Haylee sat down on the sofa next to Jonah in his apartment as he turned on the TV. They had a lovely time together. He had practice in the morning, but they spent the afternoon at Ghirardelli Square and the beach before going to the Giants stadium for a team dinner.
"Jonah?" Haylee asked after a few minutes.
"Hm?"
"Do you still love me?" She bit her lip as she looked at him.
"Of course. What made you ask?" He looked down at her.
"I was just wondering."
"Hayls," Jonah turned and gently cupped her cheeks in his hands, "I am never not going to love you. You're so special to me."
"You're really special to me too, Jo. I-I wanna give us a try," she explained softly.
Jonah inhaled deeply, "Haylee."
"I'm serious," she looked into his eyes and gently gripped his wrists, "I still can't stop thinking about you, and I still think we'd be great."
"I want to but Lex-"
"Was just mad we didn't talk to her. We can do it right this time," she interrupted, "unless you don't want to?"
"No. I do. I want to try too, Haylee," he pulled her in close.
Haylee smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. She nestled her head into the crook of his neck as he gently rubbed her back. She smiled and closed her eyes, feeling content in his embrace.
"We'll tell Lex tomorrow," he said softly.
"Okay," she nodded.
"Can I take you on a proper date tomorrow after my game?"
"Of course," Haylee smiled.
"But I want to talk to you about one thing first."
"Okay," Haylee sat up so she was looking at him. She held his hand and smiled at him.
"I'm going to tell you I love you a lot, but I don't want you to feel any pressure to say it back to me. I know it takes a while to fall in love," Jonah explained.
"Okay. Thank you," Haylee turned and hugged him.
"Always," he hugged her back.
"You should go to bed. You need sleep before your game," Haylee whispered.
"I know, but just let me hold you a little longer."
After a few more minutes, Jonah pulled away from Haylee. He kissed her forehead and gently tugged her to her feet. Haylee smiled as she looked up at Jonah. The two of them walked hand in hand towards the bedrooms.
"You can shower first," Haylee offered, "you need to get to sleep sooner than me."
"Thank you," Jonah nodded.
15 minutes later, Haylee was carefully taking a shower. Jonah stayed outside the door in case she fell. She changed into a t shirt and shorts to sleep in. She opened the door and smiled at Jonah.
"You good?"
"Yep," she nodded.
Her eyes raked over Jonah. He was standing there in shorts but no shirt. She couldn't help but reach out and run a hand over his toned chest and abs, admiring how fit he was. She blushed slightly as he chuckled.
"What? You've seen me shirtless before," he laughed.
"I know, but you weren't taking me on a date then. You were just Jonah, Lex's older brother. It's different now," she explained.
