She swallows her mouthful of spaghetti before replying, “That you hired him to lower the possibilities of ‘it’ happening again.” She air quotes “it” like she’s afraid to say the word “affair” out loud.
“You think I hired Danny because I’m worried about being cheated on again?”
I scrub pizza sauce from my face with a napkin, no longer hungry, when she shrugs. “It’s understandable. Being deceived really screws people up. You didn’t just have it happen once; by the sounds of it, the two men you know of aren’t the only ones you’re suspicious of.”
“I hired Danny because he is a lifelong friend, not because he’s disinterested in the same body parts as me.” I screw up my napkin and dump it onto my half-eaten plate of food. “I also hated seeing him go through what I had experienced only months before.”
“Danny was cheated on?” She sounds like I just told her her puppy died. Her eyes are welling with moisture, and her cheeks are whitening.
I nod. “Yes, but why is that more concerning to you than hearing my stories of Lillian’s infidelities?”
She smiles, loving the jealousy tainting my tone. Perhaps she is right? Maybe I did hire Danny so I didn’t have to worry about him sniffing around my turf?
“Danny is a sweetheart, but he isn’t you.” Willow waves her hand down my body, which is still embarrassingly outfitted with my team uniform—cleats and all. I was in such a hurry to track Willow down, I didn’t bother getting changed. Thank god my head was screwed on enough to throw on a smelly shirt I found in my gym bag during my drive.
“You handled Lillian’s. . .indiscretion. . .” –that sounded as awkward as you’d expect—“. . .by beating the pulp out of a man before losing yourself in. . .” She taps her sauce-smeared lips with her index finger. “What did you say again. . . ? ‘All the girls I didn’t get to tap.’ So, yeah, Mr. Wave My Dick Around Like It’s A Magic Wand, my heart is pained for Danny. I feel for him so greatly, I wish to nuzzle him into my bosoms so I can wipe away his tears. You. . .” A sudden urgency to protect my nuts hits me when she rakes her eyes down my body, only stopping when she reaches the section of my pants my groin protector is usually guarding. “You don’t get any of my sympathy.”
Although I’m loving her jealousy, I can’t help but defend myself. “She cheated on me. I’m not the one in the wrong here.”
“No, you’re not. What she did was wrong, but your actions since haven’t been any better. You let her play you tonight.”
I attempt to argue, to blame my fumbling hands on the wet conditions, but I can’t. She’s right. I let Lillian fuck with my head so badly, I was seconds from being benched. Until I heard Willow cheering for me, I didn’t think anything would get me out of the dark hole my conversation with Lillian pushed me down.
When I tell Willow that, she cups my jaw with her tiny hands. “Then remember that anytime she riles you up. She arrived tonight to get a reaction out of you—good or bad. You played right into her hand.” She screws up her face as if her next set of words are scorching her throat. “As did I. I shouldn’t have run like I did. I was just. . .”
The scared expression on her face says way more than her words ever could. Just like me, she’s unsure what we are, but unlike me, she’s not yet hellbent on fighting for what she wants. Running is less complicated but nowhere near as effective.
With that in mind, I ask, “Do you have any plans two weeks from Friday?”
Willow peers at me in shock, stunned by the sudden detour in our conversation. It went from being sentimental to being electric in less than a nanosecond.
When she shakes her head, I disclose, “Coach James hosts an annual costume party every year. It’s nothing fancy, just the players’ family and friends all in one spot before the playoffs. I’d love to take you as my date.”
“Date? I doubt Coach would be happy with that.”
Her breathing quickens when I run my finger along her lips, incapable of ignoring her messy mouth for a second longer. It was either wipe it away with my finger or scrub it with my tongue. I went for the one less likely to be filmed by the several phone cameras currently facing us.
Once her mouth is clear of sauce, I sink back into my side of the booth. “If I run it by Coach first? Would you be up for it then?”
She hears more in my tone than I meant to display. “Just a date? The standardpick me up and take me home with the hope of a peck at my doordate?”
I twist my lips. “These things can run late, and Coach James does live around the corner from my condo, so. . .” My words are stolen by her fist landing in my stomach. Her anger is all a ploy; she’s more excited at the prospect of me going to bat for our relationship than anything.
“Ifyou get approval from Coach James, I’ll pick you up. Then, if you play your cards right, I might let you touch my boob during our goodnight kiss.”
She scoots out of our booth, her smile as raging as my heart rate at just the thought of getting a bit of boob action. It’s been three weeks since I’ve felt her up, so I’m more than dying to get reacquainted with her body.
Her lips tickle my earlobe when she leans over to whisper in my ear. “Look at you getting all excited, and I didn’t even mention which part of your body I’m planning to kiss.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Presley
“Surprise!”
My deep gasp almost lodges my toothbrush down my throat. I choke on a mountain-load of minty spit, my near death adding to the humorous image confronting me.
While gesturing for Willow to enter the foyer of my condo, I talk around my toothbrush. “What the hell are you wearing?”
