Double Coverage

by Meghan Quinn

  Anytime he called or sent her a text message, she felt a flutter in her stomach that she didn’t think she’d ever felt before. She knew she was falling hard for Jax. She thought about him every minute she had a chance, made love to him whenever they were together, and soaked him up as much as possible…so why in the hell was she going to a baseball game with Mason?

  She knew it wasn’t a good idea and she knew Jax probably wouldn’t be happy if he knew about the gathering, especially since he’d started calling her his girlfriend and pretty much told her they were exclusive. But, she still decided to go and hang out with Mason. She told herself they were friends, which they were, sort of, but there was a little voice nagging her in the back of her head that told her she wished they were more than friends. Maybe that was why she was so incredibly nervous.

  Piper looked at herself in the hall mirror, once again, debating her outfit choice. They were going to a Boulder’s game, so she decided to wear a team shirt…only it was a low-cut tank top with “Boulders” written across her chest. The bra she chose to wear might have been one of her best push-up bras, displaying a good amount of cleavage. She was quite impressed with the way her top looked. Then she took a gander at her shorts and slightly tugged on them. Turning around, she looked at her butt and was happy with her choice of a thong, because otherwise she would have shown panty lines right through her white jean shorts that were plastered to her ass. She topped the outfit off with casual three inch wedges that elongated her legs even more. She looked hot, she couldn’t deny that, and her hair chose to look even hotter with its rounded curls falling past her shoulders and down the front of her chest. Yup, she was trying to impress Mason and it showed.

  There was a loud knock at her door which made Piper startle. She pulled on her tank top one last time, exposing just a little more cleavage and opened the door. Mason was standing in front of her wearing khaki shorts, a black Boulders shirt, baseball cap and sandals. He was sporting his sexy five o’clock shadow and, when she made eye contact with him, she noticed the fire of want blazing in his eyes as he took in her outfit. Yup, he was definitely not interested in being just friends at the moment, but she was going to make sure they remained friends. That’s what this was all about, nothing more.

  “Hey,” she said sheepishly, while running her hand through her hair.

  He cleared his throat. “Hey.” He looked her up and down again and returned her stare with a huge grin. “You look sexy as hell.”

  Piper couldn’t help but smile, but wanted to make her intentions quite clear. “Mason…” she drawled out.

  He shrugged. “What? A friend can’t tell a friend they look good?”

  “I don’t think friends call each other sexy.”

  “Sure they do,” he said, while wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her out the door. “Let’s get going, Ryker and Hannah are waiting for us.”

  Piper almost forgot that Ryker and Hannah were going to be there. She immediately relaxed, knowing that she was going to have someone to lean on if things got uncomfortable with Mason.

  They got in Mason’s Range Rover, which she tried not to be impressed about and saw that Ryker and Hannah were sitting in the back, chatting away. Hannah had a Boulders shirt on with the sleeves rolled, little denim shorts, Keds and her hair was in a high curled ponytail with a headband. She looked adorable, like she always did. Ryker was dressed like…Ryker. Salmon colored Bermuda shorts, white and orange gingham shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows and tan boat shoes. The boy had style, Piper had to give him that. She looked over at Mason and realized, even though Mason was wearing basic clothes any man would wear, he made them look stylish with how he fit in his clothes, tight but not too tight. God, he looked sexy, but hell if she was going to tell him that because, like she said, friends didn’t tell each other they looked sexy; it only led to bad things.

  “Hey Piper, you’re looking sexy,” Ryker said, when she got in the car. Mason laughed and Piper rolled her eyes. So much for ‘friends don’t call friends sexy.’

  They drove to the stadium and talked the whole time about the season the Boulders were having; it was one of their best seasons to date, opening up their chances to make it to the playoffs. Both Ryker and Mason hoped for a winning season because then the Stallions would follow it up with their own winning season, making Denver one of the premier cities for sports.

  Mason pulled into the players’ parking lot, one of the perks of being the starting wide receiver for the Stallions, and led them to their seats. Of course, he would have tickets for the cushioned seats right behind home plate where servers came to you and brought you anything you needed, so the only thing you had to do was drink and watch the game. Piper secretly was giddy about the seats they had. Baseball was always one of her favorite sports to watch and she’d always dreamt about having seats behind the plate, but she tried to compose herself and not act like a little school girl.

  They sat so Hannah and Piper were in the middle and the boys were on the outside; of course, Mason chose the seat next to her, but Piper didn’t mind because she enjoyed talking to him and the smell of his cologne filled her senses…making her feel incredibly happy.

  Piper couldn’t believe the view they had. They had the first seats along the fence, giving them a perfect view of home plate. They were slightly off to the side, so the catcher and the umpire weren’t blocking their view, which was nice. The field was prepped, foul lines crisply white and the grass cut in a pattern that blew Piper’s mind. The players were being called out and the game was about to start. It was going to be a great day for baseball.

  As the announcer called out the starting line-up, Hannah and Piper leaned in together and giggled together about the pictures of the players, making the men next to them incredibly jealous.

  “I don’t know if this was the smartest plan you’ve ever had,” Ryker said across them to Mason.

  Mason laughed. “Hey, they can look all they want, since we’re just friends.” Mason winked at Piper when he said it, making Piper feel a blush creep over her cheeks.

  “Speak for yourself. I’m sitting next to my future wife.”

  “Ryker!” Hannah pushed him, making him laugh. She looked at Mason and Piper with sincerity in her eyes. “Don’t listen to him. We’re just friends.” Piper took a quick glimpse at Ryker, who was burning holes through Hannah’s back with his eyes. Hannah might want to be friends, but it looked like Ryker was not kidding. In one look, he’d told the world his intentions. He wanted Hannah and he wanted her bad.

  The game started and Piper settled into her comfy chair. Ryker and Hannah sparred back and forth, but Piper and Mason sat in a comfortable silence. There was something to be said about being able to be comfortable with someone and not having to fill the silence with awkward conversation. Piper felt at home with Mason, which was scary, scary as hell.

  Their armrests were right next to each other, so Mason’s muscular arm would occasionally brush up against Piper’s. At first, the tickle of his arm hair made her jump and shift, but after a few times of her arm brushing against his, she felt her arm drift over to his more. She would occasionally look down and notice the compelling contrast between their arms. Her creamy white skin compared to his tanned, tattooed and corded skin. It was fascinating. Mason caught her staring at their arms, but didn’t say anything; all he did was smile at her and brush the back of her hand with his knuckle.

  The stroke of his knuckle against the back of her hand sent more butterflies through her stomach than a thousand text messages from Jax. She knew it was bad, but she stroked him back without looking at him. She for some reason, she wanted to return the comforting touch; friends could comfort each other, she told herself.

  They continued to watch the game as Mason occasionally brushed her sensitive skin, whispered something in her ear, or just turned and smiled at her. She couldn’t remember having this much fun in a while, except for when she was with Jax. How could that be? How could she have fun wit
h two men? Was that normal?

  Mason leaned over and slid his hand down, so his hand was pressed against her mid-thigh. She froze and a pounding started to take place in her heart. The pounding started high in her chest, but as his hand remained in place, the pounding slowly traveled down her body and nestled in her core, making her want to squirm. She felt the callouses on his hands from lifting weights and catching footballs, making his touch that much more intriguing. His touch made it hard to sit next to him because it opened up her senses to everything around her, making her want more. The intoxicating scent of his cologne floated around her, making her feel delirious and she thought, if he moved his hand any further up her thigh, she might explode.

  He leaned into her ear and said, “I’m going to get a beer, do you want anything?”

  “Beer,” Piper was able to squeak out, while trying to casually catch her breath, making no attempt at showing Mason how much he affected her.

  “Alright.” He gave her a wink and started to get up, confusing Piper.

  “Hey, can’t the servers just get us some beer?”

  “Yeah, but I want to stretch a little. Don’t worry babe, I’ll be back.” Then he left.

  Piper’s heart pounded out of her chest. She put her hand over her heart and tried to catch her breath. He called her babe. It was just a little four letter word, but the way he said it in his deep baritone voice caused Piper’s brain cells to fry…match that up with the way his hand gripped her thigh and she was a goner.

  Hannah leaned into her, “Hey, you okay?”

  Piper nodded, trying to get control of her emotions. She needed a cold shower or some ice for her head, or maybe she needed to get the hell out of the situation she put herself in. She thought about all the possible excuses she could use to leave and get away from Mason before things started to escalate.

  What could she say, she got her period? No, way too gross. She had a headache? No, way too obvious. She got called into work? No, Hannah was not a liar and would be confused and ask too many questions. She could just blame it on Jax…say he called and wanted to hang out. He didn’t have many free nights and wanted to surprise her. Yeah, that was it, she would blame it on Jax…that way, she could leave and Mason would get the hint that she was taken.

  Piper pulled out her phone and sent Jax a text message. If she was going to use him to get out of the situation she was in, she might as well take advantage and spend some time with her man, her perfectly amazing, southern man.

  Piper: Hey handsome, what are you doing?

  Piper watched a rookie from the Boulders strike out with bases loaded while she waited for Jax to text back. Poor guy, she thought. She always pulled for rookies, even on other teams because making it in the big leagues was such a hard thing to do…to make your major league debut and do well. Piper’s phone chimed back with a message.

  Jax: Hey gorgeous, just drinking a beer, hanging out, and wishing you were in my arms.

  A warm fuzzy feeling washed over Piper’s body. Jax was amazing, beyond amazing. He made her feel so complete and at peace. He was the perfect gentleman; he wasn’t controlling or barbaric and he liked her…possibly even loved her. Crazy thing was, she felt the same way. She saw the love he had for her in his eyes, especially the other night when they were sitting outside on his patio, sitting around his little camp fire and making s’mores.

  That night, she wore his sweatshirt because it was chilly out and they had a blanket over their laps. He had his arm around her shoulders and her head rested in the crook of his arm while they fed each other mostly burnt marshmallows. The words “I love you” were on the tip of her tongue. She wanted to say it so badly to him, but didn’t want to scare him away. She was seconds from saying it to him the other night, but stopped when he looked her in the eyes. They didn’t have to say it because they communicated their feelings to each other through their gaze.

  Piper smiled to herself thinking about the other night and how crazy Jax would be right now if he saw her in the outfit she was wearing…with another guy. One of his favorite things about Piper’s body was her breasts and the fact that they were on display today would have driven him crazy. If she was with Jax, they probably wouldn’t have made it out the door without satisfying the burning need they both felt for each other. She needed him; she wanted him. She was going to have him come get her because, even though the seats were nice at the game, she would rather be wrapped up in her boyfriend’s arms than sitting next to Mason as he gently spoke to her and played wicked games on her skin.

  Piper was just about to text Jax to tell him to come pick her up when a shadow fell over her. Piper looked up and found Mason grinning like a fool, looking down at her while holding two beers and a pretzel with cheese. Piper’s stomach dropped and she smiled back. He was so adorable, it washed away any thoughts of her previous plans. Maybe she would spend just a little bit more time with her friends; she didn’t want to insult them. At least that’s what she told herself to lessen the guilt that was clawing away at her heart.

  “Here you go. One large beer and half a pretzel.” Mason handed her a drink and the pretzel while he sat down next to her, placing his drink in his cup holder.

  “Half a pretzel?”

  He broke the pretzel in half and tapped her on the nose with it. “You really think I’m going to let you eat this pretzel all by yourself? Fat chance, beautiful.”

  He then proceeded to dip his pretzel in the cheese that was now resting in her lap. Before he plopped the cheese-coated pretzel chunk in his mouth, he gave her a big grin and chuckled at the look on her face. She felt like all the women around them gave a collective sigh as he smiled at her; the man was charming…she’d give him that.

  Piper sat still, not knowing what to do. She was so torn, she wanted to see Jax and be with him, but Mason just got her a beer and was sharing a pretzel with her, which was…adorable. She hated herself for being so indecisive.

  Mason saw her indecision and leaned in closer so their faces were inches apart. He grabbed a piece of her pretzel, dipped it in cheese and held it next to her mouth. She involuntarily opened up and he placed the chunk in her mouth, leaving some cheese on her lips. She slowly licked it off and watched as his eyes blazed with desire as her tongue ran across her lips. What was happening was dangerous; she was playing with fire, but she couldn’t stop herself. A little moan erupted from the back of her throat as the hot cheese and salty pretzel played around with her taste buds.

  Piper watched Mason gulp as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down in his well-defined throat. Electricity bounced between the two of them while they just stared at each other. Piper felt herself gravitate toward him as if she was a piece of metal and he was a magnet; there was no pulling back.

  A ball came screaming toward them off the bat and hit the net that was hanging right in front of them. Piper jumped back and thanked the batter for hitting a foul ball because it was like a cold bucket of water that was poured over both of them. Mason adjusted himself in his seat and took a big gulp of his beer. Piper did the same. She needed to relax. Mason had her all wound up.

  They resumed their distance and finished their pretzel in silence. Piper didn’t even talk to Hannah and Ryker, who were having their own animated conversation. Piper was impressed with Hannah; she normally kept to herself, but Ryker brought out Hannah’s outgoing personality that she usually kept hidden…unless she had some drinks in her system. It was nice to see her friend so talkative.

  Piper started to feel a little awkward, since Hannah and Ryker were talking up a storm while there was dead silence between her and Mason. Wanting to break the silence, she asked him a stupid question.

  “Who’s your favorite player?”

  “Umm, well, I can’t really have a favorite.”

  “What do you mean?” Piper asked, confused.

  Mason turned his head toward her, but kept his arm next to hers that was, once again, stroking the back of her hand. She didn’t move away from his touch, but she didn�
�t reciprocate the action.

  “I think Parker would have my head if I admitted to liking any baseball player other than him. He is kind of a diva like that.” Mason rolled his eyes, making Piper laugh.

  “You act like you two are married.”

  “Not married yet, just engaged.”

  Piper laughed again, this time harder. Mason was so easygoing and fun, how could she not want to hang out with the man? They continued to talk about Mason, Jake and Parker’s college days. They had some interesting stories only college boys would have. It was endearing to hear how Mason took Jake in their freshman year when Jake’s parents died in a horrible car accident. Mason spoke of Jake as a true brother, not just a friend. Piper was able to see the man Lexi talked about, the man that Mason was before Brooke broke him. Piper found herself leaning in more toward Mason and that was when she realized that the entire time they’d been talking, she was turned toward him, blocking off Hannah and Ryker, and she was running her fingers gently over Mason’s open palm.

  Once she noticed what she was doing, her brain told her to pull away, but she didn’t. Instead, she grabbed his hand with hers, making him grin even wider. She told herself friends held hands all the time. It was no big deal.

  “You are so lucky to have parents who would do such an amazing thing like take Jake into their family while barely knowing him. I don’t think my parents would have done that. My dad is kind of a cold-hearted bastard and my mom is so drugged up on Prozac that I don’t think she even knows her name these days.”

  Mason touched her face with his free hand. “I’m sorry. If you want, my parents will take you in too.”

  Piper’s heart skipped a beat. “Would they really?”

  “In a heartbeat.”

  Piper leaned back in her chair and squeezed Mason’s hand, bringing it down on her lap. She knew she shouldn’t be holding his hand, but she wanted the comfort, the comfort of a good friend, the comfort only a strong man like Mason could give her. Mason would take her into his life and make her a part of his family; the thought made her feel elated. Piper grabbed her drink and took a sip, when her phone chimed with a text message. She glanced at her phone and saw a text from Jax.