I snorted and laughed at the absurdity. Even if that was what she wanted, I didn’t know a damn thing about romance or grand gestures or whatever bullshit that normal men used to lure in members of the fairer sex. Besides, using a romantic approach would send all kinds of signals that I didn’t want to send.
I frowned and cocked my head to the side as a thought occurred to me. She had been mollified when she found out I called Lauren to tell her that the whole drunk fiasco was my fault, then warmed up even more when I told her about Brittany. Something she said to me the day we met replayed in my head.
“Why do you keep up the act? The stupid bad boy womanizer bullshit persona...”
Bingo. All I needed to do to snag April was drop the act and be real. She responded well to honesty.
The only problem with that idea was I hadn’t been lying when I told her that what you saw was what you got.
So the only thing I needed to do to get April was to be a totally different person.
I thoughtfully clicked my tongue as I looked in the fridge and considered my options, trying to shove away my conscience as it tried to warn me about what a terrible idea this was.
“Surprise!” I shouted, grinning when April froze and stared at me like I’d grown a second head.
“What the hell are you doing?” she asked as she stepped into the kitchen and tried to peek into the pot I had boiling on the stove.
“What’s it look like? I’m making dinner.”
Her nose wrinkled up before she blandly stated, “It smells like something’s burning.”
“It’s probably the cookies. Pull them out, yeah?”
“Cookies? For dinner?”
I shrugged, glancing over to her as she pulled the tray of cookies out of the oven. Sure enough, I could detect the burnt scent April had mentioned as soon as the door was opened. At least there was plenty of milk in the fridge. That’d make them more bearable.
“I’m not exactly master chef over here,” I admitted as I pulled the lid off the pot and stirred the pasta. “The only things I could find in here that seemed simple to make was a roll of cookie dough and macaroni and cheese.”
“A winning combination, for sure,” she commented, poking at one of the cookies with a spatula. “We could have just ordered out, you know.”
“Don’t I get points for effort here? I was trying to do something nice.”
April lifted one shoulder in the air and smiled. “I’ll give you half a point.”
“Half a—You’re fucking insane. This is worth at least three,” I balked, gesturing at the stove with my spoon.
“One and a half.”
“Stop giving me halves, woman. Two points.”
“Fine! Two points. That’s the highest I’ll go.”
“I’ll take it,” I said with a grin as she walked to my side and stood in front of the sink.
April raised a brow and turned her eyes to hold my gaze. “I suppose since you did the cooking, that leaves me to clean up your mess?”
“It’d be greatly appreciated, but not necessary. I’ll do it.”
After I finished, I subtly shifted my eyes to gauge her reaction. She seemed both surprised and pleased that I would make the offer to clean the dishes and a small smile appeared on her lips as she started to fill up one side of the sink with warm water.
That’s another point for me.
From the corner of my eye, I saw her attempt to subtly glance over at me and her smile widened when she realized I wasn’t looking. I held back my smirk, but internally was patting myself on the back for the fact that she seemed to be rather pleased with me.
It wasn’t an expensive, romantic dinner. It was simple, honest, real—and that seemed to be the ticket to making April happy.
As she washed the baking sheet while I divided the macaroni and cheese between two plates, I thought hard about my next move. Some time during or after dinner, I needed to find the right moment to step my game up.
15
April
Coming out after a long bath and finding Jared Moore standing in the kitchen cooking dinner was probably a fantasy for thousands of women. It wasn’t one I could ever admit to having of him myself, but when I happened across it in reality, I added it to my list.
Because regardless of what he was making, it was still incredible to witness. The only thing I could think of that would have made it any better was if he had lost the shirt.
The salacious thought was like a shock to the system and I went on the defensive—hiding my emotions under an act of annoyance. I had to admit I was surprised when he told me I didn’t need to do the dishes, but while I scrubbed the pan he had baked the cookies on, a voice in the back of my head warned me that he had likely planned it that way. So as we sat down to eat, my smile had melted from genuine to tight with nerves.
I ate slowly—waiting for him to ruin the pleasant bond we’d built over the past few days—but nothing ever became of my fear. By the time I finished my bowl of mac and cheese and reached for a cookie, my worries had pretty much fully dissolved.
Maybe I had been wrong. Maybe Jared was legitimately just doing something nice.
“Up for a movie, princess?”
The nickname annoyed me, but he didn’t seem to notice he said it. The smirk that usually accompanied the word was missing, his demeanor relaxed and natural. I decided to let the obvious slip-up slide this time and told him a movie sounded great.
But to be honest, I was getting incredibly bored of watching so much television with him. I kept it to myself because I knew he didn’t have anything else to do, but I was really looking forward to getting him out of my apartment so I could return to normalcy that didn’t involve so much time spent on the couch.
“Go ahead in, I’ll wash these and join you in a second,” he said as he lifted both of our bowls and carried them over to the sink.
I stared at his back for a long moment and watched as he scrubbed, seeming to realize that I hadn’t yet left the room and glancing back over his shoulder at me with a frown. When he raised an eyebrow—a silent question— I sprung into motion.
I made a pit-stop at the fridge for milk and grabbed a stack of cookies, smiling when I noticed him grinning. He was obviously very proud of himself and I had to admit that I was as well. We were getting along pretty well. He almost felt like... a friend.
Which should have been a scarier thought than it was. I wondered how Lauren would feel about hearing me becoming chummy in a non-sexual way with her biggest client. Unable to even fathom what her response might be, I pushed away the thought and turned on the TV, opening the Netflix app once the screen booted up.
“Can I pick?” I asked loudly, hoping he’d hear me over the noise of the water running.
“Go ahead!”
I picked a movie I thought we both could appreciate—Friday Night Lights. It was one of my father’s favorite movies and he was the sole reason I ended up becoming a football fan. If we weren’t watching a game together when I was a kid, we were likely to be found watching a movie about football. It’s just the way I was raised.
When Jared finally plopped down beside me, he grinned at my choice and reached for the remote to press play. He snatched a cookie and dipped it into my glass of milk, winking at me when I shot him an eye roll.
“You couldn’t get your own glass?” I whispered as the movie began, feeling oddly like the two of us were in a theater. It was certainly dark enough in the apartment to give that vibe.
Jared leaned closer and playfully whispered back, “Why bother when I can just steal some of yours?”
The cookies quickly disappeared and Jared rushed off to get another stack, the two of us splitting them until we inevitably ran out again. I polished off the glass of milk, acutely aware of his attention as I chugged down the remaining liquid. But when I pulled the glass from my lips, his eyes were focused back on the screen.
I had seen the movie so many times that I really didn’t need to pay much attention to be able
to follow the plot and it turned out to be a good choice on my end. It left me free to watch Jared as he watched the movie—although with his freakish senses, I had to be very careful so I wouldn’t get caught looking.
Whether I was checking him out or not, I wasn’t really in the mood to bicker about it. We’d done it before—there was really no need for a repeat of the same damn argument.
The more time that went by without him making a move, the more relaxed I became. When the movie ended and he immediately picked another one, I frowned and craned my neck to try and catch a glimpse of the clock in my kitchen. It was getting pretty late, but he didn’t seem to have any intentions of calling it an early night and letting me get some rest.
Since I didn’t have any plans for the next day, I figured it couldn’t hurt. I adjusted myself into a more comfortable position by propping my pillow behind me and curling my knees underneath me, careful not to use up all the space on the couch just in case Jared wanted to do the same.
Apparently, he did. It wasn’t the exact same position I was in, but when he noticed me making myself comfortable, he adjusted himself as well. Unfortunately, Jared’s positioning brought him into my personal space and it seemed a little too close to be considered friendly.
But there was no sign on his face that gave me the impression that he felt the same, so I chalked it up to my own paranoia. He’d been treating me a lot more normally the past few days and he hadn’t given me a reason to suspect that he was still interested in getting into my pants.
At least until half-way through the movie, when I felt the weight of his arm slide across my upper back and his large palm curled possessively around my shoulder.
16
Jared
Jesus Christ, I haven’t made a move this cliché since high school, I thought as I attempted to casually wrap my arm around April’s shoulders.
She bristled immediately, but didn’t say anything. I froze right along with her—hoping she couldn’t feel the tension in my arm as I braced myself for her anger. I thought I had waited an appropriate amount of time before finally making a move, but now I was starting to wonder if my lack of patience had fucked me over. Maybe if I had just continued to act friendly for a while, she wouldn’t have been so freaked.
But the movie continued to play and no words were spoken. Her body was still tight with awareness—I imagined she was keeping herself ready in case I made another move. Since she wasn’t objecting to having my arm around her, I forced myself to stay just like that and wait for an opening.
This was better than nothing, after all. I just needed to bide my time.
I had chosen a movie I loved, but I couldn’t bring myself to focus. My attention was entirely focused on April as I tried to catch her eyes and see whatever kind of reaction was there. I thought about saying something about how it wasn’t anything unusual for platonic friends to cuddle, but opted against it. Because I knew if she questioned me about whether that’s what I really wanted, I wouldn’t lie to her.
A while later, her shoulder rose high as she let out a slow, steady breath before finally—finally—relaxing. I was about to smile at the little victory when she totally threw me for a loop by pushing herself closer to my side and practically snuggling up against me.
Something happened then—something I didn’t want. My heart quickened at the contact and I could already feel the panic rising in my stomach. I reminded myself it was all an illusion. A natural reaction to being rejected then finding myself getting closer to what I wanted. There were no feelings. There’d never been before with a woman and I certainly wasn’t feeling them now for a girl I had known for only a week.
I clenched my jaw in irritation. Despite what I had told her about how playing hard to get had no effect on me, it was really pissing me off that it seemed to be working. I didn’t think it would work, but when had I ever really been put in this position?
Most girls I met who pulled this routine broke within a few hours. But April was just as stubborn and headstrong as I was. Two birds of a feather and all that shit.
I respected her for it even though it also annoyed me to no end.
Shoving away the thoughts of feelings that I definitely didn’t have, I wondered what my next move should be. Was cuddling up to me her way of saying to keep pressing? Or was she in the mindset that it was okay to do this because we were friends?
Were we friends?
Frustrated by the lack of any answers, I simply settled for tightening my hold around her and when I heard the content sigh slip past her lips, my cock took an interest in the moment.
About damn time. Keep this shit from becoming emotional, will you?
“This is kind of nice,” she said softly before she tipped her head to rest on my shoulder. I ignored the way my stomach clenched. “Sorry for leaning on you like this—I really thought I could make it through another movie.”
Her sentence ended with a yawn and the realization that we were sitting on her bed was like throwing a bucket of ice water over my head.
She wasn’t responding to my advances.
She was fucking tired and I was keeping her awake with my bullshit.
Well, that was a massive disappointment. I didn’t even know if it would be worth it to push her more, but her warm body pressed against me and the clean scent of her hair so close to my nose made my choice for me. I wasn’t fully hard yet, but it was getting there. The desire to have her soft fingers on my cock won out over any logical thought.
“How about we open up the bed so you can lie down?” I whispered, turning my eyes to the screen when I saw her twisting her neck to look up at me.
I pretended to be invested in the movie as she considered it for a long moment, then nodded.
“You wouldn’t mind?”
Hell fucking no.
“I wouldn’t have offered if I did.”
She smiled and my pulse started to race yet again, leaving me to wonder what the fuck was wrong with me as the two of us stood from the couch. She quickly pulled out the bed part and threw down a sheet before arranging herself on the bed and snuggling underneath her comforter.
I crawled onto the bed beside her and moved close, stretching my arm out in the hopes that she would curl up on her own to continue our cuddling session.
April hesitated, but eventually moved into position. I grinned at the screen and gave her a few minutes of peace before I shifted around in discomfort.
“Am I hurting you?” she asked, looking up at me with tired eyes lined with concern.
“Nah, just need to—” I cut myself off and turned on my side to face her before I pulled her further into my embrace. “That’s better.”
April was stiff in my arms, but slowly began to relax as I craned my neck to focus on the screen. Eventually, her head came down to rest against my chest. I wanted to wait a little longer, but I knew that the movie would soon draw to a close and the moment would be lost.
Her eyes were closed when I used my free hand to caress her cheek, the touch making her head tilt to look up at me. The moment her eyes began to open, I leaned in and pressed my lips softly against hers.
There was a muffled gasp against my mouth and her lips remained frozen in shock for a few seconds before she finally became pliant and gently kissed me back. A low groan worked its way up my throat when her hand came up to curl around my neck and I took it as her consent to deepen the kiss.
And by ‘deepen the kiss’ I obviously meant roll us until I landed on top of her so I could firmly smash our lips together— letting her feel the six days of pent up desire I had for her.
I used a thigh to push her knees apart and my growl turned into a strangled groan when I rolled my lower body against hers and finally got some friction on my cock. It felt abnormally intense, but I supposed any touch was bound to feel that way after a week of near celibacy. I had only given in to the urge to jerk off a few times in her shower. Doing it in her bed without her approval was a little too much—even for me.
&
nbsp; This though? I thought as I slid my tongue past her lips and rocked my hips at the same time. This is looking like it might have been worth the wait.
They say all good things must come to an end—but I had been praying that the end to this would happen while I was buried balls deep inside her pussy. So while it wasn’t a total surprise when she began to push at my shoulders, it was severely disappointing.
I couldn’t even ask her what was wrong after I pulled away. Her eyes opened wide and she stared up at me like I had betrayed her as she hissed, “What the hell are you doing? Get off of me!”
I rolled to my back and covered my face with my hands while my cock throbbed in my shorts. I wanted to roar in frustration and only managed to resist the urge because April was sitting up on her knees besides me and stabbing me in the chest with a sharp finger.
“I thought we were past this shit, Jared.”
“So did I,” I muttered, regretting it when I realized she heard me.
“I told you I don’t want to sleep with you!” she hysterically shouted—the abrupt loudness making me jump a little.
I sat up and spun on my knees to face her, my nostrils flaring as anger ran through my body, joining the lust that was still desperate to be satisfied.
“You kissed me back. Don’t fucking pretend like you didn’t,” I said darkly, leaning in very close to whisper, “Are you seriously going to sit here and tell me you aren’t dripping wet for me right now?”
April shoved me hard and I laughed at her mortified expression when she realized she hadn’t made me move an inch. She tried and failed again, but my laughter died off when I saw her eyes start to glass over with unshed tears.
Another stomach flip, but this one was even worse than the butterfly-like sensation I had experienced earlier. This was... remorse. An expression even more unfamiliar to me.
What the hell is wrong with me?
“I stupidly let myself believe that we were friends,” she said, shaking her head to herself and sending some of the tears rolling down her cheeks. I frowned at the sight, uncertain of what to do in this situation. “But I was wrong, wasn’t I? You are what you are.”
Infamous: A Bad Boy Sports Romance Novel Page 7
