“Sure, where are we taking her?”
“Well, Penelope will be with Gloria for the afternoon. I thought it would be nice if it was just you and me.”
I swallowed hard, my throat dry as I thought about the implications. Did she want to go out on a date? There was only one way I was going to figure it out. I cleared my throat, my voice seemingly gone in fear. “Would you . . . would you maybe want to grab some dinner afterward?”
She grinned, her cheeks flushing. “Corey, are you asking me out on a date?”
“What? Um . . .” My voice trailed off.
We sat in silence for some time. The potential lingered in the air like a heavy weight. She hadn’t shot me down right away. It seemed like she wanted me to ask her out. But the last time I’d asked, she shot me down fast.
I had to know. “Would you say ‘yes’ if I asked you on a date?”
Her face lit up, the sly grin tantalizing me. “I think I would consider it.”
“Really?” I asked, sounding like a child. “Do you want to go out with me?”
Brittany laughed. “What are we? In elementary school?”
“If that’s what it takes to finally get this ball rolling, then absolutely. I’ll even share my snack cake with you at lunch time.”
“Well!” She laughed. “In that case, I have no reason to say no.”
I knew I looked like a child as I whispered “Yes!” and pulled my fist back in a victorious move. Brittany laughed at me, but I didn’t care. I was finally getting a chance to show her how much I cared. That was what mattered. Penelope stirred and rubbed her eyes. She was ready for a nap. As gently as possible, I scooped her up in my arms as Brittany went to get her a bottle.
I whispered to her as I kissed her forehead, “Did you hear that, baby? Mommy is finally going to give Daddy a chance.”
She blew bubbles and smiled at me. I laughed. “I think that means you approve, Princess. Don’t worry, I’m going to get our family back together. I love you and Mommy with all my heart. I’m never going to lose you two again.”
* * *
“You look beautiful,” I said.
Brittany smiled. “Thank you. You look really good too. Are you ready?”
I peeked past her. Honestly, I wanted nothing more than to get the ball rolling on our first date. Still, part of me wanted to check on Penelope first. She was my little princess, after all. A knowing smile crossed Brittany’s face as she closed the door behind her.
“Don’t worry, she’s fine. She went out with Gloria and will be here later. You can get in all the snuggles you want with her then.”
“Good,” I said with a sigh of relief. I held out my hand for her. “Ready?”
She took it and we walked to the waiting car. I’d rented it for the night, not wanting to be distracted with driving. Tonight was all about her and me. She slid in and I gave the driver the restaurant’s address. We settled back and the butterflies started to do somersaults in my stomach. We already knew so much about each other that I was struggling to find a conversation topic. There was only one area I didn’t know much about.
“How’s the vlog going?” I asked quietly.
“Good. I have an interview with one of your teammates this week, actually. Jimmy something? I wasn’t thrilled about it, but I did a poll and that’s what the audience wants this week.”
“Good God, I don’t know why anyone would want to listen to what that moron has to say. He can barely tie his own shoes.”
Brittany laughed. “I agree! Apparently, there was some scandal last night, though, and everyone wants to know what he thinks. Two women were taken into custody after a fight broke out. He was at the center of it.”
“I’m not surprised. He’s about as sleazy as they come,” I muttered.
“True, but did you know he was dating Monique Congave?”
“The model? Whoa, she’s a fox. I wonder how a moron like that landed a woman like her.”
“Really?” she asked, rolling her eyes.
I grinned and slid closer to her. “Monique may be a model, but you are still the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen. I just meant it was strange that anyone, male or female, would date that creep.”
“Well, tell me how you really feel.” She laughed. “I don’t know who the other woman was, but that’s what everyone wants to know. They want a full bio on the other woman he was sleeping with. Monique really laid into her and Jimmy.”
“Don’t be surprised if he hits on you big-time.”
“You mean your teammates don’t know about us?” she asked in shock.
“Oh,” I grumbled. “They know, all right. A few of them, like Jimmy, really don’t like that being with you has improved my game so much. They are not on our side. Jimmy and Antwan are the worst of them, though.”
“Good to know,” she whispered.
“Hey,” I said, taking her hand into mine. “He’s just going to hit on you and give you the usual runaround, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. You are one tough cookie. Plus, you can always kick him in the junk if he’s too big a prick.”
“That would make me feel really great, actually!” she said with a laugh.
Her body folded into mine. I felt myself growing hard as her skin pressed against my body and the heat between us started to soar. I wanted to touch her so desperately. I longed to kiss the curves of her breasts as she ran her delicate fingers through my hair in a tangle of passionate desire. At first, I wondered if she knew what she was doing to me, but when she shot me a wink and her fingers traveled up my thigh, the question flew out the window.
My cock, which had been half-erect already, now stood at full attention as her fingers brushed against the tip. A droplet of moisture appeared through my pants. Brittany ran her finger over it then stuck the finger in her mouth. I groaned with pleasure as she turned to face me. Her nipples pressed against my side, trying to be free from the fabric. I longed to pinch them.
Without waiting for her approval, I reached up slowly and took one erect bud between my fingers. She shuddered, her eyes disappearing behind her closed lids as she bit her lip and moaned. Her fingers tightened around my cock until I couldn’t stop myself from jerking forward in a desperate attempt to feel her hand touching me once again. She didn’t disappoint as she slowly rubbed my cock through the material. If I wasn’t careful, I would explode before we made it to the restaurant.
“You have to stop,” I managed to say, barely a whisper.
“But I don’t want to,” she said softly. “It’s been so long since I’ve felt your cock inside my body.”
“We have reservations,” I offered her weakly. I wanted to mount her right there in the car, but I didn’t want to seem too eager. This relationship was still so young. She’d told me weeks ago that we wouldn’t sleep together again unless there was something more between us.
“I don’t care about the reservations. I just want to fuck you.”
“Where do you want to go? Back to the apartment or my place?”
“Let’s get a hotel,” she whispered seductively. “Just for tonight, let’s pretend like there is nothing else between us but the wild, carefree passion we had that first night we were together.”
“Are you sure about this? I don’t want you to feel like I’m pressuring you,” I said. It was my last attempt. Then I would be hers for as long as she wanted me.
“I am not a woman to be pressured,” she said softly, again squeezing my manhood. “But if you don’t get me to a hotel right now, I’m going to explode.”
15
Brittany
I ground my teeth together, trying not to lose my temper and be ‘that woman’ who couldn’t keep her cool. With a furious huff, I bent over and picked up yet another pair of Corey’s boxers from the floor. So far, living together hadn’t been quite what I’d imagined, and it was really starting to grind on me. I never thought it was possible for a grown man to be such an incredible slob. Apparently, he’d never lived without a maid. Something h
e didn’t tell me before moving in together.
He paused his game when I slammed the laundry basket down next to him. He looked from the basket up to me, a look of apology already on his face.
“Are you kidding me? I’m not your freaking maid! You need to start picking up after yourself.”
“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “It’s just so hard after practicing all day and then feeding Penelope through the night.”
“You think that I’m not tired too? I still manage to clean this place every single day, though, don’t I?” I shot back. “You need to start helping out more.”
I saw his jaw clench. I wasn’t surprised. “You know that I hate being told what to do.”
“And I hate being treated like your mother. When you start acting like an adult, I’ll start treating you like one.”
“Your show is three hours a day. I do that much in practice just in the morning. Why should I have to pick up everything?”
“I don’t want you to pick up everything!” I screamed at him. “I just don’t want to be your freaking maid!”
Penelope started to cry from her bedroom, and before I could set the basket down, Corey was already on his feet. “I’ve got her.”
I wanted to keep screaming at him, but Penelope stopped crying. She loved Corey so much it was hard to keep the two of them apart. It made it especially difficult when I wanted to be mad at him. The second I saw him with Penelope, my heart started to melt. How could a man be such a good father to a child but be totally incapable of being a grownup himself? I sighed and shook my head. My anger would have to wait for another day.
Sitting down, I started to fold the clean laundry I’d brought back into the living room. When he came back out without the baby, I let myself be ready for another fight. He flopped down on the couch and picked up his controller once again. There was no way I was going to stay calm now. How could he be so blind to the fact that I needed his help? Without thinking, I picked up a handful of his socks and chucked them at his head.
“Hey!” he griped. “What did you do that for?”
“You’re kidding me, right?” I hissed. “I tell you to start picking up after yourself and you totally ignore me!
He rolled his eyes and groaned. “I wasn’t ignoring you. I just didn’t know that I had to start right this second. God,” he muttered as he tossed down his controller and stormed to the kitchen.
I let his attitude go. It was the same since we moved in together. When it was me or Penelope, he was a wonderful partner, lover, and father. Still, when it came to the house, I was running out of patience. All I wanted was the perfect life I’d dreamed about when we first got together. Asking him to move in with me had been hard enough without realizing what I was getting into. Filling out the change of address forms at work was another headache.
My apartment had proven too small and a longer distance from his school. The decision to rent a house together was one made quickly and on the spur of the moment. This morning at work had been less than fun when I was forced to tell my perverted and sexually harassment-prone boss. The slime ball always made me nervous. Now that I wasn’t pregnant, his drive to ‘conquer’ me was even more intense. I shuddered, thinking back to the memory.
Eventually, I knew I would have to share the conversation with Corey. Keeping the peace with men who hit on me was not his strong point. Now seemed like as good a time as any. He was already pissy, so maybe this would make him angry about something besides the house and our silly fight.
I cleared my throat as I went into the kitchen. “So, I told my boss I needed to change my address today.”
He perked up, knowing I was talking to him again. “Oh, yeah? How did that go?”
I shrugged. “Well, it could have gone better.”
“Really?”
“Well, you know what a pervert he’s been in the past, right? I never really let it get to me. He’s all talk. Today, he was extra-creepy, though.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said. I could tell he was being careful not to lose his temper. “Anything I need to know about?”
I shuffled uneasily where I was standing. “Just the usual threats.”
“I don’t like it when he threatens you,” he said sharply.
“I know. He was really aggressive this time, too,” I whispered.
“What did he say?” he asked.
I thought about the conversation.
His beady eyes had scanned over the documents to change my address before looking up and down my body. A shiver of disgust coursed through me as I plastered a smile on my face. I cleared my throat, pulling his attention away from my milk-filled breasts to my face. He reached down and adjusted his crotch. I made a point of not following his hand. I didn’t want him to think I was interested at all.
“Got a new boyfriend?” he asked.
“I don’t think my personal life is any of your business.”
“I’ve heard that you’re moving in with some basketball player. The same one who knocked you up and gave you that great set of jugs there.”
“You’re disgusting,” I told him.
“Do I need to remind you that I’m your boss?” he asked, his tone menacing.
“Have you ever heard of sexual harassment? I feel like we’ve already had this discussion.”
“You know your job is contingent on my approval. You don’t think you got that vlog just because of the pitch you gave to those old bats, do you? No. They wanted my approval to bring you on full-time. I gave it to you and I can take it away.”
“You are scum,” I seethed.
“And you are just a replaceable piece of eye candy,” he said as he leaned forward. “I will want my dues for getting you this job, just remember that. You’ve got a spunk that I’m gonna ride out of you.”
I turned around and left then, my hands already shaking at the threat. Something about the situation was going to have to change, but I needed time to come up with a plan. I shook my head and looked up at Corey, who was washing the dishes, and smiled.
“It was nothing that I couldn’t handle, but his threats are getting worse. I’ll need to deal with him at some point.”
“Got any ideas how?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Not yet, but I’m making it a top priority.”
He grabbed a dish towel and dried off his hands as he walked around the island to where I was sitting. Corey pulled me close to him, tilting my chin up and meeting my gaze. Every time I looked at him, my worries faded away. Yeah, Corey was a pain in the ass, but he was a tiger in bed and a good dad. That was more than most women got. Plus, he was young and so was I. We would find a way to work through our differences . . . I hoped.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been more help. Just give me some time to figure this whole thing out. I’ve never lived with two girls before.”
I laughed. “I don’t think Penelope is making most of the mess, but okay. I will give you some time, but that doesn’t mean the situation is fixed. I still need your help, especially when you aren’t on the road.”
He groaned. “I forgot we had an away game this weekend. I don’t want to leave you guys again.”
“I know,” I whispered as I wrapped my arms around him. “We don’t want you to go either, but this is your job, your career. We’ll make it work.”
“Promise?” he whispered.
“I promise,” I told him.
* * *
“This isn’t going to work,” I huffed at Gloria. “He’s a complete slob! The only time the place isn’t a mess is when he’s away like he is now.”
She took the empty bottle out of Pen’s mouth and smiled down at the baby. “Don’t worry, things will get better. Remember, you said it yourself. This is new. It’s going to take some time.”
I sighed. “Yeah, sure.”
“Is something else going on? I feel like you wouldn’t be this upset if he was just messy.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t want to talk about it. I think I just
want to be angry.”
“This is the first time he’s been gone this long,” she said.
“Yeah, I know. He’ll be back in two days, but it feels like two months.”
“You’re in the home stretch. If they win the next two games, they’re in the playoffs, and that’s always hosted by the top team, which they are.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “Until I say something to upset him and his game goes to hell. That’s a lot of pressure to put on one person.”
“Why don’t you say something to him when he gets back?”
“I’ve tried. It seems like I’m just in love with a slob and that’s never going to change. I just wish he didn’t wear his heart on his sleeve the way he does. One day last week, we got into an argument, and later at practice, he was benched.”
“That’s a bit extreme.”
“Right?” I said. “I love him, I do. But having that weight is hard. I know if something happens between us, his game is shot. I don’t know how I’m supposed to survive this year after year.”
“Wow you’re really thinking about this long-term,” she said, sounding surprised.
I raised one eyebrow. “Are you doubting our relationship?”
“Of course not!” she said quickly. “I just don’t see how you two are going to make things work unless you get a maid.”
“Well,” I muttered, “we could afford one on my income, but I shouldn’t need one. There’s no reason for things to get this bad. He’s a grown man, and until we got this place, his father was still paying his rent!”
“Just think, though. In a few years, you will never have to work again!”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “I guess.”
I didn’t like where Gloria was going with the conversation. I didn’t ever want to be a basketball wife with no career. I loved being a journalist, and I was even thinking about working in the sports sector for the rest of my life. One thing I would never do, though, was give up working. Corey could be the next Michael Jordan and my career wouldn’t change. For the first time, I had to wonder if Corey knew that or if, like Gloria, he just assumed I would quit when he made it big.
Slam Dunk: A Second Chance Sports Romance Page 9
