Blitzed (Rules of Possession Book 3), page 22
I paused to let the insanity of that sink in for a moment, picturing an American Ninja Warrior-type course…but for rodents. I blinked away images of Jesse encouraging Shortcake to beat that wall as she stared at him unblinkingly. “I’m not sure I know where to go with that.”
“Be nice and I’ll let Moon Pie use it, too,” he said.
I was too intrigued to say no. My rabbit was going to fucking crush that course. “I’m not sure what the protocol is for dealing with someone who’s lost his mind in its entirety. Any advice?”
“Is there something I can help you with?” He demanded. “I’ve got a rabbit to appease.”
“Yes, I just got news and I wanted to share with someone sane…but you’ll do. I got cleared to play.”
He sucked in a breath. “That’s fucking amazing!” When I didn’t respond to his enthusiasm, he paused. “Isn’t it?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“You don’t sound all that jazzed about it.”
“It’s hard to know how I feel right now,” I said, automatically moving to the side as I heard the door open at the end of the hall.
Buck, one of the trainers, came down the hall, closely followed by our halfback, Xavier, who’d been sidelined last week. We exchanged nods as X continued to mount his case for not needing a brace. I shook my head as they disappeared around the corner. Whatever they paid the trainers to deal with us was not enough.
A buzzing noise on Jesse’s end made me jump. “Don’t use that saw. You don’t know how.”
“I was just seeing if the battery was charged,” he said with a huff. “Now back to you. Tell me how you’re feeling.”
I didn’t point out that he didn’t need to know if the battery was charged if he wasn’t going to use it. I hoped he knew how to give a good hand job with four fingers.
“I’m glad to play, of course. But what if I get injured again? Next time could be even worse. What if I’ve lost my mojo completely, and I can’t perform like I used to? What if—”
“You stop looking for trouble and just enjoy the fruits of your labor?” The gentle tone of his voice took the sting out of his words, and I was able to appreciate the sentiment for the sound advice it was. “This is what you worked hard for. We can’t control every variable on the field. You never could. If you didn’t want to play again, you wouldn’t have been conditioning so fucking hard.”
“I would’ve still rehabbed my knee.”
“Not by doing seven miles a day on a HydroWorx,” he said exasperatedly because I knew that and he knew I knew that. “Now it’s time for all that hard work to pay off.”
“I’m not sure I’m where I need to be.”
“Well, the team doctor is. Your physical therapist is. You trust Reggie, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“And Blue. You said you’d never trained harder or gotten better results.”
I was briefly taken aback that he listened to me and remembered all the shit that came out of my mouth. “I will never admit it to him, but yeah. Best fucking trainer I’ve ever had.”
“And your coach may be a gruff bastard, but you know he loves to win. He wouldn’t put you in if he didn’t think you were the guy for the job.” He paused to let all of that sink in. “So. Do the job.”
I chuckled inwardly. He really shouldn’t be able to shore me up like this so easily. It was embarrassing. “Then I guess I’m going to do the job.”
“Well, thank fuck for that. I’ve got money on this game, Allstate.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “You should celebrate.”
“I’m planning on it.” But maybe not in the way he seemed to be indicating. There was only one type of celebration I was interested in and only one person I wanted to share it with. “I’m going to be out of here in a couple of hours or so. You should come over. I can pick up some dinner and we can make a night of it.”
“Come over.” He paused. “To your place?”
I didn’t know which I liked less, his pause or the cautious tone. “No, to my treehouse. Wear sneakers, the ladder gets pretty slippery.”
“No need to get snippy.”
“Oh, was I snippy? I wasn’t aware. You acting like I have the bubonic plague is really giving me the warm and fuzzies.”
“I just…I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
He hesitated. “You know why.”
And just like that my good mood disappeared. Of course I remembered what he’d said about ending things once I started playing again. I’d hoped that he forgot that little detail. Or changed his mind. Was he really willing to walk away from our connection just like that?
Maybe the connection was more one-sided than I thought.
“What exactly is your deal?”
“There’s no deal,” he said cautiously. “I just want us both to remember what this is. Was.”
I hadn’t minded that bullshit deal…in the beginning. But that was before. Before we’d talked well into the night, emboldened by the dark. Before I’d shown up with lunch and we’d had an impromptu picnic in the parking lot. Before I’d fallen asleep with him wrapped in my arms, limbs entangled so much that it was hard to tell where I ended and he began.
I felt cooked to stick a fork in me doneness. “You know what? You’re right.”
He sighed. “Don’t be mad at me.”
“I’m not.”
Lie. And we both fucking knew it. It was okay that he was scared. It was okay that he was cautious about acknowledging whatever had developed between us when we both weren’t looking. It wasn’t okay for me to do all the pushing and him to do all the pulling away.
“AJ—”
“No big deal, right?” I forced an even and breezy tone. “We’ll do it another time, okay?”
I hung up and headed to the workout room.
He didn’t call back.
Blue didn’t comment on my mood as we trained. Instead, he ran me through drills like he didn’t care about my life. Then he put my ass up on the treadmill, ‘cause that’s what you do when you’re a fucking sadist with a whistle. Maybe he had issues of his own to contend with. He kept checking his phone, which was unusual. When it came to training, Blue’s focus was a scary thing.
As if to buttress my thought, he reached over and pushed a few buttons on my machine. My incline changed to something a mountain goat would love. Instead of bitching as I usually did, I just adjusted my stride. The burn felt good. Great, even.
“Everything okay?” Blue had clearly expected some complaining. “You’re running like you can physically outpace your troubles.”
“I didn’t know therapy was included in my workouts.”
“Your workout sesh is whatever I say it is.”
“Sesh?” I used my shoulder to wipe sweat out of my eyes and sent him a look of dismay. “Don’t be that guy.”
He chuckled. “You’re sure there’s nothing I can help you with?”
Let’s see. You could’ve been just a skosh less talented. That way, our fans won’t string me up by my thumbs if we don’t make it to the playoffs. Two years without a championship had made the public testy. That was before the injury that sidelined me for three games last season and half of this one. They were probably stocking up on rope already.
“Nope,” I finally said.
I could feel his gaze on the side of my face as I ran. “How’re things at the center?”
“How is dislodging your nose from my business?”
He opened his mouth again—probably to continue his quest as nosiest Nelly—and his phone vibrated. He frowned as he scrolled and I wondered yet again what was so distracting to him today. I wasn’t sure I cared. It couldn’t be that hard being Blue Montgomery. Being ridiculously attractive, rich, and married to your soul mate must be a real horror.
I winced. That wasn’t entirely fair though, was it? He’d had some hard decisions to make to get his happily-ever-after and it hadn’t been easy. I had first-hand knowledge of everything he’d gone through in the locker room. The GM may be having a stroke session about how fair he’d been, but there was a lot of shit that had gone on that we didn’t talk about.
Social media had been particularly brutal. For every supporter he had, there was one that was ready to drag him, watch him stand up, kick the back of his knees, and drag his ass again. He’d handled all of the pressure and negativity with his usual Blue affability, so steady and likable that even the assholes had to question their own behavior. It was a hell of a time to admit how much I liked and admired him.
What an annoying fucker.
When he checked his phone yet again, I scowled. “What’s up with you and the texting shit today? You gonna tell me or should I just beat it out of you?”
He raised an eyebrow and drawled, “You know, I think I’d really love to see that.”
“I could do it,” I said confidently, even as he waved me off, and I was able to get a glimpse at the pic on his phone. “Who’re the kids?”
“None of your business.”
“You know what? You’re right. I am being too nosy. I should let it go.” I pretended to think for a moment and then I picked my phone up out of the treadmill cup holder. “Or maybe I should just go straight to the source and ask Kelly.”
Blue snatched my phone before I even got the screen open. Fuck, I’d forgotten how fast that fucker could move. “You’ll do no such thing.”
I gaped at him. “The fuck is wrong with you?”
He looked a little flushed as he gripped my phone. I just bought that thing. If he cracked the screen, I was going to crack his skull. “Nothing,” he finally said.
“I was just messing with you. I’m not going to ask Kelly shit. Now gimme back my fucking phone.” As he continued to stare suspiciously at me, I wriggled my fingers. “Now would be good.”
He slowly handed it back to me, and I treated him to a cool stare. The thing I’d had with Kelly might’ve been casual, but I liked him. And even I’d rather have my toenails yanked out than admit it, I loved their love. It gave me hope. I would hate to fuck up Blue’s pretty face because he took away that hope.
“If you’re doing some double life bullshit with some chick and her kids, you need to cut it out now,” I said seriously.
“What?” His head jerked back as he stared at me. “Are you crazy?”
“If you’re not fucking their mom, then who are those kids?”
“No one. Jesus fuck, you’re more annoying than usual today.” I stared at him until he blew out a breath. “Okay, this goes no further than us, yeah?”
“Okay,” I said slowly.
He pulled up the picture with a few taps on his phone and turned the screen around. I blinked at the little boy and girl clad in mismatched swimwear, cheesing at the camera on the beach. They both had dark hair, big blue eyes, and missing front teeth. Twins, if I had to guess. They were cute if you liked that kind of thing.
I didn’t. They looked like grubby fingerprints and spills on my glass coffee table and toys all over my pristine, dove gray carpet.
“Well?” He asked earnestly, as I looked at him, mute. “What do you think?”
“I think I already have a rabbit I don’t want.”
He scowled, snatching back his phone. “Not for you, idiot. And who the hell trusted you to take care of something living?”
“For your information, Moon Pie is very happy. And Jesse has complete confidence in my….” My eyes widened as I refocused on the important part of what he’d said. “Wait, you and Kelly are thinking about adopting?”
“Well, yeah. I guess.”
“You guess?” My eyes got even bigger. “Isn’t that something you should…know?”
He raked a hand through his blond hair, looking a little frazzled. “I mean, I mentioned it before and he didn’t say no. Of course, he didn’t say yes, either. Back then, I didn’t have these two in mind. I saw them on this adoption website and…I don’t know. It’s not like I’ve even met them.”
“But you want them.”
“I follow their updates on the website now and again.” From the sheepish look on his face, I’d say it was a lot more than now and again. “Well, anyway, I saw them and I just knew…they belong to us.”
“What did Kelly say?”
“I didn’t mention it.”
I nodded as if that made perfect sense. “Ah. You’re just going to bring them home like groceries, then. Here are the apples, eggs, Cheetos, and oh yeah, two kids.”
He huffed. “Of course I’m going to talk to him about it, I just….”
“What?”
He looked down at the picture for a few seconds, and there was something in his eyes that was hard to describe. I usually only got friendly rivalry Blue when he was trying to motivate me. Or cold Blue when he wanted to try to kick my ass—emphasis on try. But this…there was something warm and gentle in his gaze. It was the kind of look he usually only directed at Kelly.
“I want them to be part of our family,” he said. “And I don’t want him to say no. Because if he does, then that’s it.”
I got it. If Kelly said no, then the kids in the picture just became strangers again and not part of his future. “Talk to him,” I suggested gently.
“I will,” he finally said. “And I think we’re about done in here. You can do a couple of laps in your pool, but no more pushing your knee tonight.”
I checked my watch with a raised eyebrow. “Not that I’m complaining, but we’ve still got about an hour. Where’s the fire?”
“Kelly might be getting off early today and I want to make him dinner.”
“You don’t cook,” I said suspiciously.
“I cook just fine,” he shot back. “I’ve mastered three of his favorite dishes, fuck you very much.”
They were truly disgusting. And being this close to their settled-down bliss was giving me hives. I squinted at him. “Domesticity isn’t contagious, is it?”
He smacked my shoulder and sent me a wicked grin. “Tag. You’re it.”
My eyes widened comically as he walked away. Or at least, it would’ve been comical if he hadn’t given me the gotta get married and have babies as cute as corn cooties. “You come back here and reverse the hex!” I demanded.
He only laughed.
I was walking in the door when my phone vibrated with a text. I kicked off my sneakers and headed to the kitchen in socks. I grabbed a sports drink from the fridge and checked my phone as I drank. Jesse. He’d texted one word.
Where?
I took great pleasure in ignoring him. My life was already complicated enough without dealing with Jesse’s bullshit. I wasn’t that whipped and he wasn’t that hot of a fuck.
I thought of him down on his knees, looking up at me with those cautious green eyes, his messy hair even messier in my grip. He never minded when I used it to control his mouth. Loved it, even. That time he’d put his hands behind his back, telling me without words that I could fuck his mouth however I wanted, I shot down his throat before I even realized what was happening.
Ok, I was whipped, he was the hottest thing I’d ever seen, our sex was amazing, and I was pretty sure I was in love with him.
So yeah. But I had no intention of packing my luggage for my flight to You’re Fucked-istan tonight. So he could just take his “where” and shove it up his ass. His perfect, lickable, fuckable ass.
A text winged in that I checked while I took a swig of my Powerade. I promptly sprayed my counter with purple liquid as I saw his hand wrapped around his cock. I stared at the picture for a moment, a little stunned because it was so unlike the uber-private Jesse…and because I couldn’t remember how to function.
I texted him before he changed his mind. Lakeland Park. Now.
23
JESSE
I barely made it two feet in the door before Andrew pushed me up against the wall. “So this is where you live—” was all I managed before his mouth slanted over mine. He kissed me again and again, not giving me any slack or time to breathe. His intensity was intoxicating. Made my head spin. And that was before he added his tongue to the mix.
At some point, his hands slid to my ass and lifted me practically off my feet. I had to work hard not to wrap my legs around his waist so we didn’t give anyone a show. The property was pretty private though and surrounded by trees, but still. That didn’t stop us from rubbing against each other a little frantically.
He finally broke the kiss and took a deep breath. He kissed me on the nose, which was sweet. His hands still gripped my ass, which was not. I wasn’t sure which I liked better. “Hi.”
“We’re a little past hi,” I managed. “I’ve never sexted anyone before, but if this is the result, maybe I should put it on rotation.”
“You’re not sexting anyone else,” he growled.
Fine by me. “Why did you stop again?”
“I don’t want a quick fuck in the doorway,” he said, kissing a path down my neck. “I want you in my bed. And I want to take my time.”
Only a fool would argue with that. He took a step back. Then another, like he needed the distance between us. I liked each step he took a little less.
He scrubbed his hands through his hair. “I guess I should’ve shown you around before I mauled you in my foyer.”
My eyes widened. I hoped he wasn’t thinking of giving me a tour of this place. Not before I got fucked anyway. “Do you have a golf cart or a Segway or something?”
“It’s not that big.”
“Actually, it is. What happened to that I’m a simple man with simple tastes bullshit?”
“Still true.”
“You own a lake.”
“I don’t own the lake.” His ears looked a little pink. “I mean, I do keep it stocked with fish, but everyone around here can use it and my dock—”
“You have a dock?”
He looked ready to defend himself further, and I saw the moment he realized I was just giving him a hard time. He huffed out a laugh. “You’re such a bastard.”
