I dip my legs in the pool, watching a bunch of kids laugh and cannonball, each trying hard to splash everyone on the sides. I smile, imagining having some kids like that someday, and having a place like this to bring them.
Oh, my lord. See what these people are doing to me? Now I’m actually thinking about having Jakes babies?
I have officially lost my mind.
“I think that kid in the red Spiderman trunks has splashed me at least six times.”
I glance up, and see a tall blond man staring at a little kid in the pool with a smile, before he motions down at the spot next to me.
“This seat taken?”
I let my eyes take him in, before motioning to the seat.
“No reservations for it, that I’m aware of.”
He chuckles softly, before sitting down, letting his legs float into the water just like mine.
He extends a hand to me, looking at me through a pair of aviator shades, matching my own.
“I’m Owen. And you are?”
“Laci.” I tell him, holding out my hand for him to take. “Laci Monroe.”
“Well, Laci Monroe, it’s very nice to meet you.”
He takes my hand and brings it to his lips, kissing the top of it softly before releasing it.
Another kid jumps into the pool, sending a tidal wave of water right at us. The wave hits me, soaking my tank top coverup, and drenching Owen.
“Damn kids.” He grumbles, although he is smiling, as he takes off his glasses, showing off a pair of deep brown eyes fanned by dark lashes. Our eyes meet for a second before I pull mine away, reaching up to wring out my top.
It’s really no use, the top is drenched, so I reach up, pulling it over my head, and set it behind me.
While I hit the gym regularly, being at a pool party like this, in a bikini after inhaling three plates of food is not a situation that I feel entirely comfortable with. I mean, sure. There are plenty of women here in bathing suits, but I’ve never been one to try to flaunt myself to the public eye. Plus, I’m feeling rather bloated.
My suit fits fine, and the strap that ties around my neck is thick enough to hold my large boobs, but still. There is an awful lot of me on display.
Owen glances over at me, and sucks in air, before a low whistle leaves his mouth.
“You sure are a pretty sight, Laci Monroe. What brings a girl like you all the way here to this backyard? You look more like you should be on a runway somewhere, sweetheart.”
“Me.” I hear grumbled, as Jake jumps into the pool and moves himself between my legs.
“She’s mine, Owen. She’s my girlfriend. So back the fuck off.”
His words are harsh, but they are nothing compared to his eyes. Because those? They are deadly. He glares at Owen hard as his hands reach out for me.
His hands wrap around my back, pulling me into him, leaving me no choice but to wrap my legs around his center.
“Hey.” I tell him, as he pulls me closer into him and turns his head at Owen, giving him a death glare, before fisting one hand in the back of my hair and pressing his lips to mine.
“Mine.” He mutters again, into my mouth, wrapping himself around me.
I lose all focus of everything, the second his skin is on mine. I totally forget the fact that I’m sitting here, in front of all of his friends and family, next to a guy that just a second ago might have been hitting on me, and I lose myself completely to Jake.
His kiss is hard, way different than any other time he has kissed me. I have no choice but to open wide, letting his tongue slide between my lips. I think that maybe I sigh, because he mumbles something into my mouth before his lips become gentler, and suddenly, I’m wet and in the water with him as he pulls me off the ledge and into his arms.
Finally, he pulls back, resting his forehead against mine, his arms still around my waist holding me up, as my legs fall from his waist.
“Wow.” I breathe, making his face soften, and his lips brush the tip of my nose.
“I fucking love the way you taste.” He murmurs, before his lips gently brush mine again. “You’re the best kind of high that there is, baby. And no matter what I do, I can never seem get enough of you.”
He grips me tighter, before his eyes lock on mine. “Be my girlfriend, Laci. I need you to be mine, need to know that you’re all mine. Let me show you how good it could be between us. I promise you, it could be so fucking good.” He must see the question in my eyes, because he pulls back, before resting his forehead against mine. “I need label on us, baby, so I don’t have to worry about fuckers like Owen trying to take you away from me.”
And I melt. Every inch of me melts into him, and suddenly, I can’t think straight anymore. No longer am I letting his ex-girlfriend’s words circle inside of me.
No, those are firmly shoved to the back of my mind, and the only thing that I am thinking about is how this man makes me feel.
Maybe it won’t last. Hell, it probably won’t, and when people find out about us? There will be hell to pay for me, I’m sure. But I can’t help myself from falling.
“Ok.” I whisper, as his face breaks out into a huge smile.
Luckily, he’s firm against me, holding me up in the water otherwise I might actually fall. Literally.
“Oh, for love of god. Would you two just admit that you’re dating already?” His mother’s voice breaks the moment, and Jake grins wide.
“We are, right baby?” He turns his head towards his mom. “She agreed to be my girlfriend.”
His mom smiles and claps her hands, before doing some little jump on the grass making us both chuckle.
“Oh, please Momma. Skip dating. Those two are getting married. Mark my words.” Bianca laughs, as Jake turns to me, a slow smile spreading across his face.
“She might be right.” He murmurs, making my heart flutter in my chest.
Several hours later, I’m curled up in a chaise lounge chair in front of the fire. The party has since dispersed, and after I helped Jakes family clean up the mess, we all settled outside as dusk started to settle, in front of the fire pit.
Jake is next to me, one arm around my shoulder, keeping me flush against him.
His family looks on adoringly, as they chit chat about everything under the sun.
“Are you guys staying here tonight?” His mom asks hopefully, as Jake shakes his head and his sister giggles.
“Momma, do you really want them to stay here? I’m pretty sure they might just keep you up all night.”
I inhale sharply as Jake flips his sister off. “I swear to god, B. You need to find your filter.”
“God purposely didn’t give me one.” She smiles sweetly. “It was so that I could keep that big head of yours in check.” She winks, making Jake groan.
I’m thankful that it’s getting dark outside, because if it wasn’t?
Everyone would see the major flush to my face right now.
“No, Momma. We’re going to stay at my place.”
“Your place?” My eyes flick up to his, and he grins down at me before pressing a kiss to my forehead.
“Yes. It’s right next door.”
“Oh.” I nod, and suddenly, that feeling of dread starts to bubble over in my stomach.
He has a place right next door to his parents’ house? Of course, he does…because he’s planning on moving back here.
Is Alexa, right? Is he moving back to settle down with her?
I swallow hard.
“What’s the matter?” He turns his face towards mine, and I just shake my head.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.”
“Jakes house is nice, if that’s what your worried about. Momma makes sure that the cleaning lady shows up every week.” Jen tells me with a smile.
I just nod, but the panic inside of me isn’t subsided. Jake grips me tighter, giving me a questioning look, before starting to sit up.
“Actually, it’s getting late. We should really get going.”
They all groan, but start t
o stand.
In a few seconds, I’m passed around the entire Matthews family, getting death grip hug after hug.
Bianca is last, and she squeezes me tight, before whispering in my ear.
“He’s a good man, despite his flaws. I promise.”
“Thank you.” I whisper back, before I’m pulled back into Jakes arms.
“Ready baby?” He presses a kiss to my cheek, as his mother clutches her heart.
“Oh, thank the lord.” She murmurs, before reaching out to me for one last hug. “Be good to my boy.”
“I will.”
I will be good to him. But, the question remains, will he be good to me?
Laci is way too quiet as we back out of my parent’s driveway. I have no idea what changed in her, since all day long, things between us were absolutely fucking perfect.
But now, she sits in her seat, staring out the window, not uttering a single word.
“Listen, baby.” I pull the car over as we turn onto the dirt road that leads to my own driveway.
“If you don’t want to stay at my house, we can get a hotel. It’s totally fine.”
“No.” her voice is hesitant. “It’s fine. I just didn’t realize that you had a house here.”
I reach out, unbuckling her seat belt and pulling her across the bench seat so that she is right next to me.
“Yes, I do, although I’ve never lived in it. I started building it right before I signed on with the Rays.”
“But why?”
I turn the truck onto the long dirt driveway, and drive the half a mile back into the woods.
“It’s a long story.” And not a very good one, not one that I like to talk about.
“Oh.” She remains quiet.
“Fuck.” I sigh, before yet again, stopping the truck. I put it in park, before turning myself towards her.
“You know that guy that you were talking to today? When you were sitting by the pool? The asshole that was totally trying to hit on you?”
She nods, and then, says his stupid fucking name.
“Yeah. Owen?”
The sound of his name leaving her lips is like nails on a chalkboard to me. I fucking hate it, and it makes me grip the steering wheel hard.
“Yes.” I grit out, as her head tilts and her eyes flutter up to mine.
I swallow hard, trying to form the words that I need to say inside of my head, but it’s no use. They come out in one big jumble.
“He was my best friend growing up. We were always together, every damn day.” My heart clutches as I continue, hating to rehash this. But for some reason, I feel that she needs to hear it.
Maybe then it will ease whatever is going on inside of her pretty little head.
“We played ball together, but when it came time to get drafted for college, I did and he didn’t. He acted as though it was cool, but now looking back, I see that there was some jealousy there. Anyways,” I blow out my breath and turn away from her, focusing on the dark night over the dashboard.
“I had a girlfriend in high school. She was my first love, my first everything.” I laugh despite the foul story, glancing at her for a second.
“My sisters made my life a living hell in school. Every girl in my whole damn high school was afraid of Jen, so I didn’t get any chicks back then. I swear I was the last damn virgin in that whole building.”
“Aw poor baby.” She smiles at me, before reaching out and stroking my arm.
“Yeah. It was rough.” I blow out the rest of my breath, before finishing.
“Anyways, I had this girlfriend, and I was pretty sure that she was the one for me. I went off to college, and after about a year, the Devils came calling. They offered me a spot on their farm team. It was everything that I had been working for, so I decided to go for it. The signing bonus that they gave me paid for this land, and was enough to start construction on this house.” I nod my head forward, even though we aren’t close enough yet for her to see the house.
“Anyway, I was pumped. I couldn’t wait to tell her, so after I made that down payment, like, five minutes after getting the check, I went to find my girl.”
I swallow hard before shaking my head. “I found her alright. Laying underneath my best friend, with her legs wrapped around him as he plowed into her.”
“Oh my god.” Her eyes widen as she grips my arm. “Jake, I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks, but don’t be. Ended up being a blessing in disguise.”
“But that’s awful.”
“That’s life, baby. Sometimes shit happens. But, anyway, I kept the land and still went forward on building this place. The Devils took a chance on me, but they had only signed me for two years. They weren’t sure whether or not I would actually pan out as a good player, so they made their contract with me short. When the time came that I could move, and the Rays made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse? I took that spot without a single look back, hell bent on making something out of myself so that I could show her just how badly she had fucked up.”
“And now you have.”
“Now I have.” I repeat, before turning to look at her. Her eyes are cast downwards, and she grips her hands together.
“Are you planning on moving back here? I mean, your contract with the Rays is up at the end of this season.”
“That it is.” I nod, grabbing her hands in mine.
“I’m not sure about any of that yet. It depends on a lot of things.”
“I see.”
The entire cab of my truck is filled with tension, and I’m not exactly sure why. I didn’t tell her any of this so that she would feel sorry for me. In hindsight, losing Alexa is one of the best things that could have ever happened to me, because if she wouldn’t have done me so dirty, I would have never met Laci. And that’s something that I just can’t imagine.
“What’s going on inside of your head.” I put one finger under her chin, forcing her to look at me.
“Nothing.” She bites her lip, before shaking her head. “Nothing at all.”
“Liar.”
She’s silent.
“This is the kind of place that I want to grow old. This is where I want to settle down, have a wife, and have some kids. This has always been the plan for me, to finish out my career here, at home in Georgia.”
“That’s understandable.” She nods, turning her eyes from mine.
“But, that plan only works if I have the right girl by my side.” I finish, pulling her close to me.
“She wants that too.” Laci nods her head, before turning her face towards the window. “She told me the other day. I met her- Alexa. She was at the game on Friday.”
“Excuse me?” My heart stills in my chest at her words, and then, I see it.
The single tear streaming out of her eye.
“Baby.”
I shift the seat back as far as it will go before grabbing her and pulling her onto my lap, forcing her to look at me.
My heart wrenches in my chest at the look of sadness on her face.
“What in the fuck are you talking about? How did you know her name?”
“She introduced herself to me.”
“Ah, fuck.” I mutter, shaking my head. “I’m sorry that you had to meet her.”
“Its fine.” She shrugs, the tears in her eyes letting me know that it in fact, is not fine at all. “She’s really pretty.”
“She is.” I agree, before shaking my head. “But she doesn’t even hold a candle to you.”
“Oh please.” She rolls her eyes, still not looking at me.
“Laci, you’re crazy if you don’t believe me. You’re the most beautiful woman that I have ever laid eyes on.”
“Your words are on point, hot shot, and that’s really sweet of you to say that. But you and I both know that you hook up with women way hotter than me all the time. You date supermodels. Not basic girls like me. And then you end up with the girl next door, like Alexa. And cheat on her at every stop.”
“What? Whoa. Ok, we obviously need
to talk, here, because you just threw a whole lot of shit at me that makes absolutely no sense. Back up. Slow down, and let me explain myself.”
“Jake. You don’t need to explain anything to me. I get it, really, I do. What we are doing here is just a hook up, in the long line of hook ups in the life of a superstar.” Of course, she rolls her eyes at this one. “You don’t owe me an explanation.”
“The hell if I don’t. You don’t fucking get it, obviously.” I mutter, before shifting the car into drive and flooring it down the driveway. I grip her tight to me before pulling up in front of my log home. The lights are all blazing, as they do every night, since it’s all set to timers. Usually I like to sit back and stare at this place, the place that I can’t wait to call home, but not tonight.
Right now, I need to make her listen to me, and the best way to do that is to back her against a wall. Literally.
She squeaks as I wrench the door open before throwing her over my shoulder and hustling into the house.
“What in the hell, Jake? Put me down!” She cries, smacking my back. But I don’t even respond.
I take one step into the foyer, before turning her around, setting her onto her feet and pushing her against the front door.
“First of all, I don’t fucking want Alexa, Laci. I want you. Only you.” I pull her dress over her head in one swoop, as her eyes widen. I keep her caged in as I pull my own shirt off me, before loosening my shorts and letting them drop.
“Jake…” she murmurs, as her eyes widen. “What are you doing?”
I reach down and pull her panties off her, before unclasping her bra and letting it drop to the ground.
“You have it all so wrong, baby. So fucking wrong. I don’t know what in the hell Alexa told you, but listen to me. I do not want her. I do not have any future plans with her. She is firmly in my past. As far as supermodels go, yeah. I used to date one. But it was never like this with her. Never.”
I lift her up, and her legs wrap around me as she grips my shoulders.
“I want to end up here, someday, baby, but I don’t want it to be with Alexa.” I inhale sharply, before meeting her eyes. “I want it with you. I want it all with you.”
I poise myself at her entrance as her breath hitches. “Condom, Jake.”
Bet On It Page 16
