“Isabelle, are you ready to head back to the room?”
“Aw, look at Jamesy, being the wet towel, trying to dampen our fun.”
“Isabelle?” I repeat, and she flashes Brock a smile before shoving her chair back.
“Yes, I’m ready.”
She moves towards me before looking back at Brock.
“Thanks for all of the laughs tonight. I needed those.”
Brock, the asshole, winks at her.
“Anytime, baby doll. Looks like we will be spending a lot of time together over the next few months. I’ll be here with the jokes, anytime that you need to hear them.”
I cut my eyes at him before motioning to the door.
“C’mon.”
I all but grab her and throw her over my shoulder, before hustling the both of us out of the dining room.
Since Isaac begged to stay the night in Jacks’ room, it ends up being just Isabelle and I alone in the elevator.
She’s still smiling, and I can’t even help myself. It makes my fucking blood boil.
“So, you and Brock seemed to hit it off.” I glare at her, although she doesn’t look at me to notice.
“Yeah. He’s funny.”
“Listen, so I didn’t think that I needed to lay down ground rules, but apparently, I do. It is not ok for you to sleep with my teammates.”
Her face drops, and she swings her head towards me.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. And I mean it. Fuck people on your own time.” I’m so fucking pissed off, that my heartbeat is thundering in my ears.
She glares at me before taking a step towards me.
“You have got to be out of your mind. I was talking to the guy. I’m not fucking him, you asshole.”
“Oh, please,” I snort, as the elevator pings and the door opens on our floor. “It’s obvious that you want to. You laughed at all of his stupid jokes, and trust me, I was there. I know that shit wasn’t even funny.”
“What?” She follows me into the hallway and stomps behind me towards the door to our suite.
“You have got to be kidding me. I’m allowed to talk to people, and I can laugh any jokes that I want to. If you don’t want me around your teammates, then you should just hide me in your room. You invited me to dinner, remember? I was perfectly content to stay here.”
She slams the door shut behind her.
“And, for the record, I’m not fucking anybody, nor am I even considering it. The guy’s funny. But I don’t sleep with dirtball baseball players. I have higher standards than that.”
“Dirtball baseball players? Oh, sweetheart. That’s cute. You’re telling me that you wouldn’t drop your panties for a guy in his position? Please.”
Her eyes widen, and her hand flies up.
The slap of her hand across my face surprises the both of us. Her eyes widen as her hand drops back down to her side.
“Oh, oh shit.”
The stinging of my cheek snaps me back to reality.
“Oh my god. Isabelle…”
“I’m not some two-cent whore, Ryan. I don’t sleep around, not that it is any of your business. And I couldn’t care less about whatever position you guys are in. I’m not one of those sluts that I saw at the baseball field today. I’m not going to hop into bed with some guy just because he has money or because his face in on TV. Maybe you’re used to talking to women the way that you just spoke to me, but this is your one and only warning. I don’t play like that, and I certainly have no issues packing my bag and catching the next flight home. You need me here, it is not the other way around. So, I suggest you think about the way that you are going to talk to me, because if you ever suggest that I am a whore again, I’m out.”
She glares at me one last time before turning on one heel and stalking towards her bedroom door. The door slams so hard that it echoes in my ears.
Well, fuck.
Way to go, Jamesy.
Way to fucking go.
Chapter Seven
Isabelle
I’m standing in our little kitchen waiting for the coffee to brew when Ryan finally emerges from his bedroom.
Dammit.
I was seriously hoping to avoid him today at least until Isaac returns.
Apparently, I’m not going to have that kind of luck.
He walks towards me before smiling.
“That coffee smells amazing.”
I don’t respond.
It’s honestly best if I just stand here and keep my mouth shut because I can’t trust myself to be nice right now.
That man has a lot of nerve. For him to come at me the way that he did last night and accuse me of trying to sleep with his teammates was so out of left field that I can’t even wrap my mind around it.
And then, for him to insinuate that I am the kind of woman to sleep with a guy just because of his bank account sent me into a rage that I’m not even sure I’m over yet.
Which is precisely why I can’t acknowledge him right now.
“Listen, Isabelle…”
“No.” I wave my hand at him. “Don’t, alright?”
He sighs.
I force my eyes to focus on the coffee pot in front of me because the last thing that I need to do is turn around and focus on the fact that Ryan walked in here wearing only gym shorts.
I am not going to allow myself to look at his hot body and ripped chest.
I will not get sidetracked.
“I understand that you don’t want to hear me out. But I really am sorry for the way that I acted. Seriously. I’m not usually such a dick. I don’t know what came over me.”
“Listen,” I start, still staring straight ahead at the coffee pot. “I’m really not much of a morning person on a good day. I appreciate your apology, but I need at least a full cup of coffee in me before I can even consider forgiving you and moving past all of this, alright?”
“Fair enough.” He chuckles. “I’ll let you have the whole damn pot before I bring it up again. I’d like to avoid getting smacked in the face again.”
I grimace.
I didn’t mean to hit the guy, but, well, it happened. That’s the only thing that happened last night that I regret.
“I’m really sorry about that part. It’s just the Latina in me. Sometimes, it’s hard to hold in my crazy.”
At this, he bursts out laughing. I fight to hold back my smile, because I’m not ready to make up with him yet.
He still said an awful lot of mean shit to me last night, and I’m not one for dealing well with that.
So, instead, I pour myself a big cup of coffee and pad back to my bedroom where my nice, fluffy, king sized bed awaits me.
I manage to avoid Ryan for the rest of the morning. Isaac returned shortly after we ran into each other in the kitchen, and after that, I threw myself into teaching Isaac.
He was so excited to get started on schoolwork that my heart about burst.
This is why no matter what, I will always want to teach this age group.
The older kids don’t enjoy school as much, and it becomes more social than anything. But the kindergartners are excited to learn, and their excitement rubs off on me.
I absolutely love it.
We spend a couple of hours between math homework and sight words.
Isaac had already been ahead of his classmates, since he started kindergarten already being able to read, so he flew through a weeks’ worth of sight words in less than thirty minutes.
Ryan peaked in on us a few times, but for the most part, he left us alone.
Finally, at around eleven thirty, I closed our books.
“Alright, buddy. We have about an hour before we need to leave for the field. You should probably go and get ready.”
“Ok, Isabelle.” Isaac flings his little arms around my neck and gives me a big squeeze before flashing me a toothless grin.
“You’re coming to the game too, right?”
On the inside, I cringe, but on the outside, I simply smile wide.
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“Yes, of course. Remember? You and I are game buddies.”
“I was just checking.” He smiles again before taking off towards the bedroom that he and Ryan are sharing.
Going to this baseball game is about the last thing that I want to do, especially after Ryan’s and my argument last night.
I just have no idea why he would act the way that he did towards me. It totally caught me off guard, and now I can’t help but to feel nervous around his team and the wives.
I don’t want to do something to set him off again because I guarantee that if that happens, I’ll definitely up and quit.
No freaking way would I ever let someone talk to me the way that he did twice.
That is not me at all.
But I also don’t want to quit this job, because I love being around Isaac. Up until last night, I liked being around Ryan also.
Turns out, my first impression of Ryan James was spot on.
The guy’s a massive prick.
I push my thoughts aside as I busy myself getting ready. I take a long and hot shower, letting the water wash all of my worries away.
I wrap myself up in a plush, white towel, before opening the door to my bedroom and stepping inside.
I’m mostly dressed when I hear a knock on my bedroom door.
“Don’t come in.”
The door opens, and Ryan peaks his head in.
“What are you doing?” I shout at him, as his eyebrows raise.
“I said don’t come in!”
“Shit, Isabelle. I’m so sorry. I only heard come in.”
I roll my eyes before motioning for him to come inside.
“Obviously that’s your problem. You see and hear only what you want. You’re already in here. You might as well come all the way in.”
He sighs hard before shutting the door behind him.
“I really want to talk to you. Is now an ok time?”
“I mean, I’m trying to get dressed and ready for this game. I have an itinerary to follow, you know,” I joke, and his face softens.
“Yeah. We can’t ignore that.”
“I’ll be quick, alright? I really just want to apologize to you.”
“I’m listening,” I tell him, before moving the towel up to my hair and drying.
“There is no excuse for the way that I acted last night, but I really hope that you can forgive me. The shit that I said to you was totally uncalled for.” He swallows hard before a pained look flashes across his face.
“If you want to hook up with Brock, it’s none of my business. But be warned. Brock is a serial womanizer.”
I snort.
I can’t even help myself.
“So, what you’re saying is that if I wanted to spend the night tonight in Brock’s room and have wild and crazy sex with him all night long, that would be totally cool?”
His face falls, and his eyes darken.
I can’t even help myself here. It’s just too damn fun to mess with this guy.
“If that’s what you want. Who am I to stop you?”
“I mean, the guy is famous. Which means he’s also probably rich. Plus, I hear that he’s hung like a horse.”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” He mutters, before cracking his knuckles and shaking his head.
“I can’t even have this…”
“I mean, he could be my ticket to the good life. A big penis and a big bank account? Pretty hard for a girl like me to resist, right?”
Ryan’s face that had paled just a second ago has now turned bright red. His eyes look murderous, and I decide that he’s had enough.
“First of all, Ryan, I’m totally fucking with you. Thanks for the permission, but I’m not here to find some guy to hook up with. I meant what I said to you last night. Professional athletes aren’t exactly my kryptonite. As a matter of fact, I’m planning on living a life of celibacy since the last guy that I fell for ended up being a giant asshole. I laughed at Brock’s jokes, and yeah, he flirted like crazy with me which did feel nice. But that’s all that it was. I can make my own money, and for the record, I’ve always been pretty damn independent. If I ever decided to go for a guy, his bank account would not be my deciding factor. I’m here to teach Isaac, and that’s it. I’ll stay away from both you and your teammates so that this kind of confusion doesn’t happen again. But for the record, if you ever talk to me the way that you did last night, I’m out. I don’t want to leave Isaac, but I will not tolerate you essentially calling me a whore. Ever.”
He exhales, before tipping his head from side to side and cracking his neck. His face relaxes, as he nods.
“You got me. I seriously just about had an aneurysm.”
“Yeah. I saw that.”
“I’m sorry, Isabelle. And I promise, that will never happen again.”
“Good. I’m sorry that I hit you. It was out of line.”
“Yeah, right. I deserved that. I also deserved a nut punch.”
“Noted.” I nod, even though the thought of my hand ending up anywhere near Ryan’s area set’s off a firework explosion inside of my body that is not welcomed.
“Don’t forget Isaac’s jacket for the game. We were freezing yesterday.”
“Got it.” Our eyes lock, which of course, sends my body into overdrive.
I hate the effect that this guy has on me.
After all, he’s showed me his massive prick side. I shouldn’t feel anything but disgust for him.
But, he apologized, and he seemed sincere.
He turns towards the door, and just as his hand rests on the knob, my mouth opens again.
“I’m not like the women that you’re used to, Ryan.”
His entire body stills.
“I’m not some whore, here trying to get my ticket to the good life. And I’m most certainly not going to sleep with someone just because of who they are. I need you to know that.”
He sighs again, before opening the door. He steps towards it, before pausing again and glancing at me over his shoulder.
“I know that, Isabelle. That’s what makes this whole thing so damn hard.”
Chapter Eight
Ryan
“Call dibs.”
I want to punch Brock in the face, but both coach and our owner, Mr. McAbey are just a few steps away.
“Fuck off, Brock.”
“I’m just saying, if you don’t want me to move on it, then you have to call dibs.”
“What in the hell am I walking in on?” Eric huffs, pushing past Brock and glancing back to me. “What are you two clowns arguing about?”
“The teacher,” Brock informs him, making Eric’s eyes widen.
“Isabelle?” he questions, and I don’t even need to respond. The look on my face says it all.
“Oh, fuck.” He chuckles. “Brock, you’re trying to hook up with Isaac’s teacher?”
“Duh.” He rolls his eyes. “Have you seen her? She’s a grade A, fine ass hottie. Of course, I’m trying to move in on that.”
“She’s not like that, fucker,” I seethe quietly, even as my blood continues to boil.
I seriously want to choke this asshole right now. The thought of his hands on Isabelle’s body is enough to push me over the edge.
The question here, is why?
Why in the hell do I care so much?
She’s not mine, that’s for sure. I have no claims on the woman at all. Obviously, I know that she’s too good for Brock, and I’m not sure that I think she would even go for him.
But the possibility of it happening is enough to push me over the edge.
“How do you know what she’s like? And anyways, if you don’t want to call dibs on her, why do you care?”
I clench and unclench my fists so many times that I can’t even keep track. I force myself to focus on the movement, because if I don’t, I’m going to use my fist to knock Brock out.
“She’s too good for you. She’s not the kind of woman that you sleep with and get rid of, alright? I don’t want
her getting hurt.”
“Maybe I’m ready for more than that,” Brock suggests, making both Eric’s and my eyes snap towards him. “Maybe I’m ready to settle down.”
I’m trying to process his words, when he cracks up.
“Oh, shit. Even I can’t say that with a straight face.”
“Jesus,” Eric mutters, as coach and Mr. McAbey head towards us.
“Edwards,” Coach barks before nodding his head towards the small office attached to the locker room. “I need a minute.”
Our attention shifts away from Isabelle, and as I watch Brock get hauled into the office, a sinking feeling washes over me.
Over the last few years, coach has cracked down hard on all of us. We used to have team moms, whose sole job was to try to keep us out of trouble.
Laci was the last mom that we had who stayed with us more than a few weeks. That’s how Jake and Laci met.
After her, we all started to fall a bit more in line.
Over the last year, our partying on the road has all but ceased to exist, with the exception of Brock, of course.
He’s made it his mission in life to test the rules, and to bend them whenever possible.
Of course, we all know that he is on borrowed time here.
The only problem is that Brock never seems to realize it.
This year, we took on more rookies than we ever had in the past. One of the rookies, Grant Mann, is one hell of a first baseman, which is a bad thing for Brock.
He’s been warned countless times to clean up his act, but he’s always evaded discipline.
That is, until now.
I watch as coach pulls out his cellphone and shows something to Brock. As I watch anger cross Brock’s face, I already know what’s going down.
And our team is fucked.
“I don’t fucking get it.” Brock leans back on my couch, shaking his head. “Coach knows that Mann can’t hang, yet he refuses to pull him. It’s like he wants us to lose.”
The problem here, is that Mann proved that he can hang. At least, he did tonight.
Brock rode the pine, and Grant Mann took Brock’s starting spot. He started out a little rough, but after the first inning, the kid got his shit in gear.
Hard To Fall (Sliding Home Book 3) Page 6
