Playing the Game (5 page)

Laughing, he kissed my cheek then draped an
arm over my shoulder and led me inside. “How’d you manage to get
out of the house?”

“
Gwen,” I
mumbled.

“
Ah,” he said. “I always
loved your sister. How is she? Still pissing your mom
off?”

“
Of course,” I grinned,
proud.

He dropped his arm and took my hand,
dragging me through the house without giving me a chance to
inspect. He opened a French door and took me to the cherry wood
deck. He pointed to a chair and I sat. He scooted another next to
mine.

“
So what’s the story?
Spending the night at Gwen’s?”

“
Yeah.” I felt like I was
in school again; lying to my mother so I could sneak out with a
boy.

“
Good,” he laughed. “She
won’t care if I keep you all night.”

I snorted, trying to appear nonchalant.
Inside my heart was hammering and my stomach was fluttering like a
baby bird trying out his new wings.

He put his hands on my thighs as he gazed
directly in my eyes. “You know you want to, Aubrey.”

“
I thought you didn’t
date?” I blurted.

“
Who said you had to date
to have fun?”

Blanching, I swept his hands off my legs. I
bit my trembling lip to keep it still. He got to his feet with a
sigh, yanking me up also. Wrapping his arms around my body, he
kissed the top of my head.

“
I’m sorry. I guess that
was pretty rude, huh?”

I nodded in his chest, inhaling a subtle,
piney scent. Having his arms around me again was the closest thing
to Heaven I could imagine and I really didn’t want him to let me
go.

But he did. He inched me back in order to
grip my shoulders. “You’re going to stay, right?”

How could I leave?

“
Yeah,” I said. “I’ll stay
for awhile.”

His lips bent upward before he kissed my
cheek again. “Do you want something to drink? The others will be
here soon.”

“
Just a soda or water I
guess,” I said. He rolled his eyes but left me on the deck to run
in the house. He returned a few minutes later with a water bottle.
I thanked him and took a drink. “Who all is coming
tonight?”

“
A few guys from the team
and their other halves.” Taking me by the hand, he led me to the
deck rail. “See that tree line?” He pointed to a patch of woods in
the distance. I nodded. “I own all the land from here to
there.”

“
That’s a huge yard,” I
said, noting the pride in his voice.

“
You should see Troy’s
place. He’s got about fifteen acres. And animals like you wouldn’t
believe.” He laughed, eyes still trained on his yard. “That’s
Kendra’s doing, though. Kendra’s his girlfriend. I guess she’s his
fiancée now.”

“
Troy’s on the team?” I
asked. I figured I’d better try to get a handle on the names before
they all converged on me.

He narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you watch the
games?” I shook my head, afraid to tell him my reasoning. But I was
sure he could guess. “Yeah. Troy plays short. And Derrick will be
here. He plays third. A couple of the pitchers and maybe a catcher
or two will be here also.”

“
Oh,” was all I could
manage to say.

“
Aubrey,” he said, voice
in a near whisper. The doorbell rang before he could continue. He
closed his eyes for a second then sprinted off to answer. I leaned
against the rail, staring out at the vast nothingness. If his
friend Troy could find a way to become engaged to his girlfriend
then certainly Jess could figure out a way to date me. But I
wouldn’t push him. I’d just have to win him.

“
I’m glad we’re playing
tomorrow night,” I heard an unfamiliar voice say. I whipped around
and found Jess leading a rather handsome guy, who was holding hands
with a pretty girl, out onto the deck. The girl gasped.

“
Hey, I know you!” She
released the man’s hand and came forward. I stiffened, still not
used to being recognized. And I dreaded hearing that awful S word.
“You’re Aubrey. Jess has told us a lot about you.”

My eyes blinked as rapidly as a
hummingbird’s wings as I looked first at her then at Jess. He
winked as he strolled over to my side. “This is Troy Neal and his
fiancée, Kendra.”

We shook hands and exchanged pleasantries
before Troy and Jess jumped into the finer points of their earlier
game. I knew they'd suffered a loss, even though I hadn't paid much
attention to the game; Jess hadn’t pitched.

“
Do you enjoy being
on
American Star
?” Kendra asked.

I shrugged. “Yeah. It can be fun. Mostly
it’s nerve wracking.”

“
I bet,” she smiled. She
was quiet, like I could be, and I started to thaw in her
presence.

Others began to arrive and Kendra took over
the introductions. A few recognized me from the show and a couple
players remembered me from singing the Anthem. That puzzled me at
first because I was sure tons of people sang the Anthem and after a
while, I was sure the players began to ignore them. Kendra
explained to me Jess’s plot to have everyone vote for me and I
groaned.

“
That’s right.”

Kendra giggled. “For someone in the music
industry, you sure hate attention.”

“
Yeah, I do,” I relented.
“But I love to sing so I guess I’ll have to concede.”

She laughed, her pretty blue eyes sparkling.
I liked her and it freaked me out. I never really had a friend
before, besides Gwen.

She told me about her work with animals
bringing out my long suppressed desire to have a puppy.

“
You should come adopt
one,” she suggested.

“
Yeah, my mom would have a
fit.” She frowned, staring curiously at me. It was the typical
reaction when people found out that I still lived with my mother.
“Long story."

“
Don’t get Aubrey started
on her mother,” Jess warned, bringing me another water bottle. I
was a little surprised. I thought he'd forgotten that I was there.
He took a seat next to me and fumbled under the table for my
hand.

“
And it is a long story.”
He sipped from a beer bottle. I wondered how many he’d had. He
didn’t pitch until Sunday and could probably afford a hangover in
the morning but I hated to think of him in pain.

When the party finally began to wind down, I
was a little sad to see Kendra leave. I was comfortable around her
and had enjoyed her company. We exchanged phone numbers, promising
to keep in touch. She stood on her toes to kiss Jess’s cheek before
linking her hand with Troy’s and disappearing through the French
doors.

As he turned to me, I could see the hunger
in Jesse's gray eyes. My heart shot up my throat and fell back to
my toes. Stepping closer, he took my hand.

“
Are you staying with me
or what?”

“
I should go home,” I
murmured. “I mean to Gwen’s.”

He tugged me closer to his body, kissing my
temple. “Gwen won’t care if you stay here.”

I closed my eyes as his lips trailed down
the side of my face. He was exactly right: Gwen wouldn’t care.
Hell, she’d be extremely happy. And when his lips grazed mine, I
knew I would be, too.

His lips burned my skin as they made their
way over my chin. I lifted my head so he could reach me better and
my resistance began to fade. My hands came alive and gripped his
biceps. His mouth stopped below my ear.

“
So what do you say?” he
asked, his breath warming my skin.

I nodded and felt his smile press against my
jaw. He kissed his way to my mouth as I sighed happily. His lips
massaged mine tenderly, not asking much of me at first. Gradually,
he ran his tongue over my bottom lip and I opened my mouth. My
hands flew up his arms and locked behind his neck. He bent to scoop
me in his arms and twirled me, walking slowly inside the house. His
mouth remained on mine and I had no idea where he was carrying me.
After opening a door, he eased me onto a huge bed. He finally
removed his mouth as he rolled away to flip on a soft lamp. His
eyes smoldered as my heart increased its rhythm. He resumed his
assault on my mouth but I was hardly complaining.

It was when he started tugging on my t-shirt
that I froze. He sensed my unease and stopped, ripping his lips
from mine.

“
What’s the matter?”
Shaking my head, I turned away from the light, the heat in my
cheeks not something I wanted him to see. Sitting up, he ran his
hands through his hair. “Oh geez, Aubrey. Are you still a
virgin?”

“
Hardly,” I snorted, but
still couldn’t face him. I couldn’t believe I was being such a
sissy.

His long finger traced an invisible line
along my jaw where his lips had been just minutes before. “Then why
are you freaking out?”

I whipped my head to him, eyes blazing. “I’m
not freaking out.”

“
Okay, if you’re not
freaking out, then what do you call this?” He waved his arms over
my rigid body. I scooted up the headboard and took a deep breath,
trying to cling to my anger. I didn’t want the tears to make an
appearance.

“
It’s been awhile,” I
finally admitted in a quiet voice. I ducked my head so I wouldn’t
see his mocking eyes.

“
Oh hell,” he muttered.
The bed sank and I chanced a peek out of the corner of my eye. He
was sprawled out next to me, arms behind his head. “I’m probably
far too drunk anyway.”

Well, that answered one question: He did
have too much to drink. I bit my lip and let out a breath.

“
I should go.” As I wasn’t
looking forward to crawling over him, I was going to have to scoot
to the end of the bed.

Before I could get far, he grabbed my arm,
causing me to crash into his chest. “Nah, stay.” He kicked off his
shoes, still holding my arm, and turned on his side, taking me with
him. “We’ll cuddle.”

His mocking smirk broke my resolve as his
eyes fluttered shut. “Come on, keep me company. I won’t do
anything, I promise.”

He was murmuring now and I figured he’d be
out like a light shortly. So I kicked off my shoes. He grinned when
he heard them thump to the floor. Reaching blindly for me, he
hauled me close to his body. His breathing slowed and in a matter
of minutes, the first snore rumbled in his chest. His breath was
heavy in my hair and the beer scent permeated my nose. I closed my
eyes as I burrowed into him. Unconsciously, his arm squeezed me
before going limp again. I smiled through my tears as I drifted off
to sleep beside him.

***

The morning sun prodded me awake and for a
second, I was disoriented. Jess’s heavy arm was still draped over
my waist and his snores still bounced off the walls. I lifted my
head, wincing at his nasty breath, finding his alarm clock. It was
only eight in the morning. I let my head fall back to the pillow as
I contemplated my situation. I could slip out from under his arm
and out of the house without waking him. I could go to Gwen’s
place, shower, and relay the entire evening’s events before going
home. That sounded like a wonderful plan.

Of course I had to look at his sleeping face
looking so boyish and vulnerable. I ached to remain next to him in
such an intimate way. I touched his cheek and he grunted a little,
making me jerk back my hand. When his snores resumed, I touched him
again. Tiny whiskers poked my fingers making me smile. It usually
took Jess awhile to grow facial hair.

I traced his jaw line with my index finger,
fighting the urge to kiss him. It was probably very inappropriate
of me to be touching him this way while he slept but I just
couldn’t help myself.

My heart was gone to him, I realized,
releasing a sigh. I figured it must have been gone to him since
school.

“
What’s the matter?” he
slurred, eyes still closed. His arm tightened over me.

“
Nothing,” I said in a
bright voice. “I was thinking about getting up and heading to
Gwen’s.”

“
Nah,” he said, flipping
to his back. He pulled me on top of him, cracking one eye open.
“Stick around. You can make me breakfast.”

“
Sure,” I said, sarcasm
thick in my tone. He winced as I rolled off of him. He sat up
slowly, rubbing his left shoulder. “Are you okay? Did I hurt
you?”

“
Slept on it wrong,” he
muttered.

Remembering his surgery, I grabbed his
shoulder with my own hands, massaging and kneading his muscles. He
closed his eyes, moaning, his face alternating between a grimace of
pain and a groan of pleasure. “You’re an angel.”

I smiled, grateful his eyes were closed and
couldn’t see it. I continued to work on his tight muscles, hoping
to bring him some relief. “Is it from your surgery?”

Yanking his shoulder from my ministrations,
he scrambled out of bed. “No. I said I slept on it wrong.”

I wanted to chalk his mood change up to a
hangover but the way he ran his hands through his hair made me a
bit skeptical. I crawled off the bed and hunted down my shoes.

“
I’ll make you something
to eat,” I said softly.

“
It’s okay,” he muttered
as he yanked open the bedroom door. “Don’t worry about it. If you
have to get to your sister’s house, I understand.”

He stalked out of the room.

I snatched my shoes and followed, head
spinning. I paused when I reached the living room, cramming my
shoes on my feet. I didn’t see him anywhere but guessed he must
have disappeared into the kitchen. I stood, nibbling my lip, as I
pondered my next move. If he was that dismissive of me then he
certainly wouldn’t want me annoying him in the kitchen.