He ran his hand through his hair, and she saw his biceps flex and his hands curl into fists. Determination gave way to frustration, and he paced, breathing fast and hard.
“Damn it, Jayla. Fine. Okay, fine. You’re right. You’re an athlete, and a damn good one. You get to make that call. I was out of line.” He ran his hand over his face.
She went to him, feeling guilty for being so full of herself when he was only trying to help.
“No, you were in line with your worry, but it’s my decision.” Her entire body trembled, but she managed to speak calmly. She reached for the counter and leaned against it, trying to clear her thoughts. “I’m sorry I’m such a wimp, and I’m sorry I’m so angry, but…”
He reached for her again, and this time she didn’t pull away.
“Wimp? An army of women could never be as strong as you. It’s okay to be angry, but don’t confuse what you’re angry at. I get it, and I’m a patient guy, but I’m not the enemy.”
“I know you’re not.”
“Okay. Good. I want to go with you to the doc. I want to hear what they say. I want to see the scans. Whatever it is, Jayla, we can get through it together.”
She held his gaze. “Okay, but I’m competing this weekend.”
“Fine.”
She let out a breath. “Really?”
“Your body, your decision. Besides, it’s what I would want if I were you, so even though as your boyfriend I can’t stand to think about you in pain, as your teammate, I’d expect nothing less from you.”
“Oh, thank God.” She fell into his arms and held on tight. “Thank you.” His body was tense, and she didn’t blame him. She knew he hated not being able to fix this for her, but she wasn’t going to back down. She already felt better having shared the truth with the one person she knew would understand.
“Don’t thank me. You know damn well that you could end up with a worse injury from practicing, much less competing. And if that happens, I’ll have to live with the guilt of not forcing you to stop.”
“You can’t force me.”
He looked down at her with a crooked grin. “I’ve got a foot and about a hundred-plus pounds on you, and it pisses me off to know that you’re goddamn right. Can we at least talk about options in case you can’t compete in the future?”
“Only if you want my fangs to come out.”
He didn’t ask again.
Rush made egg-white omelets and toast, and after they ate breakfast, Jayla washed the dishes as Rush dried them.
“We need some rules,” Rush said.
“Oh God, please tell me you haven’t been hiding some freaky side of yourself all these years, because without skiing and without my best friend, I might lose my mind.”
“No freaky sides. Unless you want there to be.” He arched a brow.
She rolled her eyes.
“I just mean that I think there are a few things we should talk about. I do have some rights as a boyfriend.”
She touched his stomach. “I like that, you know. Boyfriend.”
“Probably not as much as I like knowing that I get to claim you as my girlfriend.” He set down the plate he was drying and leaned against the counter with a sigh. “Before we get to boyfriend rules, what about Coach C and the team? How do you want to handle them? And before you answer, you need to know that Coach asked me not to get involved with you.”
“No, he did not.” What the hell?
Rush nodded. “Yup. He said you needed to focus and I’d screw that up for you. He’s right, you know. We’ll probably both lose focus.”
“No, we won’t, because until after the competition, we’re keeping our relationship just between us. I don’t need Coach on my back, and you don’t need him on yours, either.”
“I’m not sure I can promise that.”
“Sure you can.”
He leaned close to her. “When I see you, I want to touch you.” He kissed her. “Like that.”
“Mm. Oh, wait, I’m not supposed to enjoy that.” She sighed. “You’ll have to think of it as a competition, then. We both will. Which one of us can hide our affection in public the longest?” She smiled, and he shook his head.
“I’m defeated the minute we walk out this door.”
She laughed. “You can do this. If I can go without pain meds, you can go without kisses. Besides, you’ve always held my hand and put your arm around me. As long as you aren’t looking at me like”—she looked into his eyes and nearly melted at the desire she saw there—“that, we’ll be okay.”
“Like what?”
“Maybe you won’t be okay.” She lifted his shirt and pressed a kiss to his belly.
“Christ Almighty. There’s no way in hell we’ll fool anyone.”
She lifted up on her toes, and he took her in a deep, delicious kiss. She came away dizzy.
“There can’t be any of…that,” she whispered.
“You’re trying to kill me. Now I get it.” He pulled her into another kiss; then he took her hand and placed it on his bulging, hard zipper. “Just one more reason there can be none of that in public. That’s girlfriend rule number one.”
She glanced at the clock, calculated in time for a quickie before the workshop, then groaned when she realized they’d never make it.
“Now that we have that torturous stuff out in the open, my turn. Boyfriend rules. If your shoulder shows any signs of getting worse, you tell me. Right away.”
“Okay.”
“I mean it, Jayla.” His voice filled with seriousness, and he held her gaze. “We have to trust each other on every level.”
“Fine, then I need to be able to trust that you’re not going to take any women’s numbers anymore.” She watched his brows pull together.
“I haven’t done that in ages. You heard me tell that woman on the slopes that I wouldn’t meet her.”
“Yeah, I did.” She turned back to the sink. “But I also saw Kelly Baker’s phone number on your counter.”
“What are you talking about?”
She closed her eyes. “No way, Rush. There’s not a chance in hell I’ll play games with any man. Especially you.”
He touched her arm, and when she turned and looked at him, she read honest confusion in his eyes.
“Jay, I’d never expect you to. What number?”
“There was a crumpled paper on your counter and I…got curious.”
He looked at the paper on the counter. “Shit. You’re absolutely right. She shoved that in my hand after class and I never looked at it. I crushed it in my fist and shoved it in my pocket.”
She searched his eyes again. “I believe you, but…”
“But what? Anything you want. Just tell me.”
“I want to know that next time you won’t take it. That I won’t have to worry about finding a number on the counter or in your pocket. Mostly, though, I want to know that you’re sure you don’t want to accept any more numbers, because if you ever hurt me like that, it would be more than I could take.”
His lips spread into a smile.
“Stop looking at me like that. I’m serious. You have no idea how it feels to watch women lust after you.”
He pulled her close and looked into her eyes. “Oh, I don’t?”
“No, and you know I’m right.”
“How about the handsome cowboy with the sexy accent?”
Gulp.
“I believe that’s what sent us onto the dance floor and into the men’s room,” he reminded her.
“I didn’t take his phone number.” Touché!
“No, you didn’t. You just hung on his every word and looked at him like you should have been looking at me.”
He had her there.
“So, let’s make sure we’re both clear.” His serious tone returned. “I know that you are the only woman I will ever want. No phone numbers and no more flirting.” He held her against him.
“Careful. I’m not sure you know how not to flirt, Rush.”
“I do, too.”
“I kn
ow you don’t, which is why I didn’t ask you to promise not to. That’s something that can only change if you want it to.”
He stepped back. “Well, I don’t want you flirting with other men.”
“I won’t.”
“How can you say that and not ask the same of me?”
“Because I don’t need to. I trust that you’ll figure that part out on your own.”
Chapter Twenty
FLURRIES FELL THROUGHOUT the morning and turned to steady snowfall by midafternoon, causing the students to be too excited to focus. Rush couldn’t wait for the classes to be over so he could hit the real slopes. The need nagged like a relentless itch, and his thoughts drifted to Jayla. He’d been watching her closely, and he had no idea how he could have missed the way she cringed when she gripped her pole too tightly or leaned too heavily on her right side. He had to remind himself that she wasn’t just a woman with a hurt shoulder. She was Jayla Stone, Olympic medalist. Athlete. She knew her limits, and he knew she’d push them. Even though it went against every protective bone in his body, he knew he had to accept that.
The students were perched and ready to ski down the intermediate slope. Suzie flipped her hair and threw Taylor a flirtatious smile. Rush was relieved that she’d at least set her sights on someone her own age, even if Meg was giving her the stink eye. He skied next to Jeffrey.
“How’s it going?”
“All right.” He fidgeted with his poles.
“Nervous about going down?” Jeffrey had already proven to be one of the strongest skiers in the class, but as Rush knew, skill didn’t preclude nerves.
“Not really.” He shot a look at Taylor.
Rush eyed Taylor, who was talking behind his hand to Suzie. Suzie looked at Jeffrey and giggled.
“Ignore them, Jeffrey. Focus on your run down this mountain.” He shot Taylor a hot stare, and Taylor looked away.
Jeffrey nodded and, satisfied that he could hold his own for a few minutes, Rush made his way over to Jayla.
“Hi.” Jayla’s cheeks flushed. “You’re looking at me like you’re not supposed to.”
“I’m…Really?”
She nodded.
“Then we have a problem.” He leaned in close and lowered his voice. “Because this is what it looks like to fight the urge to kiss you.” He knew from the way she bit her lower lip that she was fighting the same urge. “How’s your shoulder?”
“Rule number two. No asking about it. The more I think about it, the more it hurts.”
“Okay. Fair enough. Just remember your promise.” He pulled down his goggles. “See you at the bottom.” He addressed the kids. “All right. You know the rules. Give each other plenty of space, and take it easy. Safety first.”
Rush watched them launch down the hill. Taylor led, followed by Suzie, Meg, and Chris. Jeffrey wisely gave Taylor a wide berth before taking his turn. Rush bided his time, waiting for Jayla to go down ahead of him so he could gauge how much she was favoring her right side.
At the bottom of the slope, Rush heard Jeffrey’s father’s voice above the din of the skiers.
“Good job, Jeffrey,” Mr. Dager said with pride.
Jeffrey waved to his father as Rush called the kids over to conclude the class.
“You were all over that slope, daddy’s boy,” Taylor said as he skied past Jeffrey.
Jeffrey looked away.
Rush was about a breath away from grabbing Taylor by his collar and knocking his head into tomorrow. He didn’t want to step in and embarrass Jeffrey, but he wasn’t above a little visual intimidation.
Rush locked his eyes on Taylor. “You all did a great job today. Let’s review rules of safety before you leave. Taylor, three rules of safety. Go.” He took pleasure in the way Taylor fidgeted against his stare.
“Yield to others, observe signs.” Taylor sighed.
“And?” Rush pushed.
Taylor shrugged.
“These are the most important things you need to know before stepping onto the slopes. Anyone else?” Every other student raised their hand. Rush looked at Taylor and raised his brows with a smirk. Little smart-ass. “Jeffrey, three rules. Go.”
Jeffrey kept his eyes trained on his skis. “Um, skiers ahead of you have the right of way. Safety on the slopes is everyone’s responsibility, and keep off of closed trails and slopes.”
“Excellent. Suzie, help him out.”
“Don’t stop on trails and obstruct others. Don’t ride any lift you don’t know how to get onto and off of safely, and use cords and whatever other devices you have to keep your equipment from running away. Wait…” She scrunched her nose. “To prevent runaway equipment. Yeah, that’s it.”
“That’s right. Taylor, I suggest you learn those before tomorrow. We gave your parents a handout the first day of class and that information was in it. Who studied it?”
Everyone raised their hand except Taylor.
“Way to go, guys. I’m proud of you. We’ll see you tomorrow.” Rush put his hand on Taylor’s shoulder and held him back from leaving. “I want to talk to you.”
“What?” Taylor lifted his chin, as if challenging Rush.
Rush looked down at the ornery teen’s defiant gaze. “I heard what you said to Jeffrey.”
“So?” Taylor shrugged.
“So if I hear you pulling that with him again I’ll have a talk with your parents.”
“Whatever.” Taylor shrugged again.
Taylor’s father waved Taylor over, and Rush touched his shoulder again. “I mean it. It stops here and now.”
Jayla joined him, and as they removed their skis, she said, “What was that about?”
“The kid’s a jerk.”
“Yeah, but that usually comes from the parents, so you can’t really fault him for it.”
“Rush?”
Kelly Baker. Goddamn it.
Jayla took a step away, and Rush grabbed the sleeve of her coat. “Please stay.”
She blinked up at him and said quietly, “I don’t need to watch.”
“Well, I agreed to girlfriend rules. I want you to see that I’m sticking with them.” He walked over to Kelly.
“Hi. Suzie’s doing great. She’s become much more confident over the last two classes.”
“Yeah?” She ran her hand down her hip and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “That’s good, I guess.”
You guess?
She took out her cell phone and held it up to Rush. “I was surprised that I didn’t hear from you.”
“Surprised?” A year ago he’d have jumped on the chance to be with an easy, pretty woman like her. That felt like a lifetime ago, and he had no desire to go back.
“I gave you my number. Remember?” She smiled and tilted her head in that overtly practiced fashion again.
“Kelly, I’m sorry if you thought I wanted your number, but I have a girlfriend.” He took off his hat and shoved it in his pocket.
She took a step closer and lowered her voice. “Well, that doesn’t have to stop us from seeing each other. I’m all about discretion.”
Rush glanced over Kelly’s shoulder at her daughter. Suzie rolled her eyes and looked away. A sick feeling washed through him. “I wouldn’t dream of hurting my girlfriend that way.” He walked back to Jayla, slung his arm over her shoulder, and they headed toward the lodge.
“See? Easy.” Rush kissed her temple.
“Why do I feel guilty?” She rested her head on his shoulder.
“Because you’re not used to asking me for anything, and in your beautiful mind, you think that you’re asking me to change who I am. But I already have changed, and I have no intention of going back. I just feel bad for Suzie. Can you imagine having a mom like that? To be honest, it kinda kills me knowing that I used to be the kind of guy who would have added to all that mess.”
AS THEY NEARED the cabins, Jayla’s stomach was doing flips. Do we go to my cabin? His? Do we have time to rip off our clothes and make up for all the years we missed? She glanced
at Rush, who was probably calculating how much time it would take him to prepare his protein shake, get a few push-ups and sit-ups in, and…And what? Was he thinking the same thing she was?
She pulled out her keys. “I guess I’ll see you at practice?”
“I’ll…Do you want me to stop over so we can go together?”
She heard it in his voice, an awkwardness that had never been there before, and she hated it.
“Sure, okay.”
He leaned down to kiss her.
“Hey, guys!” Kia hollered from the path.
Rush pulled back fast. “Hey.”
“Jayla, missed you this morning. It was a perfect practice, too. I’m heading over early to the meeting. Wanna go with?” Kia ran her eyes between them. “Did I interrupt a BFF thing?”
“Um, no. I’m just heading inside.” Jayla hurried up the stairs and unlocked her door.
Rush drew his keys from his pocket. “We’ve got some stuff to do, but we’ll meet you there, Kia.”
“Cool. Okay.”
Jayla went inside and leaned her back against the door. Why was she such a mess? Who cares if Kia knows about us? It took her a minute to realize that then the coach would find out, and Rush had already been warned away, which pissed her off even more. She stomped to the kitchen and took Tylenol and Motrin, then headed into the bedroom to do her shoulder exercises.
Her phone vibrated on the floor beside her. She glanced at the screen. Rush.
She read the text. Was that weird, or was it just me?
She breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wasn’t losing her mind. She texted back. Def weird. But it shouldn’t have been. Are we making a mistake?
When he didn’t return her text right away, she worried. Ugh. She never would have believed that anything could make things awkward between them. This sucks. Royally sucks. She finished her exercises and checked her phone for the fourth time. Still no text. Her stomach sank.
There was a banging at the door in the bedroom that led outside to the back of the cabin, and it caused her to jump. She peeked through the curtains and saw Rush looking at her with a serious scowl on his face. Butterflies took flight in her stomach as she opened the door.
Rush pushed past her. “Mistake?”
Slope of Love (Love in Bloom: The Remingtons) Page 14
