Kick (Completion Series) (15 page)

I lay back against the blanket
and closed my eyes tight. It did no good. He was burned into my memory.

“What’s wrong
, Cami?” I felt him lean over me. This was so not good.

“Let it go
, Joel. Stay on your side.”

Now he laugh
ed. “My side?”

“You know what I mean.
F-R-I-E-N-D-S.” I spelled it slowly. “I’m the girl that fucked your brother, remember?”

Again, he surprised me by taking my hand. “You’re
one in a long list of them and don’t get pissed off because I said so. The difference here is that I like you. I could give a fuck about any of my brother’s other conquests. My blood boils at the thought of you in his bed.” I felt Joel resituate himself, though he kept my hand tightly in his. “I care about you, Cami, so, yeah, we’re friends, but don’t you ever hide your breasts around me again.”

We lay there for a long time without talking. My hand rested in his
. There was something special about Joel. There was nothing special about his brother, and, God, I’d done the most intimate of things with him.

“
I know I napped in the car, but I’m so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open,” I finally said because I was afraid I would just drift off.

“Get some sleep. No one’s around to bother us and I need
to relax too.”

That’s the last thing I remember until Joel held a water bottle to my lips. I took it and downed half. “How long have I been asleep
?” I asked as I sat up.

“About two hours. It’s hotter now and I want you hydrated. You can go back to sleep if you want.”

“No. I feel so much better.”

“Then let’s take a walk on the beach.”

“Okay,” I said as I grabbed my bag to pull out my bra. “You need to give me some privacy.”

He grabbed the bag from my fingers
. “Does it hurt your breasts to walk unsupported?”

I needed something to clobber him with.
“You jerk, that’s not the point.”

“It’s the only point and the only way I’ll let you put that contraption back on.”

“It’s a damned sports bra. Plenty of women wear them. You’re being a douche.” I couldn’t help my anger. He was asking me to do something I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing even with my non-existent girlfriends. My breasts were too big to go flopping around unsupported.

“Come on
. I’ll carry your bag.” He actually slung it over his shoulder.

“You look like an idiot
with that.” He was so frustrating, but he reminded me of Tyson when it came to my boobs. Tyson didn’t understand my need to hide them either.

“You act like an idiot by covering something so tightly they turn into pancakes.”
He sounded angry now.

“Pancakes? I can’t believe you said that.”

“You called me a douche. I think pancake is about ten steps up.”

I couldn’t hold back my scream of frustration.
Before I knew what happened, Joel lifted me and almost took down the shade when he stood up. He carried me toward the water.

“No, no, no, you wouldn’t.” I squeezed my arms around his neck.

“I want to so badly it hurts,” he said gruffly as he lowered my legs so my feet landed in the chilly but refreshing water.

I looked down between us where our chests were pressed together
. “You said you wouldn’t touch my breasts.” My voice barely worked.

His was
a low sexy growl. “I know exactly what I said. I promised not to lay hands on them today. My hands are nowhere near your pancakes.”

I laughed at his stupid name
, and my breasts shook against him. A moment later, I gave in and leaned my forehead against his chest. It felt incredible to stand in the shelter of his strong arms. He pulled me a little tighter and breathed against the top of my head as the water lapped at our feet. I wished I’d never heard the name Van Stelson.

I don’t remember having a better day in my entire life.
After our embrace, we walked along the beach holding hands, splashing water, and acting silly. For such a big serious guy, Joel had a soft and fun side too. I appreciated the fact that I didn’t catch him staring at my chest again. I don’t think I was quite so respectful. I suffered from a serious muscle fetish.

I awoke well rested on Monday. I called Charlie
, who’d sent me a text the day before reminding me to visit the newspaper. It was a quick drive and I was there by nine. The building was larger than I expected, and a small thrill passed through me at the thought of owning a newspaper. The front had floor-to-ceiling glass windows with a large desk just inside. There was a bell, which I didn’t ring because I got caught up in the photography on the walls. Most were rugby players and holy hell there were a lot.

They were e
ight-by-ten autographed collectibles like Charlie told me. I recognized many of the players—action shots, stills, and a few posed. Stub was talented. I found a shirtless picture of Van, cocky grin in place while holding a rugby ball. I tore my gaze away and started looking for Joel. I found no pictures of just him, just ones with the team. I had no idea why. Maybe his man-candy shots sold like hotcakes. Crap… that made me think of pancakes and I chuckled.

“What has you in such a good mood this morning?” Charlie said over my shoulder.

“These are hot and I mean sexy hot. You’re wife’s a lucky woman,” I teased.

“I’m the lucky one. These guys
spend hours building muscle, turn her on, and I don’t have to work as hard when I get her in bed.”

“You’re incorrigible
and no lightweight!” I walked back over to the picture of Van and pointed to it. “Why is Van here but not Joel?”

Charlie’s smile faded slightly. “Joel won’t take a picture because of his scar. He says he d
oesn’t want to scare the kids away.”

I was shocked.
“It bothers him that much?” He did nothing to hide it. The scar was a part of him and I only thought about it yesterday because I wanted to touch it. I couldn’t believe he worried about my boobs but he wouldn’t take a picture.

Charlie
had a contemplative look on his face. “I don’t think it exactly bothers him, he’s just shy, and it’s his excuse.”

“Shy? You’re kidding me.” The last label I’d put on Joel was shy.

“He’s always been the quiet brother. Van takes over a room when he enters. Joel stays in the background. It was that way even before his mother died. Afterward it got a little worse. If he’s comfortable with you, you won’t notice it. As soon as someone comes around he doesn’t know he’ll fade into the background. The only time I see him truly carefree is on the field. He’s intense and there’s nothing shy about him when he plays.”

I turned and looked at Van again
, trying to take a moment to collect my thoughts. Maybe when I first met Joel he was just shy, not that he disliked me. I, of all people, understood shyness. If you’re shy, something like large breasts just makes it worse. I couldn’t imagine a scar on my face that I was unable to hide. Did he have any idea how sexy it made him?

“You know there’s a rumor going around about you and Van.”

Heat flooded my cheeks and I faced Charlie before hiding my shock. “I… well… shit, Charlie, I’m acting like a teenager. I’m sorry. You warned me away and I was stupid.” As much as I hated the idea of rumors, I came from a small town and should have expected it. Bigger fool me.

Charlie
gave me a sympathetic look. “I’m telling you right now, Stub will kick his ass. She likes you and only tolerates Van. I was wild back in the day, so I have hope for that boy, but Stub, not so much.”

Shrugging my shoulders, I told him how I felt
. “I’m an adult and I make my own choices. They aren’t always wise, but I have no one to blame but myself. He didn’t make any promises.”

“
I noticed the two bimbos on Van’s arm after the game. Is that why you left so early?”

Bimbos. What an old-fashioned
but apt description and it wasn’t even a four-letter word. I smiled. “Joel walked me to my room.” Now I fibbed just a bit. “I had to get my article ready for submission.”

“Joel’s a fine man. Stick with him from now on and you’ll be happier.”

Charlie wasn’t the right person to discuss bad boys and why girls always feel attracted to them. I needed to call Tyson and cry on his shoulder. I kept thinking I could just forget what happened, but if the entire town knew, that was impossible.

“Come on, stop with the doom
-and-gloom face and let me show you around.” Charlie held open the door to the back room and I walked through. There were four desks, one with a young woman sitting at it and one with a man. They both looked up when I came in.

“
Leo, Tina, this is Cami Avesque from that fancy city paper I told you about.” Leo was a tall skinny man in his thirties; he wore large black glasses that reminded me of Clark Kent. Tina was probably my age and quite pretty. She dressed less conservatively than I did, but most women did.

I smiled at
them both. “The
Cleveland News and Journal
might be fancy, but I work in a room similar to this on the second floor in classifieds. Getting this story on rugby was a fluke. I’ll be back in classifieds when I return home.” I shook Leo’s hand, appreciating his easy smile. I turned to Tina and for a moment she left my hand hanging before giving me a dead-fish, must-I-touch-it skim of fingers. She spun around and went back to her desk.

I turned to Charlie
unsure of what just happened. He rolled his eyes and began explaining his layout. Within a short time, I forgot Tina as Charlie held me spellbound. And that was before he took me into the printing room. My eyes practically came out of my head. His press was awe inspiring.

Charlie sounded like a proud papa.
“This baby is a four-color trifold with a five-hundred-seventy-eight millimeter by twenty-two and three-quarter cut off. I picked her up used, had her shipped from the other side of the planet, but she’s been worth every penny it cost me.”

“You put out a weekly paper.”

“Yes, though I’ve always wanted it bi-weekly. Don’t see that happening now, but a man can always dream.”

I walked around the metal monstrosity dying to see it in action. “When does she roll?”

“On Thursday. You wanna watch?”

“
You bet.”

Charlie walked me out to my car
half an hour later. “Sorry about Tina,” he said before I climbed in.

“I’m afraid to ask what the problem is.”

“You guessed it then. She has a thing for Van.”

My laugh was anything but happy. “She has nothing to worry about. He dumped me first thing the morning
after. If she hasn’t slept with him yet, he’s available for a night.” I could hear the anger in my words and felt bad that I’d said anything. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for.”

“Don’t worry about it. I saw that
killer spark in your personality the first time I met you. It’ll get you far in this business.”

There was no way he saw a spark in me
, but he was so sweet to say so. “Thanks, Charlie. I’ll see you Thursday.”

I drove away and headed to The Slam Tavern for lunch.
I planned to leave my car in the Inn’s parking lot and as I turned in my cell rang.

Joel and I switched numbers the day before and I smiled when his named popped up on the screen. “Cami here.”

“What are you doing for lunch?” he asked without any other greeting.

“I was just heading to the tavern.”

“Want company?”

I really did
, but should I?

“If you don’t, say so,” h
e said at my hesitation.

“Yes, I want company. I just feel like I’m taking you away from the world of rugby management, business tycoon stuff, and
all around busy life.”

His soft chuckle sounded
wonderfully enticing. “I’ll make time for you, pancake. Meet you in five. I’m at the stadium.”

“I hate you.” His
laugh clicked short when he ended the call.

Crap, pancake
. I was wearing a sports bra again. I made a quick trip to my room and switched to the bra I wore under my dress when I went out with his brother. Double crap, the buttons of my shirt strained. No way. I quickly changed shirts to a loser blouse. I would need to get my laundry done tomorrow or the next day. My excitement over traveling the world diminished a bit at the thought of living out of a bag like I was now. Oh well, I would force myself to adapt. I checked the mirror one last time and headed to the tavern.

Joel waited, long legs about a foot apart, arms crossed over his chest, and entirely too much muscle on display for me to ignore.

Think of him like a brother, think of him like a brother…

It didn’t work and I could
n’t help my exasperation. “Do you practice that stance so all the ladies stare?”