Underneath It All (Storm Series) (23 page)

“You should have some protein for breakfast too.”

“Yes, Mr. Professional Athlete, though I will point out that I, in fact, am not someone who relies on my physical fitness.”

“With fifteen kindergarteners you’d think you’d have to.”

They each gathered their food and sat at his small table. Rob had one of those count
er-height tables and she felt silly sitting with her feet swinging like a five-year-old. “I wish I was taller.”

His face scrunched in confusion, Rob asked, “Why?”

“This table makes me feel even shorter than I am.”

“You’re the perfect height in my book.” Rob
tilted his head to the side. “How much trouble would I get myself into if I offered to pay for the ingredients you used for the cookies?”

She sighed.
“I’m starting to get the feeling you won’t lay off this topic, so if you want to give me some money, sure. I just don’t want to fight.”

Truthfully, she’d spent a lot on the cookies and could us
e the cash, but she hated Rob acting as her personal ATM machine. Especially with the holidays coming and her shopping not done, she needed to face reality and be grateful for his offer.

“I don’t either, but consider it another donation for the kids.”

“Even though two-thirds of those cookies went to your teammates?”

“Like I said, a donation to the kids.”
Rising, he grabbed his wallet from the kitchen counter. “Again, so I don’t insult you, give me a figure. But if you say something like ten dollars, I’m not liable for how I’ll force the truth out of you.”

She could only imagine. “The ingredients cost around eighty dollars.”

“Does that include the container thingies?”

“Yes, I bought them at the same time.”

Reaching into his wallet, he fished out four twenties and handed them to her. “I know you value your independence, and believe me, I can appreciate that. But I really wish, if you’re going to do stuff like make a bazillion cookies for my teammates, that you tell me so I can either help or pay for them at the very least. And if it’s for your students, I want to know too. Will you promise me that? I refuse to have my girlfriend struggling because of the generosity of her heart. This isn’t about control. I care about you and your welfare, which you have a nasty habit of putting behind everybody else’s.”

Her heart lurched and her throat tightened. Parents and other staff sometimes talked about how nice she was, but Rob was the only man, hell, the only
person
, who had not only recognized her above-and-beyond efforts, but insisted on making sure she wasn’t acting at the expense of her own good.

After swallowing thickly, Alaina cleared her throat.
“Okay. I’ll keep you in the loop more. You’ve just been…distracted lately. I haven’t wanted to pry, but—”

“You’re going to now?” He raised an eyebrow
, and she shrugged. “I’m just having a little trouble with the whole being injured thing. This is the first time in my career that I’ve missed more than a handful of games. I feel disconnected from the team. I dunno how else to explain the feeling.”

“You don’t have to,” she told him, running her fingers through his hair. “I can’t even imagine being in your position.
Of course you’re experiencing some issues with depression.”

“Yes, Miss Alaina.”

“Sounded like a teacher again, I know.”

“Thanks for your concern. I’ll be okay. My rehab is coming along well
, and I’m hoping, maybe, I can play in early February.”

“That soon?
I thought you said you wouldn’t play ‘til late February at the earliest.”

“I’ve been working hard.”

“Oh, Rob, I hope you’re right, for your sake.” Hopping off the chair, she put her arms around his neck. “I’m really proud of you.”

“Thanks
, babe.” He kissed her briefly, and then they began to eat again.

After they finished the dishes
, she said, “I have a few hours before I need to go write lesson plans. What do you want to do?”

“Well, I had an idea.”
Rob was squirming like one of her kids when they had to go potty, but she was pretty sure that wasn’t the case now.

His expression was serious, though, and her eyes narrowed.
“Okayyyy.”

“The Storm is playing tonight. It’s the first night that the kids who were picked to go see a game as part of the reading program will be
in the box Seb and I bought. The box itself is full, but if you wanted to go say hi to them and then watch the game from the press box, we could do that. No pressure, of course. I just, um, thought you might find watching from the press box a unique experience.”

“I can do that? Do I need a ticket?”

“Nope. Stick with me, kid.”

“Oh
, that sounds so
cool
! I’d love to do that.”

“Then we will.”

Alaina went home shortly after the conversation to tally up the supplies she’d need for the upcoming week as well as make sure her lesson plans were complete. Once those tasks were done, she only had time for a couple of errands before Rob picked her up for the game. He’d told her injured players were all different—some came to every game even if they didn’t play, others stayed away. He tended to stay away since watching helplessly as the team played grated on him.

She wondered if that strategy was flawed on his part, though, if he was feeling so down. Maybe being around the guys more would help with that, but it wasn’t her place to tell him how to deal with his situation. But given what he’d said about distancing himself,
Rob was obviously doing this for her benefit, and she lost another piece of her heart to the man.

The game was fun, and seeing the smiles on the tiny faces of the kids who’d won the suite for the night was indescribable. Since Rick had been scratched, he hung out with them too. She learned that the team’s enforcer wasn’t always deemed necessary so Rick only played about half of the games.

The rest of the weekend passed by in a blur
, and all too soon, Alaina found herself in her classroom on Monday morning, distributing safety scissors and scraps of wallpaper for the kids to cut up and glue onto card stock for holiday cards for their families.

The
day, as usual, flew by, and once the kids had gone and she’d cleaned up the room, she checked her phone. She had a text from Rob.

Rob:
Got clearance to start some really light skating again. Way earlier than I thought.

She smiled, picturing the look on Rob’s face when he’d been given that piece of news.

Alaina:
Awesome, that should help you get back into game shape, right? You’re doing great! Keep working hard.

Alaina walked
out of the school and climbed into her car. The heater had barely kicked in by the time she got home, and she sighed. About the last thing she needed right now was an expensive car repair, but she’d turn into an icicle if the heater got any worse.

She ate lunch then went grocery shopping. One advantage of not working in the afternoons was being free to do things like attend doctor’s appointments and shop when
the places were less busy. When she got home, she first started a chicken dish in the Crock-pot on high so dinner would be ready around seven and then finally sat down.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she dug
it out.

Rob:
What’re you doing for dinner?

Laughing, Alaina shook her head. Rob was a typical man
—always concerned when and where his next meal was coming from.

Alaina:
Put stuff for chicken Marsala in the Crock-pot. Want to do dinner? I’ll have plenty.

S
he picked up the remote from the coffee table and flipped on the TV. She felt out of touch with the world. She and Rob weren’t spending every moment together, but between him and her school stuff, she hadn’t caught up on the news for a while.

Rob:
I’d love to, if you’re sure it won’t be any trouble for you. I’ll bring wine.

The notion Rob was trying to get her drunk
was more comical than anything. She was sure no ulterior motive existed behind his offer. He wasn’t like that. Grinning, Alaina typed,
Wine is good, but I’ll only have one glass. I have class tomorrow, and trust me, you do NOT want to deal with kindergarteners through a hangover.

Alaina shudder
ed. Dealing with them when she had a cold was bad enough. A hangover would be hell.

Rob:
I can imagine. Is six okay? If not, send me a text. I’m gonna catch a quick nap. Later, baby.

A nap sounded glorious. Her sleep schedule, despite getting so much Friday night, got more off-kilter every time she spent the night with Rob. Alaina looked at the pile of mail she needed to go through and the stack of bills to be paid, trying to determine if the guilt from not taking care of them would outweigh the benefits of a nap. She compromised and slept on the couch for an hour
. When Alaina woke later, her stomach was already growling from the delicious smells emanating from the Crock-pot as it did its job.

Speaking of jobs
…from the six-inch stack of mail on her kitchen table to the various other things strewn throughout her apartment, it was obvious she hadn’t given housekeeping much thought lately.
Wow, this place needs a clean-up.

She was carrying the recyclables to the dumpster when Rob pulled up in his giant truck.
Parallel parking that thing must be a bitch.
He got out and said, “Hey. I’d help, but doing that stuff one-handed isn’t exactly easy.”

“That’s all right.
I can handle these.”

They walked back to her apartment together then shed
their coats. Rob asked, “Do you want to open the wine now or wait for dinner?”

“I really need to limit
my drinking to one glass, and if I start now…”

He shrugged. “No biggie. I’ll throw
the bottle in the fridge. The chicken smells great.”

“
Should be done in another hour or so. I hope that’s okay.”

“
Not like I’ve got some exciting plans for the night lined up after here. I’m yours, honey.” He paused then said, “Speaking of that, I believe you owe me something.”

“What’s that?”

“A kiss, of course. Do I have to keep reminding you? It’s starting to wear on my ego.”

Alaina laughed. “
Yes, I can see. So insecure you are. Let me wash my hands and you’ll get one.”

Rob stowed the wine and grabbed two bottles of water out of the fridge while she took care of cleaning her hands.
They met in the middle of her small galley kitchen and he dropped the bottles on the counter before crooking his finger. “Give your man some sugar.”

“Sugar? Oh, Lord…”

Rob encircled her waist with his thick arm, and when he leaned in to kiss her, Alaina wound her arms around his neck, still being careful of his injured shoulder. Rob dove into the kiss with gusto and her body melded with his like two puzzle pieces fitting together.

He broke away and asked, “How long did you say dinner was gonna take?”

“An hour.”

“Let’s go. I need you.”

“You always say that,” she teased.

From in front of her, he said, “That’s because
I always need you.”

S
he helped Rob undress before removing her clothes. After Alaina had climbed on top, Rob pulled her breast to his mouth, using flicking motions of his tongue on her nipple to drive her crazy. He was already fully aroused, but wasn’t hurrying.

“Feels good.”

“Mmm, yeah,” he agreed, letting that breast go and capturing the other. Lying down more fully, she took hold of him, and he let out a strangled cry. “Better not. It’ll be all over if you do. I’ve been thinking about this all day.”

“All day, huh? Is that why you asked to see me?”

She’d meant it as a joke, but Rob dropped his head to the pillow and asked, his expression serious, “You don’t think I only want you for sex, do you?”

Caressing his face, she said, “No, honey. I wasn’t being serious.”

“Good, because this is way more than that. I don’t know exactly how to define us, but just sex? No way. I do want your bodacious bod all the time though.” He smiled, and she ran her fingertip along his bottom lip.

“I know that. I feel the same way. We don’t need to define
anything right now.”

“And time’s going by. Dinner will be ready soon.”

Alaina chuckled. “Hard to overdo something in a Crock-pot.”

“Good. Then I don’t need to rush.”

A while later
, after they’d thoroughly explored each other’s bodies and Alaina couldn’t help the “cat that ate the canary” expression she knew was on her face, she said, “Well I’m pretty hungry now. How about you?”