by Kim Carmody
When we reached his place, he gestured to the front door. “This is me, top floor.” I guessed it was six stories high. I also guessed that unlike my apartment, it included a lift.
I looked back to him and smiled, about to say goodbye when he opened his mouth.
“So, do you want to come up?”
CHAPTER FIVE
“He said WHAT?”
“I know, I nearly died. Can you believe it!?”
“After all that, he asked you up to his place?”
“Yup!”
“Wow, what did you say?”
“I’m not even sure I said anything. I was in shock and before I knew it, he was rambling on about not meaning it that way or something. The whole thing was completely bizarre.”
Julia was staring at me wide eyed. “I’m not sure if you’re an idiot or a saint. I mean, the man is spectacular.”
I laughed. “I’m not going to lie, it’s not that the offer wasn’t tempting. I have to say though, it was nice to see the self-assured quarterback get a little ruffled. I think he even started to blush.”
Julia almost choked on her wine. “You’re kidding! That’s hilarious—he’s probably never had a woman turn him down in his life.”
After incoherently babbling about not meaning to invite me up, Will and I had one of the more awkward goodbyes in the history of the universe. I went for the hand shake while he tried to give me a hug resulting in my arm being crushed between our torsos, and then I somehow bumped my nose into his ear thinking the cheek kiss was appropriate. It was all thoroughly uncomfortable and I basically turned and ran as soon as he let go of me.
I had spent the rest of the walk home replaying the strange afternoon and trying to figure out exactly how I felt about it. I had to admit, I liked him. He was hard not to like. Underneath all of his forward comments and flirtatious looks, he was genuinely a nice guy and clearly had his head screwed on the right way. It was just so confusing the way he kept flicking a switch between flirty and friendly all day—it had been exhausting.
“So when will you see him next?”
I looked back over to Julia. “I’m not sure actually. I think there’s some club dinner next weekend that my team will go to as well. Who knows what the next installment of Awkward Encounters with Emma and the Quarterback will bring!”
Julia laughed. “I can’t wait to find out. Seriously though, what are you going to do if he keeps showing interest? It wouldn’t be that bad if you hooked up, would it?”
I sighed. “I imagine it would be quite pleasant, but no, I’m not going there. It’s a total no-go zone on the work front. I need to be in control next time I see him. I can’t keep letting him rattle me like that.”
I was slightly embarrassed about how much time I’d spent imagining just how pleasant being with Will would be. In fact thoughts of him had kept me awake more nights in the past week than I cared to acknowledge. I might not allow myself to go there in real life, but my wild imagination had already done plenty of damage.
Julia gave me a sly smile over the top of her wine glass. “Lady, with that man, I don’t think you’ll have a choice. Something tells me he always gets what he wants.”
I had to admit, I was worried she might be right.
#
As it turned out, I didn’t have to wait long at all for my third encounter with Will. I had only just arrived at the office on Monday morning when Carrie pounced on me.
“Emma! Thank God you’re here. Are you free to come out to the stadium to help me with something?”
“Sure, I think that should be fine,” I said, glancing towards Mark’s office. Carrie knew what I was thinking before I opened my mouth.
“It’s cool, Mark suggested you come along. I’ve had a client move up a shoot at the last minute and they’re kind of demanding. It would be great if you could help out.”
“Okay, sounds good then.” I picked up my bag. “Just let me grab a few things.”
An hour later we met the clients at the stadium and I could immediately see what Carrie meant. She barely got to say hello before they were firing demands at her.
Carrie ran around sorting things out for their production crew and I did as much as I could without knowing my way around the stadium.
I was half walking, half running through the underground corridors, trying to find the team gym when I rounded a corner and ran smack bang into a human brick wall.
My body hit his and bounced off it, sending me flying, and I let out a yelp as I landed on the hard concrete, sprawling ungracefully on my ass.
“Jesus!…Emma?”
I looked up at the sound of Will’s voice. Of course it had to be him.
“Shit, are you all right?” Dumping his bag on the ground, he bent down to me.
“Yeah,” I winced as I sat up, scrambling to pull my skirt back down. “I’m fine.”
Just mortified.
“Here, let me help you.”
Without warning, his hands wrapped around my upper arms, pulling me to my feet.
“God, I’m so sorry. That must have hurt.” His hands ran down my arms and landed at my waist, as if he needed to satisfy himself that I hadn’t broken any bones.
I looked up at him. “I’m fine, honestly.”
I could feel my face heating. This was not how I wanted to see him again after the way we said goodbye last time. Were our encounters always destined to be embarrassing like this? He continued to stare at me, standing so close I was once again drowning in the scent of his skin.
“Here, you dropped this.”
It was only then that I realized we weren’t alone.
“Oh! Thank you.” Accepting my note pad, I stepped away from Will, feeling the loss as his hands left my body and dropped to his sides.
I met the stranger’s eyes. He was a little shorter and wider than Will and basically a bundle of muscle. There was an awkward silence as I looked back and forth at the two huge men towering over me, waiting for Will to introduce us.
When he didn’t, I gave the stranger a little wave. “Hi, I’m Emma. I’ve just started working with the Warriors.”
Will interjected, “Sorry, Emma, this is Buck Raynar. Buck, this is Emma.”
Buck’s face lit up into a huge grin that made him appear less like a wrestler and more like a teddy bear—and quite a good looking teddy bear at that. “Now you wouldn’t happen to be visiting all the way from Australia, would you?” I noticed Will stiffen slightly as Buck’s eyes flickered ever so quickly to his and back.
I smiled. “Yes, that would be me. I guess the accent is hard to miss.” He had an accent of his own, his long, drawn-out vowels sounding distinctly southern.
“Well it’s very nice to meet you, Emma. Will’s told me—”
“I told him you were looking after our off-field activity.” He looked back at Buck. “I’ll meet you on the field, okay?”
I shifted on my feet. “You should both keep going. I really am fine…I promise.”
“I just wanted a quick word, it’ll only take a second.”
Buck took a step back and raised his hands. “I’d hate to get in the way.” He grinned at me. “It was nice meeting you. You tell me if this guy gives you any trouble. I’ll sort him out.” He winked at me and swaggered off. Accent and manners, he was definitely from the South—I liked him immediately.
I looked back up at Will to see him shaking his head at Buck. He was wearing loose jeans and a Warriors sweat shirt, his duffle bag slung over one shoulder. His hair was more out of place than usual and from the stubble along his jawline, I guessed he hadn’t shaved since I’d seen him on Saturday. He looked good enough to eat and, my God, I suddenly wanted to be alone in a locked room with him.
“I’m sorry about him. He’s my best friend but also sort of the team joker.”
I laughed. “Not at all. I like him, especially if he keeps you in line.”
“Yeah, um, about that…I’m sorry about what I said the other day.” Will was shifting on his feet,
looking anywhere but at me. “I just…I’m not really sure why I said it, to be honest. It just sort of came out.”
“It’s fine, Will. I’m sure you just said it out of habit.”
His head snapped up and he opened his mouth to speak, but instead just gaped at me.
I grinned. “What’s the matter Quarterback, cat got your tongue?”
Why was I set on torturing the guy when he was genuinely trying to apologize?
“No! I mean…” He scratched the back of his neck before meeting my eyes again. “What I mean is, it wasn’t out of habit. I just wanted you to come up, as in…to hang out, you know? I had a good day with you. I didn’t mean for it to sound the way it did.”
I squinted at him. “You actually expect me to believe you weren’t trying to get me into bed when you pulled that line?”
He laughed. “I wasn’t, I swear. It honestly came out wrong.”
“Either way, it really is fine. I didn’t give it a second thought.”
Liar. And why was I a little disappointed that he genuinely sounded like he wasn’t trying to get me into bed?
He frowned at me but nodded. “Cool, I just wanted to make sure we were good and all.” He was scuffing his feet on the pavement, awkwardness radiating off him in waves.
“We’re good, promise. I have to run though…we’re setting up to film your training session.”
“You’re staying for the afternoon?”
“Yeah, it looks that way. I might see you later on.”
He grinned. “You should watch. You might learn a thing or two.”
“Maybe I will. What’s your number?”
Will raised an eyebrow. “Getting a little personal now aren’t you Em?”
I rolled my eyes. “Your jersey. What’s your jersey number?”
“It’s forty-two.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for you.”
Will leaned in close, his dark eyes glimmering with amusement. “Bambi, you won’t need my number to find me.”
#
Carrie breathed a sigh of relief as she sat down next to me on the sideline.
“Now we can relax for a while. Thanks so much for helping.”
“No worries. It’s good to get out to the stadium before the season starts.”
Without taking her eyes off the camera crew on the sideline she said, “Hey how did the store opening go on Saturday? Mark said you did it on your own.”
“It was fine, thanks. Everything went smoothly.” I hesitated before looking over at Carrie. “Actually, it was more what happened afterward that was a bit strange.”
“Oh?” Carrie still hadn’t taken her eyes off the field.
“Well, I sort of had lunch with Will. He wouldn’t really take no for an answer.”
Carrie finally looked over at me, a wide smile spreading across her face. “I knew he’d like you! What happened?”
“Nothing happened! I’m not interested.”
“Oh please, of course you’re interested—any red-blooded woman is interested in Jensen.”
I laughed. “Fine, well when you put it like that…but seriously I could never go there. It’s such a bad look. Besides, you and Dana were the ones who warned me about not getting involved!”
Carrie shook her head. “Not true. Dana said you shouldn’t get involved with someone from the team. I never said anything of the sort.” She poked my arm. “If you were to ask me, I’d say you shouldn’t get caught getting involved with someone from the team. A subtle yet significant difference.”
I laughed. “Oh, right, so you’re telling me you’ve hooked up with one of them?” I pointed to where the team was training on the field.
She shook her head. “No, but I can tell you now that if Jensen tried to put the moves on me, I don’t think I’d say no.”
#
Carrie and I were putting the last of the club equipment in the van when I looked up and saw Will headed our way. He had the same jeans on but had swapped his sweat shirt in favor of a fitted white t-shirt. Under the cap he wore backwards, I could see his hair was wet, his face still slightly flushed from training and I had to forcibly keep my mouth from dropping open at the sight of him.
“Oh my God,” I heard Carrie mutter under her breath.
I turned to look at her. “No man should actually look like that in real life—you know that, don’t you?”
She lowered her voice and nodded. “What did he do right in a past life to get those looks and his playing ability?” Then a little louder. “Hey Will!”
He smiled. “Hey Carrie, how’s it going?”
“I’m good thanks, and thanks for today by the way. They were really happy.”
“Glad to hear it. You taking the van back to the office?”
She nodded. “Yeah, we’re heading off now.”
Will looked over at me. “I can give you a lift home if you want. The traffic in Midtown will be hell at this time.”
Before I had a chance to decline, Carrie jumped in. “That’s a great idea!”
My jaw dropped as I heard the words come out of her mouth. What was she doing? Hadn’t we just discussed the fact that I was trying to steer clear of him?
I gave her a pointed stare. “No, that’s silly. I’m not leaving you to manoeuvre this beast back to the city on your own.”
She smiled sweetly. “Emma, please. Where you come from, they drive on the wrong side of the road. Trust me, I’ll be better off on my own.”
“That’s not true. I was plenty of help on the way out here.”
That was a total lie. My only contribution had been to gasp every time we made a left.
Carrie narrowed her eyes at me. “You seriously want to talk about the drive out?”
I threw my hands up in the air. “Ugh! Fine, but just so you know, you guys are the ones driving on the wrong side of the road, not me.”
I looked at both their smirking faces and shook my head. “Let me get my bag.”
Carrie and I slammed the van doors closed and made our way around to the front. She jumped in with a quiet squeal, clapping her hands.
“Shhhhhh!!” I batted at her hands. “Carrie, what do you think you’re doing?”
She brushed off my question with the flick of her wrist. “Oh just go with it. It’s not every day a guy like that takes a liking to you. I’m not saying sleep with him, just enjoy the attention while it lasts.”
I rolled my eyes before closing the door. “A lot of help you are.”
Will smiled from under his cap when I walked back to him. “Car’s just over here.” He motioned over his shoulder.
He opened my door before walking around the front of the car to his side, and in that time I mentally kicked myself for landing in yet another random situation with him. And more to the point, what was he doing? Was he really just a nice guy offering me a lift home or was there more to it? After his seemingly genuine apology in the stadium, I didn’t know what to think.
“How was training?”
“You mean…practice?”
I rolled my eyes. “Sorry, how was practice?”
Will chuckled. “It was good. Coach pushed us hard, but we needed it.” I could feel his eyes on me. “Were you watching?”
Grinning I said, “Yes, I thought you did some good quarterbacking.”
His laugh was a loud bark. “What was so impressive about my quarterbacking in your expert opinion?”
I pretended to consider this for a minute. “Well…you seemed to yell orders a lot, which I think is a good thing. And you can throw the ball so far.” I extended my arms as far as I could across the car.
“Hmmm, yelling and throwing. You’ve pretty much summed it up—the qualities of a good quarterback.”
I shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a fast learner.”
He looked over and winked at me. “I bet you are.”
“Will!” I slapped his arm. “And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”
His hands flew up in a gesture of innocence. “Nothing,
I swear. I’m on my best behaviour.” He shook his head and murmured under his breath. “Such a dirty mind, Bambi.”
“Me with the dirty mind! You should talk—you’re like the king of innuendo.”
He shrugged, smiling at me as we stopped at a set of streetlights. “Probably.”
“More like definitely.”
“I’m only teasing. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but you’re easy to tease…and I like it.” He wrinkled his nose, dark eyes sparkling with humor.
Feeling like he needed a taste of his own medicine, I slipped my heels off and placed my feet on the dash of the car, letting my skirt slip up my legs. Will’s eyes grew to the size of saucers as they followed the path of my legs, tripping over my chest and landing on my mouth. “This is a really nice car.”
Will swallowed thickly. “Yeah, it’s nice.”
“It’s so spacious.” I twisted my body to peer into the back. Will was leaning toward me over the console, so close I could feel his breath on me.
“Um, I guess so.”
I turned my head so we were at eye level with one another, our faces only inches apart. “Have you ever, you know…had sex in here?” I bit my lip.
“Fuck, not yet I haven’t.”
A horn beeped, and he jumped before stepping on the accelerator.
“Ha!” I shoved his shoulder. “Careful Quarterback, two can play that game.”
With his eyes back on the road, he shook his head. “Jesus, Bambi, you don’t play fair.”
We continued on toward Manhattan in companionable silence for a while until I felt his eyes on me again.
“Are you going to the club dinner next weekend?”
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it. I assume it’s part of your quarterback duties to attend?”
“One of the many.” He glanced at me again. “Are you bringing a date?”
“No. I’m assigned to a table with my team, and no one’s bringing a partner. Besides, even if we could, I’ve barely been in the city for five minutes, so it’s not like I know anyone to ask.”
Will smiled. “That’s no excuse. I’m sure you could easily find a date if you wanted to.”
I shrugged. “Well, I don’t need to and I don’t want to, so it’s kind of irrelevant.”
