AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We start off in different directions, Oliver going back inside, while I begin in the direction of home.
Home to Oakley and the possibilities that might be.
Chapter 21
Oakley
The tastes from Alec’s bag o’ delights do little to ease the tension in the air back at the house.
Except, it’s not tension, per se. It’s just that the memories of what happened earlier make it so that I’m not sure where to go from here. I guess there is tension—sexual tension. Do we kiss? Here?
That would be breaking the boundaries we’d set when I moved in, boundaries I didn’t think we’d even need.
Oh, how wrong I was.
Just because the desire’s there doesn’t mean it would be a good idea to kiss Alec Tate. I’m relieved we didn’t let it get that far.
I focus on the food. “These croissants…” I pause, taking another bite and chewing and swallowing, the distinct flair of Swiss cheese tantalizing my senses.
“I know,” Alec says, washing his down with some chocolate milk, something I’ve noticed he always keeps in the house. “Lionel’s been passing along his skills to the new chef Sebastian hired.”
“It’s nice to not have to cook tonight.” I take a bite of carrot—something healthy to offset the decadence.
He grabs a carrot from the bag, too. “How was the personal training this afternoon?” He hesitates. “Before I came by.” And right then, there’s a nonverbal acknowledgement of our kiss—a simmering heat between us.
Sexual tension, here we go again!
I swallow down the immediate desire. We’re at the house. This can’t happen right now. “I had a pretty steady stream of people. And can you believe Juan? What a great kid.”
Alec laughs and waits to chew and swallow before speaking again. “He’s the best. I feel for him.”
“Did you see yourself in him at all? Were you like him when you were in high school?”
Alec twists in the barstool. He clicks his tongue. “Pretty much the exact clone of him. Except for the injury. That came later.”
“But you had the same drive? Same vision?”
“Exact same. And the university scouts coming around, too. I got better at handling the nerves after a while.” He lifts one corner of his mouth.
“I have to say, again, that you really surprised me today."
Alec grunts. “At how lame I can get just to convince a kid to smile?”
“No. Although the lame part was really funny, too.” I give his shoulder a gentle push. Bad idea, because now I just want to keep touching him. To kiss him again.
I clear my throat, put down the carrot, and fold my hands in my lap. “I think what surprised me the most was the advice you gave him. It was really nice.”
Alec sobers. “I’ve learned a lot when it comes to the game of football and having it taken away from me. If I can help him navigate this a little bit, maybe if I save him some of the trouble…I don’t know. I saw him at the training camp a couple of times before his injury. He’s good.” He drains the rest of the chocolate milk. “Who knows what will happen?”
“I got my undergrad in sports psychology, Alec. You told him some good stuff.”
“Okay, it’s official. You’re even more overqualified for this job than I thought.” At the quirk of my smile, he continues. “It was fun to be around him. He’s got a lot of potential.”
“He really does. I hope he continues with the exercises his therapist gave him before,” I say. Something melancholy hits me. “I wish I could keep working with him. I always sort of wondered about examining that aspect of my skillset a bit more, the psychology side. I mean, I was always using it with my clients, of course, but in an understated way. The Wolves had psychologists much more qualified than me.” I shrug. “But still. I’d love it if more kids like Juan came to the resort.”
“You’re good with kids,” Alec says. He’s finished eating now and has slid off the barstool, closer to me.
“I love kids. They’re usually much more open and ready to work than adults. I did a clinical at a children’s rehab unit and loved it. They’re not jaded.”
