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“Fuck A.J.,” I say with absolutely no venom in my voice because it makes her smile.
“He’s been my leading man since he was drafted to the Mavs four years ago.”
“Ah, there’s the difference.”
“The difference in what?” she asks, confused.
“He’s just your leading man. I’m more than that.”
“Oh, yeah, and what exactly does ‘more’ stand for?” She’s joking. This is what we do, but things are about to get real.
I lean in close. Her eyes are dancing with humor, I’m sure ready to laugh at whatever it is she thinks I might be ready to say. I put joking aside and give her the real. “I want to be more than just your leading man, Emma. I want to be your everything.” She sucks in a breath, her eyes locked on mine so I keep going. “I want to be your leading man, your favorite quarterback, your shoulder to cry on, the first person you call when you’ve had a good or bad day. I want to be your cuddle buddy. I want to be the man to give you all of life’s pleasures.” Her eyes heat and my cock twitches. “And I want to be there for all the pain too. Everything, Emma. I want everything.”
“You folks ready to order?” Harvey asks from beside me.
“What are you getting, Em?” Aubrey asks from her spot across the table. She has no idea we just had a moment.
“Uh, Landon, whatever you got me last time is fine,” she says softly.
“This the girl you made stay in the car?” Harvey jokes.
“I didn’t want you to steal my girl, old man,” I tease. “Harvey, this is my Emma. Emma, this is Harvey, the man who makes this place happen for us.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Emma smiles at him.
“A cheeseburger deluxe and fries, and the same for me. Add a burger,” I tell him. He nods as he scratches down our order. “Oh, and add two waters to that.” I look over at Emma. “I know you like water with your meals.” It’s something that I’ve picked up on. No matter where we are, she always has to have water when she’s eating.
“You caught that, did you?” she asks. The playfulness is back in her voice, but the look in her eyes tells me that she’s still reeling from my speech just a few moments ago.
I wink at her and her cheeks turn just the slightest shade of pink. I’m bringing my A game, Emma Deaton. I hope you’re ready.
Chapter 13
Emma
I don’t know what’s happening. I have what feels like a thousand butterflies fluttering around in my stomach, and then there’s the ache between my thighs. Both feelings caused by one Landon Barker. He’s sitting in his chair sipping his beer as if he didn’t just tilt my world on its axis. He’s not the least bit affected by his confession.
Lucky Bastard.
He doesn’t have to sit here with our combined friends and pretend he’s not swooning over a speech I just made, or that he wants to tear my clothes from my body. He’s lucky all right, because I want to do just that. It’s wrong. We’re friends. But the way he looks at me… I can’t seem to be able to control it.
“Excuse me,” I say, standing. Our food should arrive soon, and I need a minute. Just a few hundred seconds of time to get myself in check. I need to regroup.
“You okay?” he asks, reaching out for me. His hand lands on my arm, and I have to shift my stance and rub my legs together to dull the ache he’s causing inside me.
“Yeah, just need to run to the restroom.”
“The hallway by the bar. It’s private, just for this section of the bar, so no worries about lines or fans.”
“Like fans are going to worry about little ole me,” I say teasingly, trying to get us back to the fun, flirty banter that I’ve learned to handle and it’s what I expect between us. Something passes in his eyes, but he doesn’t comment.
“I’ll come with.” Aubrey stands and even though I needed some time to myself, I’m grateful. Maybe she can shed some light on what this is? Maybe I’m just reading too much into all of this.
I don’t wait for her as I make my way down the hall. Pushing open the women’s bathroom door, I’m surprised to find it sparkling clean, and sigh in relief as I slump against the sink, trying to catch my breath.
Why am I breathless?
“Woah,” Aubrey says, coming into the bathroom. “What was that?” She fans herself with her hands as if she’s burning up.
“What?” I play dumb, but even I can hear it in my voice that I know exactly what she’s talking about.
“Did you hear him? He called you his Emma!”
I nod. “Caught that, did you?”
