Play Maker (16 page)

“
S
o
, in terms of fluffiness,” I was looking down at the waffle contest categories, trying to focus on the paper and not on the warring emotions inside of me. “I think the hotel waffles win in that regard.”

“Yes, but we got two waffles here instead of one, so they are basically the same height,” James argued.

“We’re not debating height,” I reminded him. “We’re discussing fluffiness.”

“Alright.” He leaned back in his chair. “The hotel waffles were fluffier.”

I marked that down. It was the last category. I had been in a mental tailspin since James confessed his interest in dating, but I didn’t even know where to begin. I liked him. I liked him a lot.

“So?” James asked, pulling me out of my confusion. “Which was the winner?”

“Hold on.” I ran my finger down the placemat. “I’m counting.” When I got to the end, I was surprised. I looked up at him.

“What?”

“It’s a tie,” I said with disbelief.

“What? Really?” James grabbed the placemat from me and began counting himself.

“You don’t trust me?” I couldn’t help teasing.

“I take waffle contests very seriously,” he responded. “There’s a reason I’m not allowed back in Belgium.”

I giggled, unable to help myself. James was fun to be around. He was fun and sexy and interesting and he wasn’t going anywhere. What was wrong with me? There were a million women who would stab me with their stiletto to be in my position. Why couldn’t I tell him that I liked him as well? Why couldn’t I let myself take a chance on it?

Because of Mikey. My brother clearly adored James. But was he getting too attached? What would he do when it ended? Because it would end. Of course it would. We were too different. That much had been obvious when he showed up at our house with all those presents. Everything he had bought in an afternoon cost more than most of my combined possessions.

But was I not being fair to myself? Was I using my younger brother as an excuse? It was true that I hadn’t really given my mom much of a chance to take on any responsibilities with my brother. Or with anything really. I hadn’t let go of anything, that was for sure. And maybe it was time to. Maybe it was time to let her rejoin the family, without holding her at arms length.

The thought of doing that scared me. But maybe it was a good kind of scared. The kind that meant I needed to take a chance, take a leap of faith. I looked over at James, who was going over the waffle categories one more time, and couldn’t help but smile.

When he excused himself to go pay the bill, I pulled out my phone and called Mikey. We had been at lunch for a while and I was eager to check in on him, see how he was enjoying his gift from James. The phone rang for a while before he picked it up. That was unusual. He was pretty good at picking up on the second or third ring.

“It’s so cool!” Mikey said as a greeting.

“You like the game?” I asked, guessing that was what he was referring to.

“Yeah, yeah!” he told me, his enthusiasm audible.

“Did you and Mom pick a movie for us to go to tonight?”

There was a pause and then I heard some murmuring and then all of sudden my mom was on the line.

“Nicole?” she asked.

“Yeah, Mom?” I was confused why Mikey had handed the phone to her.

“Mikey doesn’t seem to want to go to the movies,” she told me. “He wants to play the game for a while longer. I thought we would order a pizza and spend the evening in. He said he’ll teach me how to play.”

“Oh.” I tried not to be disappointed, even though I knew it was good for him to find new activities to get excited about. And my mom sounded excited too. They really didn’t get much time just the two of them to do fun things together. I realized that I had a tendency to take Mikey out of the house on my day off and I never invited my mom to join us. I was so used to it being just the two of us that I hadn’t even thought to ask if she wanted to join us. Besides, I always expected that people who didn’t know Mikey as well as I did would want a break from him.

I realized then that I wasn’t giving her nearly enough credit for all she had done these past few months. And she seemed genuinely excited about spending some one-on-one time with Mikey. I felt a wave of guilt for being so dismissive of all of her previous attempts to bond with him. I was still trying to protect him. But now I wasn’t doing it for him. I was doing it for me.

“Are you and James having a good time?” Mom asked.

“Yeah,” I told her honestly. “We’re having a great time.”

“Well.” There was a pregnant pause. “If you want to stay out, I can put Mikey to bed tonight.”

I didn’t know what to say. A part of me wanted to tell my mom that there was so much more she needed to know about Mikey’s bedtime routines and that he would freak out if I wasn’t home.

It had been Mikey and me for so long. What would happen if he had someone else in his life who could take care of him? Was I keeping my mom at a distance because I was worried about him or because I was worried about me? About what it would do to my relationship with my brother if he didn’t have to depend so completely on me. If there was someone else to lighten the load.

I watched James up at the counter, looking at the t-shirts and mugs they had on sale. How might I have responded to James if my entire life wasn’t centered around my brother? If I let myself make decisions based on what I wanted for once, instead of what I thought Mikey needed? Because clearly, he was perfectly happy to spend the evening at home with my mom playing video games.

“Can I talk to Mikey for a second?” I asked my mom, waiting until he came back on the line. “Hey buddy, Mom says you guys are going to get a pizza and play your new game tonight.”

“Yeah!” he said, and the excitement in his voice made me smile. “She said we can get pepperoni. And we’re going to fight Lord Vortech together!”

“That sounds great,” I told him. “I think James and I are going to spend some more time together today. Are you ok with that?”

But I could hear that Mikey’s attention was already focused somewhere else. “Mmmhmm,” he muttered. “Ok.”

“I might not be back until the morning,” I said tentatively. In the past, when I had tried to stay out with friends or former boyfriends, Mikey had been incredibly upset. But that’s when I had to ask neighbors to check in on him. Our mom was going to be with him the whole time. “But I can call you to do the list before bed, if you want.”

“Ok! Call me later!” Mikey said and then hung up.

I stared at my phone for a moment. It looked like I had the evening off.

“Everything ok?” James had returned, and he was wearing a Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles baseball cap. I couldn’t help smiling.

“Nice hat,” I told him.

“I’m glad you like it.” He pulled out a bag from behind his back. “Because I got you one too.” He plopped the cap down on my head. “Looks good,” he informed me.

I tucked my hair behind my ears, realizing that I didn’t really have an excuse anymore in regards to James. Because the truth was that I liked him. And I did want to spend time with him. On a regular basis. And he wasn’t going back to London, and I had someone who wanted to help out with Mikey, so what was holding me back?

I looked up at James, who was admiring the Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles mug he had gotten as well. He looked like such a tourist, it was kind of adorable. He seemed to realize I was watching him and looked up.

“Hey,” he said. “Ready to go?”

“Actually,” I pulled out the placemat with the waffle checklist. “I think I made a mistake.”

“Oh yeah?” he leaned over my shoulder, looking at the list. “Where?”

“I think the waffles here should get extra points for the fact that they are also served with fried chicken.”

“Well.” He rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “I guess I can see that.”

“Which means that the waffles here are the better ones. Which means,” I looked up at him through my lashes. “Which means that you won the waffle competition.”

I saw the implication of my words hit him, almost as if a light bulb had gone on over his head.

“Which means—” he said slowly.

“Which means you get to drive me in your car. Back to your hotel.”

He just stared at me for a moment and then before I could even react, grabbed my hand and practically carried me out of the restaurant. By the time we got to the car, we were both laughing and I could feel my pulse jumping in my wrist, a flush spreading across my skin. I climbed into the convertible and buckled my seatbelt. But James didn’t start the car. When I looked over at him, he had a serious look on his face.

“What about Mikey?” he asked.

My heart melted. Oh boy. I was falling hard for this guy. And I was falling fast.

I put my hand over James’. “He’s fine,” I told him. “He’s playing video games with my mom and they’re ordering pizza. He gave me his blessing to stay out.”

A grin spread across James’ face. “Well, then. I guess it’s the perfect time to see exactly how fast this car can go.”

I
didn’t have
any reason to be nervous, but my palms were sweating and my heart was pounding as we reached James’ hotel suite. This wasn’t just some one night stand anymore. We were two people who liked each other. Two people on a date. It suddenly felt real. James and me. Dating. James, the soon-to-be-former football star and me, the bartender.

James seemed to notice me hesitating at the door. He took my hand.

“I’m not in any rush,” he said. Then, cupping my face, he tilted my head towards his and kissed me. The bills of our new baseball caps knocked against each other, but I barely noticed, my entire being focused on how perfect his mouth felt against mine. The kiss was soft and sweet and incredible. My body tightened with anticipation and it didn’t take long for me to deepen the kiss, parting my lips, my tongue seeking his.

Wrapping my hands around his waist I pulled him against me, feeling the hard ridge of his cock against my belly. We had been here before, but it felt different this time and I wanted to savor it.

“Let’s go inside,” I murmured, pulling my lips from his. The last thing I wanted was to give the hotel staff a shock if one of them happened upon James’ floor.

He deftly removed the keycard from his pocket and with a mechanical whir and click, the door was open and we were inside, fumbling for each other’s clothing. After all, just because I wanted to savor him, didn’t mean that I wanted to do it with our clothes on. Naked savoring was always better.

The baseball caps hit the ground, followed by his shirt, then my shirt, my bra, my pants, thong and finally his pants and briefs. I ran my hands over the hard planes of his body, unable to stop touching him. My fingers traveled downward, tracing his six pack, but before I could reach his cock, his hand stopped me.

“I won’t be able to control myself,” he warned. “And there’s so much I want to do to you.”

God, I loved his accent. “Tell me what you want to do to me,” I purred, leaning forward and pressing my tits against his chest. He groaned and I felt it, my nipples hardening.

Then, without warning, he bent and hoisted me over his shoulder like he was a caveman. I shouldn’t have liked it, but I did.

“First, I want to get you on that bed,” he told me, giving my ass a swat as he carried me into the bedroom like I weighed no more than a pillow. Immediately, I found myself on my back, the bed beneath me, James on top of me.

I wiggled against him, loving the way his muscular form felt stretched out over mine.

“I’m on the bed,” I murmured in his ear. “Now what are you going to do to me?”

“Hmm.” James’ hands slid down my body, curving over my breast and hip. He stopped at my leg.

“How’s your knee doing?” he asked, drawing a circle around my bandaged knee.

“It aches,” I purred.

“Does it now?” James grinned and lowered his mouth to place a kiss just above it. And then below it. “How about now?”

“Better,” I shifted underneath him.

“But you want more…” he finished for me.

I nodded, arching up as his hand smoothed back up my thigh and then dipped down between my thighs.

I gasped as his finger found my center.

“Now…” He circled his thumb around my clit. “Let’s see how loud I can make you scream.”

Then he lifted his gorgeous body off of mine and moved downward, replacing his fingers with his mouth. Pleasure flooded through every inch of me as his tongue stroked me. My knees fell open as he slid one finger inside and then another, the dual sensations making me arch off the bed.

“Ooooh,” I moaned, my fingers tangled in his hair, his mouth exactly where I wanted it to be. Then, as he slid a third finger inside me, my orgasm hit and I cried out, my body shuddering beneath his touch.

James rose from between my knees, his finger still stroking my clit as he reached into his jeans for a condom. I was still riding the high of my orgasm when the head of his cock nudged against my opening. I arched my hips up towards him, the sensation making my toes curl.

He took his time sliding inside, inch by agonizing inch. “You’re so tight,” he groaned in my ear, his cock sheathed inside me. “And so wet.”

Then he started to move, easing out slowly, burying himself deeper with each thrust.

“Yes,” I cried as he picked up speed, my hips undulating wildly to meet his pace. “Oh god, yes!”

“Oh, Nicole,” his voice was rough in my ear, a thrill running through me at the sound of my name on his lips. “You feel so fucking good.” He emphasized each word with a thrust, and by the end of the sentence I was coming all over again.

Before I could recover from the earth-shattering glory of that orgasm, I found myself pulled off the bed as James rolled onto his back, still buried within me. Settling on top of him, I slid even deeper, causing a groan that vibrated through both of our bodies. He felt so good, and even though I had already come twice, I wanted more. I wanted to come with him, to feel him lose control.

“God save the Queen,” James muttered, his eyes fluttering closed as I began to ride him.

“Oh no, baby.” I leaned forward, circling my hips. “I think you want to watch this.”