It was slightly irritating to be so in sync, especially when he was trying to make a point against them being a team. The smirk on Joss’s face didn’t help.
Aaron beamed. “How could I dream of breaking up a team like this? That’s the big news. You’re getting your own show. The two of you.”
Joss let out an excited shriek and threw her arms around Aaron. Dan’s mouth went completely dry, any moisture sucked away by the shock of realizing the truth. The Network brass never had any intention of returning him to Sports Night. By pairing him with Joss, they’d most likely expected him to fail. But he hadn’t, so now they were going to capitalize on it. And he’d be stuck covering Donkey Polo and Synchronized Kite Flying for who knew how long.
When Joss let her father loose, she turned to Dan, happiness sparkling in her big, brown eyes. “Isn’t this great?”
Great was not the first word that came to mind, and he couldn’t say the one that did. Instead, he forced a smile and nodded. “You bet.”
The news had obviously worked up her appetite because she picked up her fork and dug into her salad. Meanwhile, Dan’s appetite had fled. He folded his napkin and placed it carefully on the table beside his plate.
“I don’t think I’ve heard the last of the chilies.” He stood up, his hand pressed against his stomach. “If you’ll both excuse me, I’m going to take advantage of being in town and go home for a quiet night.”
He didn’t wait for a response, just walked calmly out of the restaurant and straight to his car. Then he drove home, the radio cranked as loud as he could stand, trying unsuccessfully to drown out the voices in his head.
~
It didn’t take a mind reader to know Dan was upset. He obviously wanted to be alone to wallow, but a good partner wouldn’t leave him like that. Neither would a friend.
Joss had stayed at the restaurant with her father long enough to eat her dinner and have Dan’s put in a box. The Styrofoam container sitting beside her on the passenger seat was her excuse to go to Dan’s house. She wasn’t exactly sure what to do once she got there, but over the last few months she’d developed quite a talent for improvisation.
For a former member of the NFL, Dan’s house was quite modest. It was in a nice neighborhood and undoubtedly cost more than her budget would allow, but it was far from the mini-mansion she’d been expecting. There was no gate blocking her entrance to the driveway, no signs warning that trespassers would be prosecuted. In fact, the warm glow of the porch light and the welcome mat – actually proclaiming Welcome! – made it quite inviting.
The expression on Dan’s face when he opened the door, well, that was another thing.
“What are you doing here?”
It looked like he may have been in the process of changing his clothes. His feet were bare, his shirt was untucked, the top two buttons undone, and his tie was gone. The scowl he gave her with his one eye – the one not behind an eyepatch – clearly translated as You’re the last person I want to see. Joss didn’t let that stop her. She held up the to-go box. “You left before you could eat your dinner. I brought it.”
“You what?” He looked down at the box like he’d never seen one before, then slowly reached out for it. “Gee, thanks. You shouldn’t have.”
“It was no problem.”
“No, I mean you really shouldn’t have bothered. I don’t do leftovers.”
Joss knew for a fact that wasn’t true. More than once when they’d been out in the field, he’d boxed up remnants of a meal to take back to his room. He just didn’t want these leftovers because they were delivered by her.
“That’s okay. Do whatever you want with them.” He started to shut the door, but she slapped her palm against it, holding it open. “May I come in?”
“This isn’t a good time.”
“Too bad. I’m not going away.” She looked over his shoulder and jerked her chin in the direction of the living room. “Please?”
For a moment, she thought he might force the door shut anyway. But then he stepped back so she could come in. As she moved farther inside, he went to the kitchen and put the box of supposedly unwanted leftovers in the fridge.
“Your place is really nice,” Joss said, looking around. “I love the color scheme.”
“I know you didn’t come here to talk about interior decorating. What do you want?”
That was straight to the point. Well, she could be direct, too. “You were angry when you left the restaurant.”
Dan crossed his arms and stared at her. “I still am.”
“We need to talk about that.” She settled on the sofa. “Why don’t you sit down?”
“You’re not going away until I do, are you?”
“No.”
“Fine.” He sat on the couch across from her, keeping a coffee table and a lot of attitude between them. “Say what you came to say.”
What had she come to say? She hadn’t developed a game plan past getting through the door. “Well…” Dan’s expression had become bored, as if he was just humoring her while thinking of something else. Which he probably was. The only way to get his attention was to be blunt. “I’d like to say I’m sorry you won’t be going back to Sports Night, but I can’t.”
His eyebrows rose. Mission accomplished.
“You were just coasting on that show, not really connecting with the audience.”
“If you’re trying to give me a pep talk, you stink at it.”
Joss laughed. “Bear with me. I’m getting to the peppy part. I’m not sorry about Sports Night because, if you did go back, then we wouldn’t be working together. And I enjoy working with you. So, what I want to know is, are you angry because you’re stuck in a job you don’t like, or because you’re stuck with a partner you don’t like?”
Dan was obviously surprised. If she was honest, so was Joss. Until the words came out of her mouth, she hadn’t realized she cared so much about his opinion of her.
He rubbed his palm over his jaw and looked up, as if he might find the answer to her question on the ceiling. She looked up, too. Nope, it wasn’t there. They looked down at the same time and their eyes locked.
“Look,” he said, “this really doesn’t have anything to do with you.”
“Oh sure. That’s why you threw a tantrum as soon as you found out you were stuck with me.”
Dan sat up straighter. “I did not throw a tantrum.”
Fueled with frustration, Joss popped up off the couch. “You walked away from the table and refused to eat your dinner. That’s the adult version of rolling around on the floor and holding your breath.”
“It was preferable to having this discussion in front of an audience armed with camera phones.” He was on his feet now, too, and moving closer.
“Why can’t you just be honest about your feelings?”
The atmosphere of the room had changed, as if the air was electrically charged. They stared each other down, standing so close Joss could feel the heat of his breath on her cheeks. Or maybe that was just her reacting to his proximity. It certainly was warm all of a sudden.
“You want me to be honest?”
“Yes. And I want to see both of your eyes.” Carefully, she slid a finger beneath the elastic of the eye patch and pushed it up and off his face. He blinked a few times, adjusting to the light. The white of his eye was still slightly pink, but the cornflower-blue iris shown through. “There. That’s better.”
Why had her voice dropped to a whisper? And why was her palm still resting against the stubble on his cheek?
“Okay. I’ll be honest.” His tone was gruff, matching his expression. “The truth is, unless you want me to kiss you, you should take a few steps back.”
She didn’t move, but she did stop breathing.
Dan put his hand on her arm. “Okay.”
His head lowered and she lifted her face just a bit, just enough for their lips to make contact. In that moment, there was nothing else. No argument, no rivalry, no chili peppers. There was just Joss and D
an, two people who had grown to care for each other a great deal. Her fingers slid to the back of his neck and wove into his hair. His grip on her arm tightened, pulling her closer.
And then his cell phone rang.
They jumped apart and looked at the phone lying on the coffee table, as if whoever initiated the call had caught them in the act.
Joss inhaled deeply, trying to steady her breathing. “You might want to get that.”
“It can go to voicemail.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Dan looked down at his bare feet. Then he looked back at Joss. “Well. I guess we…um… Well.”
“Yeah.” She laughed, a nervous little trill that felt like it got stuck in her throat. “I guess that means it’s the job that bothers you, not me.”
The corner of his mouth lifted in a lopsided grin. “Way to interpret the situation.”
There they stood, in the middle of Dan’s living room, not saying anything because there was too much to say. Her head was full of questions, but all Joss really wanted to do was walk back into his arms. Which is exactly why she knew she had to walk out of his home.
“I should go.” She snatched her purse from the couch and made for the door, with Dan right behind.
“Joss, I–”
“It’s okay. Really.” She opened the front door and turned to him. He was following so close, he almost ran into her. Out of reflex, her hand shot up to stop a collision, her palm landing in the middle of his chest.
“We should talk about this.”
His voice rumbled beneath the thin cotton of his shirt. Oh sure, now he wanted to talk.
“We should,” she said, shaking her head, “but not now. We need to sleep on it. Alone. I mean… I’ve really got to go.”
Before he could say or do anything to change her mind, she turned and made her way down the porch steps and to her car. She backed out of the driveway, but before driving off, she took a quick look at the house.
Dan still stood on the porch, one hand on the doorframe, the other in his pocket, watching as she left.
7
May
San Francisco, California
During his years on the football field, Dan had met a lot of guys who were experts at dodging and weaving. But not one of them were as good at it as Joss was.
It had been five days since she’d shown up unannounced at his home, and despite her promise that they’d talk about what happened, they hadn’t. Not only had she found ways to avoid talking to him in Atlanta, she’d convinced the network’s travel department that she needed to be at their next assignment a day early, putting them on separate flights. Since his was a red eye, there’d been no point trying to connect with her when he reached the hotel. Instead, he went straight to his room and tried to catch a good chunk of sleep. He was unsuccessful.
It was a beautiful day in the Bay Area. As he walked across the field to the production trailer, he took a moment to appreciate the blue sky and fluffy white clouds that obviously were not preparing to pour down rain. Weather on the first of May in San Francisco was iffy. They’d lucked out today.
The trailer door opened and Joss walked out. In her white jeans and royal blue polo shirt, her dark hair pulled back in her signature ponytail, she looked fresh and vibrant. And completely kissable, which was the last thing he should be thinking, but turned out it was the one thing that wouldn’t leave his mind. When she saw him, she smiled, although it wasn’t as full and easy as usual.
“Morning.” He raised his hand in greeting.
She waved back, then motioned over her shoulder with her thumb. “They’re waiting for you.”
“Okay. I’ll–” He was in mid-sentence when she walked by, effectively cutting him off. “–see you when I’m done.”
It was going to be a very long day.
After a quick visit to the makeup chair and a chat with the director to assure him that yes, he actually had done some research this time, Dan was back on the field and heading to Joss. Quite a crowd had shown up for the regional finals of the Segway Polo League. It spoke to the popularity of the sport, but it didn’t hurt that he and Joss were there to provide national coverage. He scanned the bleachers, smiling at fans wearing the colors of their preferred team, waving flags and yelling to the players as they warmed up. Dan walked faster, coming close to jogging the distance between him and Joss.
She looked over at him, then looked back down at the paper in her hand. “Have you ever ridden a Segway?”
“Can’t say I have.”
“That makes two of us. From what I understand it’s pretty easy. You just–”
Dan wrapped his fingers around her upper arm and turned her so she had no choice but to look at him. “You said we’d talk, but we never did.”
“I’m talking to you now.”
“You know what I mean. Or should I spell it out right here in front of everybody?”
Her eyes darted from side to side as if trying to catch an eavesdropper in the act. “Keep your voice down. And let go of my arm.”
He dropped his hand and sighed. “Can we talk now? Please?”
“Fine.” She sighed and contorted her face in such an exaggerated way it would have made a teenage girl proud. “We’ve got to get our protective gear, anyway. Come with me.”
Having a conversation on the fly wasn’t what he had in mind, but at least it was a start. He matched her pace as she strode across the field.
“You asked me the other night if I was upset about being paired up with you. Obviously, the answer to that is no.”
“Was it obvious? I hadn’t noticed.”
Good grief, when she put up walls, they were built high with sarcasm and attitude. If he was going to get anywhere with her, they needed to talk in private. Before he could scope out a place, a PA jogged up to them holding two mesh bags full of equipment.
“Here you go.” The PA was slightly out of breath as she handed them the bags. “Helmets, knee and elbow pads.”
Dan was a little surprised. “Is this really necessary? I wore less padding in the NFL.”
Joss scowled at him. “No you didn’t. This is regulation gear, so we’re wearing it. When you fall off your Segway, you’ll be glad you have it.”
“Only if a sinkhole opens beneath me. And what makes you think I’m going to fall off?”
“Four months of watching you hurt yourself in every way possible.”
The PA took a step back, her eyes wide. “Okay, then. You two have fun.” She ran back the way she came.
“Great,” Joss muttered. “Now you’re scaring the crew.”
That did it. He grabbed her arm again, not caring who saw, and dragged her along with him.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking you someplace a little more private so we can talk.”
They got close to a small building with three doors and cinderblock walls that had been painted a bright blue. Joss pulled back against him.
“Oh no. I am not going in there with you.”
He ignored her, walking past the doors marked “Men” and “Women” and tried the handle of the one marked “Family.” It wasn’t locked.
“Lucky us. No one is in here.”
They went inside and Dan locked the door behind them. For a public bathroom at a community sports park, it was surprisingly clean and the only smell he could make out was piney-antiseptic cleaner. Not the ideal spot, but it would do.
Joss stood against the wall beside a hand drier, dropped the bag on the floor and crossed her arms. “They’re going to get this on tape, you know. Us going in the bathroom, us coming out of the bathroom…”
Dan shrugged. “I needed your undivided attention.”
“Well, you’ve got it. So go ahead. Talk.”
He wanted to say a lot of things. Like how he’d expected to hate every moment of working with her, but instead, being with her had turned into the best part of every day. And how the last few days of not talking had almost killed him. And how miserable it was to be on the plane
without her because he missed her, not just because the woman who’d sat beside him had talked non-stop about her grandkids until he pretended to fall asleep. There was so much to say. But looking at her in the harsh light of the bathroom, her pretty mouth pressed into a firm line, wisps of hair escaping her ponytail and curving around her face, there was only one thing that felt like the right thing to say.
“I love you.”
Her mouth dropped open in shock. “What?”
Dan laughed. “Yeah, I kind of surprised myself, too. I didn’t realize it till just now.”
“You didn’t?” Now she looked at him like he’d lost his mind.
“Nope. I mean, I knew I didn’t hate you.”
“Great! Because, obviously, the only two choices are to hate me or to love me.”
He stepped closer to her, laughing and shaking his head. “Joss, just be quiet for a minute and listen. Okay?”
She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut and nodded her head.
“Thank you.” Dan smiled. “At first, I was upset about losing my spot on Sports Night. I worked hard to get there, and being kicked off hurt. Especially considering why they did it. When we started working together, I took it out on you. Sometimes, I’ve been grouchy and unpleasant and a real pain to be around.”
“Sometimes?” A ghost of a smile played across her lips. “Sorry. Continue.”
“What I’m trying to say is that I was unhappy about the job, and at first, you and the job were the same thing. But not anymore, and not for a while.”
“So that kiss wasn’t just to shut me up?”
“No. Although it worked really well for that, too. I’ll have to remember it for the future.”
Joss finally smiled, a real smile that lit up her eyes and crinkled her nose.
“I’m going to kiss you again.”
She took a step closer. “Are you going to say that every time you kiss me?”
“Last time. Promise.”
Dan folded his arms around her just as she did the same to him. He inhaled the smell of her skin, her hair, and the cleanser in the air. The scent of pine would never be the same again.
Joss broke away, just enough to talk. “Dan?”
“Hmm?”
Love's Sporting Chance: Volume 1: 6 Romantic sporting novellas Page 23
