Pierce

Chapter Twelve

"No blurry vision in that eye?" he continued, gently pulling her eyelid down with his thumb and examining her eye in the dim lighting of the street lamps.

"Nope," she said proudly as if it were an accomplishment.

"That's exactly what I wanted to hear."

Caleb wrapped one arm around her in a side hug and gave her a quick squeeze of her shoulders. "You did good tonight darlin'," he praised her before climbing into his jeep.

"See you in the morning for PT?" Pierce asked.

"Bright and early," Caleb said with a smile before starting the ignition.

"Let's get you home," Pierce said, clutching her hand and leading her to her car.

There was that word again, home. She tried to analyze her feelings toward the phrase and the way Pierce was using it so comfortably. Maybe it was unintentional on his part, but it felt good to hear. Not necessarily because his apartment felt like home, it wasn't that. It was Pierce. Pierce felt like home.

*****

Getting out of her dress and putting on an oversized t-shirt and shorts was her favorite part of every evening. She pulled her hair up into a messy bun and climbed into Pierce's bed, mindlessly scrolling through her phone and enjoying the feel of Pierce's sheets against her skin.

A text from Lexi displayed bright across her screen that read: "Hey girl! Want to meet me for brunch tomorrow?"

She smiled at the text and was flattered by the invitation. Granted she didn't know Lexi very well, but from what she could tell from their brief encounter, Lexi was extremely kind and pleasant and based on the amount of wine she brought over, she seemed like a fun person to go to brunch with.

"What are you grinnin' about?" Pierce inquired with a smirk as he came out of the bathroom.

His shirtless torso stole Natalie's breath and she salivated at his muscular chest and arms for a second or two before his words completely resonated in her brain.

Shaking away her lusty thoughts, she held her phone up to Pierce, displaying the text from Lexi as he climbed into the bed next to her.

"Lexi invited me to brunch tomorrow."

"Oh yeah? You gonna go?" Pierce asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I think I will. Lexi seems like a really sweet person."

"Lexi is the best." Pierce said with pride. His facial expression and tone changed at the mention of Lexi's name and his feelings toward her were difficult for Natalie to read. She had noticed it the other day as well, through their interaction in Pierce's kitchen. It was obvious that he cared deeply for Lexi, but not in a romantic way. Lexi was his teammates girlfriend after all, but their dynamic was interesting and she was eager to learn more about it.

"She'd be a really good person for you to talk to about all of the things you've been going through lately." Pierce offered as he grasped her hand.

"What makes you say that?" Natalie asked cautiously.

Running his hand through his hair, he restlessly fidgeted before turning to face her as if he were trying to find the right words to say, but couldn't.

"Lexi's ex-boyfriend was a monster who beat the living daylights out of her." Pierce bit out as if the words tasted bad in his mouth. Natalie's jaw to dropped slightly at his statement. No wonder she gave me such a big emotional hug earlier.

Pierce held his gaze down at the comforter and she could tell he was lost in his thoughts. She didn't know where he'd gone, but he wasn't there with her anymore. He was wrestling with something and it clearly wasn't pleasant.