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MAYA

It had been over an hour, and he still wasn't out of the bathroom.

I'd be glad if he slept in there, for all I cared.

I turned off the lights, put my phone on the bedside cupboard and snuggled under the ridiculously heavy blanket.

The room was quiet, but I was too aware that he was still in the bathroom.

What was he doing in there?

It wasn't like it concerned me, but...

Oh, shut it, Maya. Just get some sleep.

Taking a deep breath, I shut my eyes and slowly drifted into the land where he didn't exist.

The bathroom door opened so abruptly that it made me jump.

I turned to look at him through the darkness, but the bathroom light illuminated his body. Water dripped from his skin, and his towel hung dangerously low.

I swallowed before quickly turning the other way, pretending to be asleep.

Jesus!

I shook off the chills running through me and held on to the edge of the blanket.

I heard him walk around the room, grumbling something I couldn't make out, but I didn't dare turn around.

A moment later, the sheet moved, and the blanket was pulled right off me.

A shiver ran through my body.

I pulled it back, expecting him to fight me for it, but he didn't.

I remained still, staring into the darkness until I heard a soft snore.

I let out a breath I hadn't realised I was holding, made myself comfortable and finally fell asleep.

I felt cooked.

Sweat poured down my forehead and soaked part of my shirt. I kicked the blanket off, unwilling to get out of bed, but the heat was unbearable.

I pushed the extra pillow above my head, not remembering sleeping with either of them, when my hand landed on a head of hair that definitely wasn't mine.

My eyes flew open.

The morning rays brightened the white room, which was already blinding enough.

I tried reaching for my glasses when I realised how far I was from the edge of the bed.

And I was imprisoned by an arm.

The heat from his body made me even more uncomfortable. I tried pulling his hand away, but it was useless.

This man was twice my size. I was going to die of heat.

"Get your hand away from me!" I snapped, using my leg to kick him.

He huffed a breath into my hair.

"What is wrong with you? Why are you kicking me?"

His sleepy eyes met mine, and he paused.

"Couldn't keep your hands off me, I see."

"Says the person who cuddles me in his sleep. You need to get this sorted out. I'm not waking up with you acting like a literal volcano and your filthy hands all over me."

I pushed the rest of the blanket away and crawled towards the edge of the bed.

In all honesty, I was crawling blind.

I moved slowly, tapping left and right to figure out where I was going, but that was useless. I was a tiny girl in the middle of a ridiculously large bed, and everything was a blur of white.

I continued tapping when I noticed movement beside me.

"Stay put."

"Don't tell me what..."

He reached for my glasses and put them on my face.

Everything came into focus.

He was only wearing briefs.

"Good morning, little demon."

A smug look appeared on his face.

"Don't call me that!" I snapped.

He shrugged and settled back against the pillows.

I pushed myself off the bed and went to change. How had it gone from freezing to unbearably hot?

After taking a look in the bathroom mirror, I almost groaned. My hair was all over the place, and my appearance was nothing short of disastrous.

I took a bath before heading downstairs in an oversized white shirt, a towel wrapped around my head, my task board in one hand and my phone in the other.

The news of our engagement was buzzing across the internet, but I couldn't care less.

I checked my schedule before dialling the head of the finance department.

"Good morning, Maya."

"Morning, Peter. What's the update? How much was raised from yesterday?"

"Thirty million dollars in donations and pledges."

I faltered on the stairs, almost missing a step.

"You're joking. This better not be a prank, Peter, or I will skin you alive..."

"It's not a prank. Congratulations, Maya. You pulled it off. Headquarters will be proud. I'll be submitting the records this afternoon, so expect a call. Oh, and by the way, congratulations on the engagement."

"Thank you! Thank you! Oh, Peter, you're... You're amazing!"

I hung up.

I did a little happy dance and screamed.

Oh my God! Finally!

I turned around to find the boys staring at me like I had lost my mind.

"Good morning, boys."

"I want to believe you're still a dream and you're not actually here," Turner, one of the T-Twins, muttered, sipping his cup of milk.

"Will you believe me if I tell you we raised thirty million dollars?"

Turner spat out his milk, while Terry nearly choked on his tea.

"You're joking."

"I kid you not!"

Turner lifted me before I could even comprehend what was happening, and we all shouted in celebration.

The boys had been talking about taking a trip to Brazil during the off-season. It had started as a joke, but apparently, they were now taking it seriously.

It's been quite a season and it was still ongoing, the Superbowl was next.

"We're going to Brazil!" we cheered.

"That's when we win the Superbowl"

I was still laughing when someone pulled me away.

"Let go, Turner."

Julian's voice echoed through the room. His hand wrapped around my waist, and he pulled me onto his thighs as he settled onto the arm of the chair.

I stiffened, caught completely off guard.

"Jeez, Jules, we won't hurt her," Turner grumbled.

"I never said you would. Will someone tell me why there's so much screaming this early?"

"It's not something you'll care about."

Turner glared at him before walking towards the kitchen.

This was the thing about Julian. He was the richest person on the team, and everyone else was struggling in one way or another. He had once randomly offered to pay for the entire team's expenses, including the coaches and me.

Most of them hated it. They didn't like feeling as though they owed him anything, and Julian's habit of throwing money at every problem didn't exactly help.

"Thirty million dollars was raised at the charity last night," I announced as Terry walked over to his twin.

"That's amazing! We should celebrate!"

He still hadn't let go of me, and I had never felt so awkward.

"Let go of me," I said quietly, pinching his skin.

He released me.

"Come on, boys! How about this? Reach out to the rest of the team, and let's party tonight. Bills on me?"

"Hell yeah!" Terry yelled.

The tension in the room finally eased.

"We might be late. Mum wants to meet you."

Julian's voice cut through the excitement.

I turned to look at him.

Dread washed over me.