Short Stop to Love

by A. M. Williams

  While Keri looked through the different displays, Jeremy grabbed a hand basket. They took their time walking through the shop, carefully picking up baubles and things, selecting what they wanted to buy.

  When they got to the register, Keri veered off to the bathroom. He used the chance to pay for everything. By the time she rejoined him, he was standing there with multiple bags. She sighed when she saw him.

  “You paid for everything, didn’t you?” she asked with a mock glare.

  “I did.”

  “I was going to pay for myself.”

  “I know. I wanted to treat you.”

  He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. “Come on, lets get this put up and go find something for lunch.”

  With a sigh, Keri took a bag from him and followed him to the car, helping him carefully arrange them in his backseat.

  “Do you want anything in particular for lunch?” he asked her as he started the car up.

  She shook her head. “No, surprise me.”

  “Alright.”

  He threw the car into gear and made his way out of the parking lot. Since they were in the southwest, there were quite a few places that had some decent Tex-Mex food and he was going to take her to a food truck he knew of that had some great walking tacos.

  Jeremy took Keri’s hand as they strolled up to the truck and perused the menu. Keri looked at him. “I have to admit. This isn’t what I was anticipating you bringing me to.”

  He cocked a brow. “Oh? What were you expecting?”

  “I don’t know honestly. I’ve had to reshape everything I thought I knew about you, so I’m not sure what I anticipated. I can tell you for certain that a food truck wasn’t on the list. Though, if nothing else, this last week has shown me to expect the unexpected with you.”

  He laughed. “Well, I’m glad I can surprise you still.”

  She laughed too and stepped up to order right ahead of him. She ordered one while he ordered two of the tacos as well as an order of their homemade chips and salsa.

  They chatted as they waited and within a few minutes had their food and were sitting at a picnic table. They were silent as they started eating, though Keri moaned as she bit into hers. Jeremy quirked a brow at her.

  “Sorry. It’s just so good!”

  “It is. It’s one of my favorite places to hit if I’m wanting something quick.”

  “I can see why!” Keri exclaimed, working her way through the taco quickly.

  “Maybe I should order another one.”

  Jeremy glanced at the truck and saw there wasn’t a line. He handed her some cash. “Go on, there’s no line.”

  She leaned over the table and kissed him before skipping to the truck. He chuckled as he watched her chat with the cook. A few minutes later, she was back and munching on her food.

  She leaned back, satisfied.

  “We need to find a place in Seattle that sells these.”

  “Good luck. I haven’t found one that’s nearly as good. Though, the ones at the festival were pretty legit.”

  Keri nodded. “I agree, but these take the cake.”

  Once they finished eating, they tossed their trash and got back into the car. As they rode back to the house, Jeremy thought back to the interrupted moment he and Keri shared that morning. He glanced at her and noticed she was staring out the window. He placed his hand on her knee, making her jump. He lightly caressed her knee and she relaxed again.

  He stroked his fingers up and down her leg, smiling when he felt her flesh prickle with goosebumps. Her breathing hitched. He glanced at her and she was biting her lip. She turned toward him and his hand slid higher up her thigh.

  Before he could slide his hand to her apex, he parked outside his bungalow. He gave Keri his house keys while he grabbed the bags. Upon walking in, he carefully set the bags on the table and turned to face Keri who was looking at him from the hallway. He cocked a brow at her and smirked, making her blush. He wondered what she was thinking. Maybe it was similar to his own dirty thoughts about stripping her in his living room.

  He stepped toward her and she stepped back. He took another step and so did she.

  “Do you want to be chased?” he growled.

  Keri giggled and continued to back away until she was against the wall and Jeremy was pressed against her front. She panted as he eyed her lips. He was close enough that their breath mingled and he could almost feel her lips on his. He lightly brushed his lips against hers, teasing her and making her groan.

  “Jeremy…” she moaned.

  Jeremy chuckled, glad he could drive her crazy.

  “What?” he murmured as he lightly brushed his lips across her cheek and down the column of her throat.

  “You know what,” she whispered.

  He paused, smiling against her skin. “Do I?”

  “Yes, you do. You started something this morning and you need to finish it.”

  He caressed the skin between her shirt and pants. “Really?”

  “Yes,” she said, stomping her foot. “I’ve waited all day for you to fuck me.”

  Jeremy’s eyes widened slightly as he chuckled. “Did you just stomp your foot?”

  “Well, what the lady wants, the lady gets,” he murmured as he pressed his lips to hers for a hard kiss.

  Troy: Thanks for use of the boat. Joann went CRAZY for it.

  Troy: Nothing? Crickets?

  Troy: Did you fall in?

  Troy: Send an S.O.S. or something.

  Jeremy: Fuck off.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Keri

  Joann: Are you back yet?

  Keri: Just boarded my flight.

  Joann: Dinner tonight? Catch up?

  Keri: Sure. Chinese?

  Joann: I’ll get the food. Make sure we have booze.

  Keri sighed as she entered her apartment after the week she spent in Peoria with Jeremy. She dropped her bags by the bed and made quick work of unpacking.

  As she rifled through her things, she heard the front door open and close, signaling Joann was home. She changed into loungewear and went to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of white wine and glasses.

  “Hey,” Joann said, laying out food containers.

  “How was work?”

  “So long and boring.”

  “Isn’t it always?”

  Joann shrugged. “Some days are interesting.”

  “This is true.”

  Joann sighed and sank to the floor in front of the couch. Keri joined her and poured both of them a liberal glass of wine. They started to eat and chat about different things.

  “Oh, something interesting did happen right before I left.”

  “Really? What? Some celebrity get caught doing something they shouldn’t?”

  “Well, it was a celebrity, but they weren’t caught doing something bad.”

  “Okay. What then?”

  “As I was leaving, one of the senior reporters was talking to my editor about a photo that just came through.”

  Joann paused and stared at Keri.

  “Okay. And? Why are you staring at me like that?”

  “Do you not get subtext?”

  “No, not really when you’re being vague.”

  Joann rolled her eyes and grabbed her tablet. “The picture was of Jeremy.”

  “Again, I’m not sure what this has to do with me.”

  Instead of responding, Joann handed Keri her tablet. Keri’s eyes locked on the blurry photo taking up the majority of the screen. The photo was definitely of Jeremy. That wasn’t what caught her eye though; it was the woman. She squinted and gasped.

  “Is that?” she asked as she tried to zoom in on the photo.

  “Yep. That’s you.”

  Keri studied the photo. It wasn’t clear and Jeremy was blocking her with his body, but it was definitely her. It was a photo from when they went to play mini-golf. She scrolled through and blanched when she got further down.

  “Oh my God!”

  “What? What is it?”
Joann asked, jerking.

  “Look!”

  Keri passed the tablet back to Joann and pointed to a photo toward the bottom. Joann started laughing.

  “What are you laughing at?

  “You! Your reaction here is funny.”

  “We’re making out against his car!”

  Joann shrugged. “And?”

  “And?” Keri sputtered. “And it’s in the paper!”

  “Much worse things have been pictured before.”

  “That may be, but this is me!”

  Keri grabbed the tablet back and looked at the photo again. It still wasn’t a clear shot of her, but it was obvious that she and Jeremy were into their make out session. They had to be for neither of them to notice a photographer lurking.

  “There’s a small article too.”

  “What?”

  Joann reached across Keri and scrolled down so she could see the article.

  “There.”

  __________________________________________________

  Bachelor Ballplayer in Love?

  Seattle shortstop Jeremy Glass is currently in Peoria, Arizona with the rest of the team for pre-season spring training. We’ve been following him closely as he’s predicted to be on fire with a .325 batting average and untold plays on the diamond. However, it seems that’s not the only thing that Glass is on fire with. He was spotted at several local spots as well as the sports complex with an unidentified long-haired brunette last week. Is love on the playing field for Mr. Glass?

  Keri scrolled up again to study the photos.

  “Do you think they know who I am?”

  “Hard to say, but I don’t think so. I didn’t find any other pictures and I looked through our database. I haven’t seen it with any other papers either. Either they’re holding onto the pictures or they don’t exist.”

  Joann paused to take a sip of wine before saying, “I’m going with they don’t exist because they would have released them already. And, they call you an ‘unidentified brunette.’ If they knew who you were, they’d say it right out. They want the story.”

  Keri nodded and thought Joann’s words over. They made sense and they made her feel slightly better. Until this, Jeremy’s fame was abstract, just a thought. But reality slapped her in the face with the release of this photo.

  “I should have known we’d end up in the paper. He’s hounded all the time by the media because he’s a hot, rich male. I guess I was just…hoping it wouldn’t be so soon?”

  “I think it’s understandable to be a bit freaked out right now. I mean, you’re in the paper. That’s huge! And, once they figure out who you are, then you’ll definitely have your work cut out for you. But, I think for right now, you should just enjoy it. Talk to Jeremy, get his take on it. There’s no need for you to lose your head over what could come in the future.”

  Keri nodded at Joann. She was right, of course, she needed to talk to Jeremy and not let herself get too far ahead. For all she knew, she was worrying over nothing. She sighed and pushed all thoughts of the article out of her mind.

  “So, tell me about what you’ve been up to.”

  Over the rest of dinner, they shared their respective weeks as they worked through the rest of the bottle of wine. By the time they cleaned up from dinner, Keri was slightly buzzed and giggly as she went into her room and grabbed her phone off her nightstand.

  She laid on her bed, scrolling through her contacts until she found Jeremy’s number, pressing send. She listened as the phone rang, hoping he would pick up. Just as she thought it would go to voicemail, he picked up. “Hey, I was just about to call you. I was worried when I didn’t hear from you earlier.”

  Keri giggled. “Sorry, I meant to text you when I got home, but Joann came home and we got caught up in talking to each other.”

  “That’s good. Anything interesting happen while you were away?”

  “No, not really,” she hedged. “Apparently all the interesting stuff happened today as I got home.”

  “Oh?” he asked, sounding intrigued.

  “Yeah. You made the paper.”

  Jeremy scoffed. “I make the paper every day.”

  “Well,” Keri said in a sing-song voice. “Today is a bit different. I made it with you also, although they don’t know who I am.”

  Jeremy was silent for a few moments before saying, “What do you mean, we made the paper?”

  Keri could hear concealed anger in his voice and sobered up slightly. She gulped and said, “Joann showed me the article. The paper here ran it.”

  She heard a muffled curse and rustling. After a few moments, Jeremy said, “Fuck! Why didn’t my publicist let me know about this?”

  “You didn’t know?”

  “No, I didn’t. I’ll be having words with Allison about this. What the hell do I pay her for if she can’t tell me that I’m in the fucking paper like this?”

  Keri cringed, feeling sorry for this Allison person.

  Jeremy sighed. “I’m sorry I’m angry. I just…I hate how closely they follow me and I’m sorry you’re caught up in it now.”

  “It’s fine, really,” Keri assured him. She was shocked to realize she was telling the truth. “It was bound to happen. And they don’t know who I am. I’m sure it’ll die down once they realize they won’t get any more pictures with me while you’re down in Peoria. Soon enough, you’ll be back here and we can figure out ways to keep everything to ourselves.”

  “Are you sure? It’s a lot to take on.”

  “Yes, I’m sure. I’ll admit, I was a bit freaked out. But all that doesn’t matter so long as I get to be with you.”

  “Same could be said about you. I don’t care about them so long as you’re good.”

  “I’m perfect.”

  “Alright… Why are we talking about this then?”

  Keri laughed. “I don’t know. How was practice?”

  “Hot and long. Ross had something up his ass today and Lennox was terrible. Couldn’t make a play to save his life and wouldn’t own up to make errors.”

  “Ross is your manager? And Lennox is Andrew?”

  “Yeah. Ross is the redhead that called for me when you came down. And you’ve met Andrew.”

  “Unfortunately,” Keri muttered.

  Jeremy chuckled. “I’ve met a few people that feel the same way, trust me. Did you do anything else besides gossip with Joann when you got home?”

  “Nope. Just unpacked, ate dinner, and finished a bottle of wine.”

  “Sounds like a perfect night. I wish I was there.”

  “Me too.”

  “Only a few more weeks.”

  “A few weeks too long,” Keri said with a sigh.

  “It’ll be over before you know it.”

  “I hope so.”

  They spent the next few minutes chatting about unimportant things before saying their goodbyes. When they hung up, she extracted a promise from Jeremy for a FaceTime call the next night. She smiled and felt positively giddy.

  When she awoke the next morning, Keri felt ready to face the day. She knew it probably wouldn’t last long since she would have a large pile of work on her desk, but the thought of seeing Jeremy later, even through the phone, made her happy.

  Her grin widened even further upon discovering a colorful arrangement of flowers on her desk. A smirking Lisa followed her into her office, settling into the chair across from Keri, watching as Keri sniffed the lilies and pink roses as she pulled the card from the envelope.

  Keri bit her lip as she read the little typed card:

  I miss you already. Can’t wait to see you soon. x J

  The smile on Keri’s face almost hurt because it was so wide.

  “So, who’s the admirer?” Lisa asked as she took in Keri’s face.

  “No one,” Keri said nonchalantly, moving around her desk to settle in.

  “Hmmm…” Lisa said, carefully watching Keri as she went through her morning routine. “Would this no one be the reason you stayed in Peoria an extra week?
And canceled the rest of your hotel reservation?”

  Keri blushed as she remembered asking Lisa to help her sort out the details of the rest of her stay. She cut her eyes to Lisa, looking to see what Lisa knew or thought she knew. “Possibly,” she said.

  Lisa narrowed her eyes as Keri turned to her computer, logging in to get her day started. “You know, I thought that picture of you yesterday was flattering in all its pixelated glory.”

  “That was so not flattering,” Keri said distractedly.

  Keri paused, realizing she just gave the game away. She sighed and turned her full attention to Lisa. Keri opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, Lisa interjected, “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything to anyone. It’s not my place. I recognized you only because I knew where you were and put two and two together.”

  Keri released a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Lisa. I’m so worried people are going to realize it’s me and then I’ll be hounded.”

  Lisa nodded in understanding. “It’ll happen eventually. But, seriously, you can’t tell it’s you. I just had enough information to piece it together. It wasn’t until I made my comment and you confirmed it that I knew I was right.”

  Keri nodded and quickly changed the subject, having Lisa run through her schedule for the day. Keri rubbed her temples once Lisa left. She already had a headache and it was barely nine in the morning. She pulled her phone to her to fire off a quick text to Jeremy.

  Keri: Thank you for the flowers.

  Jeremy: You’re welcome. I thought you might like something nice to start the week off right.

  Keri: I do. They certainly brighten the place up.

  Jeremy: Good.

  Keri: Of course…I know something else that would brighten this place up.

  Jeremy: Oh?

  Keri: You.

  Jeremy: I would be there in a heartbeat if I could.

  Keri: I know. I just miss you.

  Jeremy: I miss you too.

  Keri threw herself into work, stopping only to eat lunch and when Lisa told her she had a meeting. It wasn’t until it was 6 o’clock and she realized she was the last person in the office that Keri finally packed it in and headed home.