Playing the Game (7 page)

“
I’m glad you came,
sweetheart. Hungry? I was thinking about ordering a
pizza.”

Once again, he didn’t wait for my answer –
instead he picked up his phone and hit a speed dial number. He kept
his eyes on me as he ordered, making sure to include every topping
he knew I hated.

“
One more thing,” he said
with a slight smile. “I need a small with pepperoni, ham, bacon,
and pineapple.” He winked at me as he listened before he gave his
address and hung up the phone.

“
I’m surprised you
remembered what I like on my pizza,” I said, trying to slip as much
sarcasm into my voice as possible. I failed. My tone was more
awe.

“
I haven’t forgotten a
single thing about you, Aubrey Rose,” he said. I believed him. He
took me by the shoulders and yanked me to his hard body. Dipping
his head, he captured my lips in a warm kiss. I was shocked, at
first, but it wore off quickly as I responded. He smiled against my
mouth before planting one last, lingering kiss on my lips. “Just
like I remember – sweet yet with a hint of anger.”

“
You sound like you’re
describing a bottle of wine,” I said, catching my
breath.

His hands slipped from my shoulders to my
waist and tightened. He kissed me softly on the cheek but his eyes
were pure fire. My blood bubbled as my eyes grew. Bolts of want and
lust shot through the bottom of my stomach, forcing heat to my
cheeks. He crushed his lips to mine again and I grabbed his
shoulders to steady my failing legs. My hands worked up his neck
and wound in his hair. Sighing, I melted into him, following his
lead. He chuckled a little and I took that moment to suck in air.
His mouth closed over mine again and my mind went pleasantly numb.
He broke the kiss after a few more minutes, wiping the corners of
his mouth.

“
You do things to me,
Aubrey, that no other woman can.” His declaration took me by
surprise. I had no idea what he meant – whether it was good or bad
– and I had no intention of asking. “Have a seat and I’ll get you
something to drink.”

I agreed. I needed a little space between us
before I melted.

He placed a water bottle in front of me and
took a seat, beer in hand.

“
Thanks,” I managed to
mutter. My head, although still spinning, was starting to slow like
a carousel at the end of a ride. Anger percolated again. What the
hell was my problem? He told me he didn’t want me yet he kisses me
senseless every time I’m near him. And I
let
him!

“
Jess, you need to stop
kissing me like that,” I said in as firm a tone as I could
muster.

He cocked his head. “Wasn’t it good for
you?”

“
That’s beside the point,”
I said, turning my eyes slightly away and hoping to hide my blush.
“You don’t like me that way. You said so.”

“
Nah, Aubrey, you’re sadly
mistaken.” He leaned on the table encroaching on my personal space.
“I never said I didn’t like you. I do happen to like you. That
way.” He winked. “I just don’t wear my heart on my sleeve like you
do.”

“
But why…?”

“
I said I couldn’t
date
you. It’s not
fair.” He unwrapped one of my hands from my water bottle and twined
his fingers with mine. “I haven’t decided what to do with you
yet.”

“
I am not a stray puppy
you found on the side of the road,” I pouted, a little outraged
still.

He laughed. “You sound like Kendra. No
wonder you two got along.”

I ducked my head and admired the complicated
grain of his beautiful kitchen table. Anger intermingled with hurt.
Was he pushing me away or telling me he wanted to give us a try? I
definitely wasn’t going to ask. I was too afraid of what his answer
would be.

“
Aubrey,” he groaned. I
peered at him through my lashes. His hold on my hand tightened. “I
explained this to you.” He released my hand and grabbed my chin,
forcing me to look at him. “Yes, Aubrey, I have feelings for you –
always have. But do you possibly think things between us would
work?”

“
How do you know they
wouldn’t?” I asked, anger resurfacing.

He let go of my chin and sat back in his
chair. “I don’t.” He stared into my eyes and I didn’t flinch. I
could do this. I could stand up to him. But his gaze didn’t waver
and my eyes began to water.

When the doorbell rang, Jess grinned.
“Pizza.”

He leapt gleefully from the chair and
sprinted off to answer the door. With a hopeless sigh, I heaved my
body from my seat. I opened cabinets until I found plates as he
dropped the pizzas on the table. Lifting the lid of the top box, he
inhaled deeply, eyes closed. His groan was orgasmic and it made
those sparks of desire fire up in my gut.

“
Use a plate,” I ordered,
aiming my concentration on his bad table manners and not on his
sexy face.

“
Yes, dear,” he said in a
wicked tone. He took a plate from my hand and crammed three slices
of his disgusting pizza on it. “Sorry. I have no manners.” He set
his plate down and moved his pizza to the side. He opened the other
box, selected two slices, and placed them on my plate.
“Better?”

“
Sure,” I mumbled.
“Thanks.”

“
Not a problem,
sweetheart
,” he said,
impish glint in his eyes. He devoured three quarters of his pizza
while I nibbled on the two slices in front of me. Usually, I had a
healthy appetite. Well, for the most part, anyway. But my nerves
had my stomach jumping more than an ice cube in a blender and I was
afraid anything I ate would come right back up. I couldn’t deal
with that.

I took the opportunity to study him while he
ate. I’d nearly forgotten my reason for coming to see him. He
didn’t seem in the least concerned about his shoulder and didn't
appear to be in any discomfort. But I knew Jess. I scrutinized him
closer. A little pain was etched around his eyes and it touched my
heart. I couldn’t mention it outright, however, so I held it in for
now. I needed a chance to figure it out before I proceeded.

After we ate, I decided I needed to get
home. Jess walked me to the door without argument. He kissed me
again, taking me by surprise.

“
We’ll play it by ear,” he
muttered against my lips. I smiled against his in response and it
took the entire ride home to get my heart under any kind of
control.

As I tossed and turned in my bed that night,
my poor brain nearly suffered a meltdown trying to analyze the
complicated entity known as Jess Rivers.

Chapter Six

My jubilant mood lasted until Monday night.
I tried not to sit by the phone – well, figuratively since I
carried my cell everywhere – waiting for Jess to call.
Disappointment shrouded me like a low hanging cloud when I
reluctantly climbed into bed. They were still in town - the
schedule I had saved on my computer declared they were playing
Springfield Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and would travel
Thursday to Cincinnati for a three game series next weekend. All I
had to do was call him but I was tired of … well… wearing my heart
on my sleeve like he said I was doing. If he'd meant what he said
about still having feelings for me and about playing it by ear, he
could call me.

I called Gwen Tuesday morning, ready to
vent, but she was distracted and asked if we could talk later. I
agreed, very disappointed, but a little worried. Gwen always made
time for me. I would call her later and hopefully I could get some
answers out of her. And not only about Jess.

I worked with my mother longer than
necessary Tuesday which pleased her. She had me try on outfit after
outfit for Wednesday’s show. They all began to look the same and
even though she asked my opinion, I had a feeling it wouldn’t
matter.

Samantha and her tight group were their
usual irritating selves when I arrived at the studio Wednesday
morning. I was pretty irritable myself since I hadn’t heard a peep
from Jess. I'd complained rather loudly to Gwen Tuesday night but
she merely nodded, totally subdued. She'd uncharacteristically
agreed with each of my rants and hadn't offered a single theory or
solution. It had annoyed me, yes, but it worried me even more. I'd
wanted to ask what was going on with her – the words were on my
lips- but I'd forced them back instead. I figured she’d tell me if
she wanted me to know.

Grabbing my sweats and t-shirt from my
locker, I headed to the stage. We had to do a group number for that
evening’s show which meant I had to cooperate with Samantha. We
were positioned next to each other and she did her best to thwart
me. She sang louder than me, doing her best to outshine me. I
rolled my eyes; I’d seen it before. I let her continue and
concentrated only on myself. I hoped that my strategy would pay off
and later tonight, the judges would notice, counting it against her
instead of me.

And it worked. Richard and Marissa weren’t
the only ones to notice Samantha's behavior. Only sweet Chelsea
didn’t mention it. Samantha hit the stage for her solo performance
before me and when she had to face the judges, they berated her.
She fumed when she passed me in the hall backstage, brushing
roughly against me. Holding in my laughter, I composed myself as I
stepped out onto the stage. I chatted politely with the host before
he walked away, allowing me to do my thing.

After my argument with my
mother, I'd managed to choose my own music. I'd decided to make a
smooth transition and do Sheryl Crow’s version of
Landslide.
It went over
well with the judges though Richard and Marissa still mentioned my
stiffness.

“
You’re not having fun,”
Marissa complained. “Don’t you want to be here?”

“
Yes,” I whispered, trying
to digest her words without the aid of an antacid.

I fled backstage with my tail between my
legs. I hoped their attitudes would change tomorrow for the results
show or else I’d be back to square one with my mother.

Driving home, silence reigned.

She’s pondering the best
way to use this to her advantage
, I
thought. I couldn’t wait to hear what she’d come up with
later.

As I lay on my bed that night, staring
blindly at my television, Jess finally called. My heart went into
overdrive as I scrambled to answer.

“
I have to agree with the
judges, Aubrey,” he said, not even greeting me. “What the hell is
the problem?”

“
Hello, Jess,” I groaned.
“Nice to talk to you, too.”

“
I know you can do better.
Hell, I’ve heard you sing before. I think the bitchy woman has a
point. What, are you
trying
to lose?” His voice was high and tight. And
confusing me. Since when did he care?

“
No, I don’t want to lose.
Maybe I had an off night,” I said.

“
Bullshit, Aubrey. You
haven’t been yourself the entire season.”

My head spun. His words clumped in the front
of my brain, making me wince. “I’ll be fine,” I whispered, at a
loss for words. “Did you have any other reason for calling?”

“
I’m leaving in the
morning and won’t be back for about a week. I thought you might
like to get together.”

A frustrated groan escaped my lips. “Are you
serious? It’s late.”

“
Why wouldn’t I
be?”

“
I haven’t heard from you
in days and all of a sudden you want to see me?” He grew silent and
I grew triumphant.
Stew on
that
, I thought.

“
We’ve both been busy,” he
said in a dangerously low voice. “But if you don’t want to see me,
fine.”

And I thought I was winning this latest
conversation. How did he always manage to do this to me?

“
Where do you want to
meet?” I asked, defeated. Tears were burning my eyes and I hadn’t a
clue why.

“
Come over,” he ordered,
sending brain into plan mode. What would I tell my
mother?

“
I’ll be there in a few.”
I actually hung up before him this time.

My mother barely raised a brow when I
announced I was going out for awhile. It was far too easy an escape
but I would deal with it later. My longing to see Jess was too
great.

***

He opened the door as soon as I set foot on
his porch and he yanked me inside. Before I knew what was
happening, I was in his arms and his lips were pressed firmly to
mine. I had to pull away for oxygen and to give my heart a chance
to settle.

Taking my hand, he led me to the living
room. My eyes took in the rich, masculine décor as I settled on the
leather sofa. The room was painted dark beige with several prints
from local artists adorning the walls. A huge bay window faced the
road.

“
Nice place, Jess,” I
said. He nodded, his eyes on me.

When he tenderly brushed a strand of hair
out of my face, a jolt of worry shot through my heart. Jess wasn’t
usually so gentle.

“
Thanks for coming,
Aubrey.” His voice was husky

I squeezed his hand in mine. “Jess, what is
the matter?” Panic ripped at my stomach and rippled throughout my
body.

He chuckled. “Nothing. I guess I just got a
little attached to you.”

I narrowed my eyes at him and he did the
same. His gray eyes smoldered and my worry ebbed away. Panic was
quickly replaced with excitement. Leaning in, he captured my lips
with his own - a little softer this time. My hands traveled up his
chest, reuniting behind his neck. He held me carefully, not
pressing for more, making the worry return. I broke the kiss to
look into his eyes.