed is untouched. "Really?" I can tell he's kidding, but I also know he's wondering what exactly happened and hating every second of it. Could this get any worse? I am so humiliated. Of course, Ryan had to see this.

"
How's your head?" I ask, desperately trying to change the subject.

"
Still hurts but better." He rubs it at the reminder. "Nice try on changing the subject, though, Ash." He smirks.

"
Bus leaves in fifteen," we hear shouted down the hall.

"
Shit" flies out of Todd's mouth again as he runs his fingers through his dark brown hair. "We've gotta get her out of here," he says to Ryan.

"
Relax. I've got this." Ryan is so calm my stomach soars with relief. Once again, my brother is here to save me. I'm sure payback will come for this, it always does, yet in this moment, I couldn't care less. "Coach didn't see me come back up. I only ran into Barry Richards, and he would never say anything. So we'll play it off like Ash was just seeing me up to the room to make sure I was okay."

Todd runs his hand over his beautiful mouth.
"You're a genius. That could work. Your injury has been so helpful." Todd gives me a quick smile.

Ryan just laughs and shakes his head
. "I'm so glad it's worked out for you both." When he opens the door, the hall is crowded with boys from the team shuffling through with bags. The quick glances and surprised looks I get immediately make me feel uncomfortable, like this is not where I belong right now.

Ryan speaks loudly over the bustle in the hallway to make sure he
's heard. "Thanks so much for walking me up, Ash. I'm fine. See you at home."

I just stare at him
, unsure of what to say, and then he gestures his head in the direction of the elevators.

"
Right. Okay, glad you are okay," I say way too slowly to be believable. "I'll let Mom and Dad know you made it up safely. See you later." I was slow to follow his lead, but I'm now matching his tone to make sure I'm heard. Then I try to walk naturally down the hall as if I really did just escort my injured brother up to his room. My heart is pounding so hard in my chest, and then I see his coach at the elevators.

"
I just walked Ryan up to his room," I say way too quick and loud.

"
What a great sister. How's he doing?" he inquires, and I think he actually bought it.

"
He's great. Well, he still has a headache, but he's much better."

"
Glad to hear it." He pats me on the back so hard I almost choke. Thankfully, the elevator doors open and I walk into freedom. That is, until I walk into my room and see Sid and Shane waiting for me with arms crossed on my un-slept in bed.

"
Spill it, Ash," they say in unison.

"
Um, I went up to see Ryan." I try to sound secure and figure sticking to the story would be best. However, there is no use arguing or trying to make excuses; they obviously know.

"
Nice try!" they say in unison again, neither of them taking their eyes off me.
What, did they rehearse this?

"
Okay, fine. I went up to see Todd and we, uh..."

"
Uh, what? We're dying here," Sid says as Shane vigorously nods his head in agreement.

"
We accidentally fell asleep."

Both of their eyes get huge.
"In the same bed?"

I can
't help grinning. "Ryan's bed actually."

"
I'm sure he loved that." Shane laughs.

"
And?" Sid asks, not losing sight of their goal.
Damn her
.

"
And nothing, I swear! We kissed and it was incredible." I close my eyes at the memory. "And then, honestly, we fell asleep."

They both look at each
other, it’s as if they are having a full conversation with eye movements, head nods, and shrugs. Then they finally look back to me. "Okay, we believe you. But don't you ever scare us like that again. And if something does happen, you better tell us," Sid says for both of them.

"
Exactly," Shane adds, as though he's putting the period on the sentence. "Now, get packed. We don't want to miss our bus." He throws my un-worn nightgown at me. "Oh, and you might want to change your clothes since those are from yesterday."

Shoot
, I forgot about that, and Coach W saw me. He wouldn't remember what I was wearing yesterday, would he? To steal a word from Todd
,
shit!

"
Oh, and your mom stopped by," Sid says so casually through the bathroom door as I'm trying to quickly brush my teeth and freshen up before our five-hour bus ride home.

I freeze
mid-spit and swing open the door. "She what?"

Sid leans against the wall, loving every second of this.
"Your mom was looking for you."

"
When?"

"
A while ago."

"
What did you say?" I ask cautiously, feeling my heart rate starting to accelerate.

"
I told her you were in the bathroom."

"
Did she buy it?"

"
I think so." Sid shrugs.

"
How long is a while ago?" I ask each word slowly, desperately trying to remain calm.

"
Fifteen minutes." Sid shrugs. "She was with Ryan. He was heading back up to his room."

"
Seriously, Sid, do you think she bought it?"

"
Yeah, I'm pretty sure she did, but I'm not sure about Ryan. He gave me this smirk."

He knew the entire time.
That shit!

Chapter 5
: January—First Date

Todd and I have officially been dating for four weeks. It's been incredible but super busy with school work, football practices, and then State. Not to mention the holidays, now winter baseball practice is starting; therefore, we really haven't had time on any weekends to go on a real date, until now.

It took a while to convince my dad a date was a good idea
, like the last four weeks to be exact. My dad loves Todd, but he still doesn't love the idea of me having a boyfriend, any boyfriend. Luckily, Mom is a big fan of the idea, so she helped convince him an actual date is a good idea, or at least, an idea he should consider if he wants a peaceful household.

Ryan has been sort of indifferent
. I know it's strange for him to see us together, especially since he walked in on us in his bed at the hotel. Well, not actually in his bed, but you know what I mean. Anyway, Ryan hasn't really been helpful or hurtful in trying to convince my dad, which is probably the best-case scenario. Thankfully, he didn't say anything to our parents about the hotel incident, but I know he's saving that one for when he really needs to use it. I know because he keeps reminding me. You've gotta love my brother.

But tonight is going to be perfect
, at least I hope. I can't believe it's actually happening. If you told me four months ago I'd be dating Todd
—
my brother's best friend and my best friend's brother
—
I would have never believed it. I have known him my entire life, but I never really
knew
him. I never realized exactly why his nickname at school is "God Todd" until school started this year.

One day
, it was like I saw him for the first time. I saw just how incredible he is. Not to mention, his amazing dark brown hair; crystal clear, blue eyes; and his perfectly crooked smile that still creates an explosion of butterflies in my stomach.

I hear my phone vibrating on my dresser
; it's a text from Todd.

Almost ready? Things you need to bring:
a jacket, gloves and your smile.

My heart starts pounding
rapidly as I type back,
I can't wait.

What could we possibly be doing? Something outside? It
's freezing, so hopefully not.

The next thirty minutes tick by so slowly I feel like seven o
'clock is never going to get here. I'm sitting on my bed, completely ready to go. I finally decided on tight jeans; boots; and a cute, loose-fitting top layered over a solid, long sleeve shirt. I figured layers and boots would be best just in case Todd
is
planning something outside. One great thing about winter is it really helps tame the halo of frizz hovering above my head, and I actually am having a decent hair day.

When t
he doorbell rings, my heart is suddenly in my throat. I hear Ryan open his bedroom door, not wanting to miss a second of this, the jerk. Not to mention, he has his own date with Gretchen tonight.

For weeks
, they have had matching casts except for the color; hers is pink and his is blue, but you can barely see the color since they have so many signatures and drawings. It's as if they are in a competition to see who could cover the most cast space with signatures. They are ridiculously cute to the point it makes me want to vomit but also kind of smile. Gretchen got her cast off yesterday, so they will no longer be cast twins. Ryan still has a few more weeks to milk it, though; and I'm sure he will.

"
Wow, you look nice, Ash bug," he says as he nearly crashes into me in the hallway then gestures for me to go down the stairs first.

My heart is pounding in my chest
. I grip the handrail so tightly my knuckles are turning white; partly because I'm dreading the uncomfortable small talk we're about to have with my parents and partly because I don't want to fall on my face and ruin our first official date before it even starts.

"
Come on in, Todd." I see my dad gesturing for him to sit on the couch.
Sit? Why?
This is going to take longer than I thought.

The wood
creaks as I press my foot down on the hardwood step, drawing my Dad and Todd's attention to the stairs. They both stop mid-sentence to watch me.

A smile immediately breaks
over Todd's stressed expression, the tension of talking to my dad seeming to melt away.

"
You look beautiful," they both say in unison, and then my dad's smile quickly turns into a growl. It's as if he almost forgot why we are all here. I see him give Todd a death stare that says back down and don't get any ideas.

"
Hey, Todd," Ryan cuts in,
trying to hide his laugh from behind me. I totally forgot he was there since no one said anything to him. For once in my life
, people are giving me more attention when we're both entering a room.

Todd looks incredible, as always. He
's wearing my favorite dark blue jeans that hug his hips and butt perfectly and a light blue, thermal shirt that hugs everything else perfectly. It's not tight, but it beautifully accents just how athletic his build is. It also doesn't hurt that it accentuates how amazing his blue-green eyes are. They are like my own individual pools of clear blue Caribbean sea water.

What follows
our quick hellos is a long and humiliating conversation with my dad repeatedly telling Todd 'he knows where he lives' and 'don't get any ideas' while my mom squeezes my dad's hand tightly every time he says something insane, which is every time he opens his mouth. The entire time, Ryan just smiles and shakes his head, giving Todd understanding glances laced with the silent question of 'are you sure you want to do this?' By the end of it, if I had a dollar for every time mom has said “now, Frank” to my dad, I'd be able to pay for our next three dates. Thus, I'm extremely grateful when we are finally free to leave the house.

Todd wraps his fingers around mine once we are safely outside. There is a fresh layer of snow on the ground
, making the world glisten under the street lamps. It looks as if someone threw glitter all over the sidewalks; it's truly magical.

Todd opens the creaking door to his old
, beige Volvo for me. His car is safe and secure, just like him. I love the instant reminder of his scent as soon as I'm inside. I can tell he cleaned because usually there is always some sort of athletic equipment that needs to be cleared off the passenger seat or floor, but tonight, it's spotless.

"
You cleaned?"

His lips turn up into a smile
as he nods. "I wanted it to be perfect."

I swear my heart skips a beat.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't run through five million different scenarios for our first date: dinner at Olives, or a movie, or dinner at Olives and a movie. Olives is probably the trendiest restaurant in our town, so that has been in several thousand of my scenarios. However, as we're driving, I see the distorted reflection of the Olives sign go by in the passenger side window. Okay, so it's not Olives. Then we pass the bright neon lights of the movie theater, the surrounding snow pink from the reflection of the marquee. Okay, so it's not the movies.

As we drive
, all of the scenarios I've replayed in my head a thousand times are crossed off my list, and I have no idea what we're doing.

"
Um, where are we going?"

He quickly glances in my direction
. "You'll see."

Then he brings his eyes right back to the road
that is still wet from the snow. The green and red glow from the traffic lights bounces off it, creating a beautiful light show on the asphalt. As he continues driving, he places his hand on my knee and gently squeezes it, accelerating my heart rate with his touch.

We pull up to a familiar playground and field
where the lights of the street lamps from the parking lot are shimmering off the snow. It reminds me of how pristine fresh snow is before life makes it dirty.

This
is a field I know well from years of being dragged to see Ryan play different sports every weekend
—
football, soccer, baseball. Todd was always there, too, and luckily, that meant Sid was there and at least we had each other. We knew every nook and cranny of this field because we always did anything and everything to avoid watching the actual game.

"
It looks beautiful," I say, taking it all in from the warmth of the car. The snow is untouched, fresh, white, and spectacular. And the surrounding trees are kissed with snow, so even they are sparkling.

"
I know; isn't it incredible? I wanted you to see it. This has always been my favorite place in the world to come after it snows. Even when I was a kid, I would ride my bike here just to see it." As he turns to me and smiles, I can see how special this place is to him. "I mean, I know we have the janitor's closet and hospital chapels, but I wanted to add this one to the list."

He brushes his thumb across my cheek and then leans in
. I think he's going to kiss me, but instead, he reaches over and pulls a lever which makes my seat go flying back. It happens so quickly I scream involuntarily and Todd starts to laugh.

"
Sorry, Ash, I didn't think it was going to go back that fast. I wanted you to see something." He reaches up and pulls back the sunroof, exposing the best view of the black sky dotted with the most beautifully bright stars.

He releases his seat so we are now in the same position
, just staring up at the brilliant, midnight blue sky streaked with sparkling specs. A gust of wind is twirling the loose snow around, making it look like the air is filled with glitter. It is truly breathtaking. I never would have thought this familiar field would be filled with so much magic. I've obviously overlooked it all of these years.

"
It's beautiful," I whisper to him. I'm not sure why I'm whispering, but it only feels right with this majestic beauty so we don’t disturb the perfection of nature.

He turns his head to look at me and our eyes lock.
"I know," he whispers back and then interlocks his fingers with mine as he looks back up at the splendor above. "No one really knows about it; it's like my secret place. I always come here when I need to think or just be alone, but tonight, I wanted to share it with you."

F
eeling his gaze makes me turn back toward him. He gently cradles my cheek and then leans in to kiss me. It's soft and gentle, just like the wisps of snow blowing in through the sun roof.

"
Thank you for sharing it with me. I love it." I smile and kiss him back just as gently, relishing in the feeling of his soft lips on mine. Then he playfully nips my lower lip with his teeth, I also love that.

"
There's only one thing more beautiful here tonight." He smiles deeply, and I feel the flutter of the butterflies in my stomach.

"
It's true. You are way more beautiful," I say as I kiss him with a grin, holding his jaw in my hands.

"
Ha. Ha. Funny." His lips crash into mine. "But wait, there's more."

"
More?"

"
Yes. Put your gloves on."

"
Are we going out there?" I'm almost afraid to hear the answer.

"
Yup. Come on. If you think this is amazing, just wait."

As soon as he shuts the car off
, I immediately miss the heat that was just blowing through the vents. He runs around the car and opens my door, guiding me out by his gloved hand. Then he starts to run toward the playground, and I reluctantly follow close behind. Although, I can't help giggling because:

1. The air is freezing
, and if I don't laugh, I might cry.

2. Todd looks
extremely cute running through the snow. He keeps doing a little hop each time he steps, trying to keep his shoes as dry as possible.

3. He
's so excited it's palpable.

I can
't stop laughing and shouting "Oh, my God!” each time my boots sink into the pristine yet freezing snow. I pull him back. "Todd, wait, stop. I can't." I'm laughing so hard I'm having a difficult time forming words.

"
Oh, yes, you can." He picks me up and starts to run through the snow. We both can't stop laughing. His warm chest is entirely familiar and wholly comforting. I bury my face in it and smell his amazing scent. I could stay right here forever, no matter how freezing it is.

"
We made it." I look up to see his gorgeous blue eyes dancing with flecks of green and grey, smiling down at me. Then he puts me down right in front of the swings. "Hold on a second." He wipes away what must be at least six inches of snow off the seats then he sits down on one and pulls the chains of the other swing next to him to show me it's clean. "Come on. Trust me."

And I do, always.

The seat is freezing, even through my puffy coat. Todd is already pumping his legs and getting some amazing air considering we just sat down. He looks back. "Come on, Ash. Who knew you weren't a swinger?" he teases.