Full Potential

by L. J. Kentowski

  The man knew how to light her up.

  Why did humans need food anyway?

  When he sat back with a devious smirk and took a bite of his fried chicken, she used the time and space to get her bearings. There was no hope for her panties, however, and she wasn’t sure her nipples would ever calm down.

  As she stuck a fry in her mouth, Tyler said, “You’re spending the night.” His statement came out of the blue, and she had to forcefully swallow the lump of potato.

  She glanced over at him, but he wouldn’t meet her gaze, keeping his eyes on the food he continued to eat.

  One bite later, he added, “I meant what I said before. I want you in my bed when I wake up in the morning. I’ll hide your keys if I have to.”

  “But I don’t have anything here, Tyler. I need—”

  “I have everything you need. I’m telling you this now, so those thoughts don’t even cross that pretty head of yours. We are going to enjoy the rest of the night, and most of tomorrow. Then, maybe, I’ll let you go and get a change of clothes, but I’m leaving that decision open. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

  Jena laughed. “I can’t stay here forever.”

  His gaze caught hers over the space separating them and remained there for several long moments. She didn’t know what to make of the way he was regarding her, almost as if he were considering the ridiculous statement.

  “Riley would send a search and rescue party out for me,” she said to break the awkward silence, which allowed her too much time to speculate about what was happening between them. “Especially since there are still boxes left to check off the Crazy Bride-to-Be Checklist.”

  Riley wasn’t that crazy over the wedding plans, but Jena thought it sounded less like she was trying to slink away and more about helping her best friend, which was why she was there.

  “Well, she can spare you for one day. I’ll tell her we need a day to work on the bachelor/bachelorette parties, and she’ll have no choice.”

  “We really should talk about that anyway.”

  “We will.” Before she knew what was happening, Tyler had lifted her from the carpet and plunked her down onto his lap. “But right now, I want to go over the maid of honor/best man party.”

  Jena decided then and there, with her ass sensing exactly what kind of party he was talking about, that she was going to do what Tyler had suggested earlier and let go. Because, frankly, she never wanted anything more than to stop worrying about what the future would bring.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Jena stayed true to her word about spending the night. It wasn’t difficult since Tyler kept her busy finishing up the box of XXLs until the wee hours of the morning. When exhaustion finally set in, they fell asleep snuggled together.

  She woke to bright light shining in her eyes from sunlight filtering through the blinds. On her back, tangled in the buttery feel of the sheets, Jena turned her head to the side, expecting to see Tyler. Instead, an empty pillow greeted her. When her gaze caught the neon display of a clock atop a nightstand next to the bed, she blinked. Sure her eyes were deceiving her, she rubbed at them, but the neon numbers didn’t change. It was past three in the afternoon, which meant she’d slept the day away. Sadness seeped in knowing the time they were supposed to be spending together was gone, and reality had arrived.

  Untangling herself from the sheets, Jena scooted out of bed and glanced around for her clothes. Her yoga pants and shirt were nowhere to be found, but a large, gray Seeton Spartans t-shirt and pair of boxer shorts sat on the edge of the mattress, almost as if they were laid out for her to wear.

  Reality can wait.

  Smiling like a young girl donning a princess dress, she slipped into Tyler’s clothes, instantly smelling fresh detergent mixed with his scent. She reveled in being surrounded by it.

  As she ambled down the hallway toward the living room, the smell of bacon hit Jena’s nose, and like one of Pavlov’s dogs, saliva formed inside her mouth and she almost drooled. The aroma grew stronger as she passed through the living room and sniffed out the source. Once she stepped into the kitchen, bacon was no longer the root of her problem. Tyler stood at the stove, sans shirt and wearing a pair of gray jogging pants that hung dangerously low on his hips. Pecs and biceps taunted her. The grooved valleys running along his abs lured her tongue to trail a path and find what treasures they led to. She knew what riches she’d discover, of course, because she’d had her hands and mouth all over his body only hours ago. Yet, the sight of him in all his sexy glory nearly brought her to her knees.

  Tyler cleared his throat, the sound breaking her trance-like state. He wore a shit-eating grin, which told her she’d been caught eyeing him like a piece of…well, bacon. Reaching a hand up to her mouth, she checked for drool. Thankfully, there was none.

  He set a spoon down on the kitchen table and sauntered toward her. “I thought you’d be hungry when you woke up, but I guess I didn’t consider what you’d really be hungry for. I’m flexible. Whatever my woman wants.”

  My woman. Internally, she sighed like a content puppy being belly rubbed by its owner.

  She stood transfixed by his predatory gaze as he crossed the distance between them, then wrapped her up in his arms and tugged her in for a kiss. Sinking into his embrace, Jena let his mouth consume her. He was hard, which seemed to be his perpetual state for the last twenty-four hours, and while she could easily get tangled up in his seductive prelude, their countless sexual escapades had left her lady bits raw and aching.

  Inching back, she placed her palms on his chest. Good God, she loved the solid feel of those muscles under her fingertips. It took incredible willpower to stop herself from exploring further. “While the thought is tempting as hell, I think my…parts…need a break.”

  Tyler pulled his head back and studied her, a cocky smile creeping up his lips. “You’re sore?”

  With a nod, she showed him with an index finger and thumb how much. “Little bit.”

  His smile broadened before he leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek. “Good,” he said, lips at her ear. “Something to remind you of me. I left some other lasting impressions on you too.”

  Jena jerked back and stared, brows furrowed. “You did? What? Where?” She hadn’t seen anything while getting dressed. Then again, she wasn’t particularly looking for anything.

  “Well, you could take these off, so I can point them out.” He played with the waistband of the boxers she wore. “But that might lead to other things, and you said you’re too sore—”

  She slapped at his hand and stepped back. “Tyler Cole, you did not give me hickeys. Tell me you didn’t.”

  “I might have.”

  She eyed him and his devious smirk. “What are we, teenagers?”

  Tyler moved to pull her in again, but she swatted his hands away. “You make me feel like one, especially wearing these. I like you in my clothes, by the way.”

  “You’re terrible. Now, feed me before I lose control. Riley might have to wheel me around tomorrow.”

  He laughed. “Okay, Red. Sit. You like omelets?”

  It didn’t escape her that the pet name came out more when her cheeks were heated.

  “And bacon,” she answered with a vigorous nod.

  “Well, you’re in luck.”

  He grabbed plates, silverware, and glasses out of cabinets and arranged them on the table.

  “Can I help with something?” she asked as he poured orange juice.

  “Nope. It’s all set.” He scooped an omelet onto each plate. They looked as appetizing as the ones prepared by the chef at her parent’s restaurant. He sat across from her after setting a plate filled with crispy, enticing bacon on the table.

  Jena snatched a piece and plopped it into her mouth, letting out a groan as she chewed. “This is awesome, Tyler. I didn’t know you cooked.”

  “Well, you’ve only had the bacon so far, and that’s pretty hard to mess up,” he said with a playful roll of his eyes.

  She point
ed a finger at him. “Not true. Believe me.”

  “Noted.” He laughed as he cut into the omelet on his plate. “Anyway, my dad taught me. He cooked at the firehouse. I did too when I was a cub.”

  “A cub?”

  “Yeah. Firefighters are cubs for their first year on the job. They basically do all the grunt work while they’re learning the tricks of the trade from the senior guys.”

  “That doesn’t sound fun.”

  “It’s not so bad. Especially with our group. We all heard the stories growing up, so we knew what to expect. Although, some of the pranks can be pretty brutal.”

  “Like?” she asked, interested to know more about Tyler Cole, the firefighter. Strangely, as intimate as they’d become, she didn’t know much about him outside of the bedroom…or shower…or living room, all the places they’d ventured throughout the night.

  “Like one time after a run, the guys told me the house we’d just come from had bedbugs. I didn’t know what the procedure was, and they told me I had to strip my gear and clothes off and throw them in the snow outside to freeze any bedbugs that might have gotten into them. I completely freaked, yanked off my clothes, wrapped myself up in a blanket, and ran outside with my stuff. When I got there, the chief was getting out of his car. I ran right past him and stuck everything in a huge drift of snow. When I turned back, he was staring at me as if I were a lunatic and asked what the hell I was doing. Apparently, there was no bedbug scare, and sticking your clothes in snow was not protocol for anything.”

  Picturing the scene in her head, Jena laughed.

  “Find that funny, do you, Red?”

  She put a hand up to her mouth, trying to temper the giggles. “Little bit.”

  He chuckled along with her. “It was really devastating.”

  “Oh, I’m sure.”

  Once their laughter subsided, they went back to eating and making small talk in between bites. She wanted to ask him what next, where they’d go from there, but she was having such a great time simply talking and being comfortable with him, not worrying about what would or wouldn’t become of their relationship.

  After cleaning the dishes together, Jena hunted down her phone, which she hadn’t even taken out of her purse since showing up at his house. There were two missed calls and a voicemail from Riley.

  “Hey there, Red.” She could hear Riley’s smile through the phone. “I know you’re all caught up in…ahem…bachelor/bachelorette party plans with the best man, so no need to call me back. Just wanted to let you know Dax and I have some errands we need to run for the bar today, so feel free to party plan for as long as you need. We’ll catch up tomorrow. Maybe go over to Lynn’s shop to see the dress. Have fun. Oh, and if you really are planning the parties, make sure they’re combined. Nothing separate. I forgot to tell you that. Okay, so, yeah…have fun. Bye.”

  Jena glanced over at Tyler, who was standing in the living room looking back at her.

  “Riley?” he asked.

  She nodded, her cheeks flushed.

  “Yeah, I called this morning to let them know we’d be busy.” He winked. “It’s not like they haven’t figured us out, Jena. It’s fine. They’re friends. Come here.”

  He was right, of course, but that didn’t take away from the fact she’d be drilled tomorrow by her best friend. But it was another day. Today, she had this dreamy, half-naked man waiting to snuggle with her on the living room sofa.

  So, Jena pushed thoughts of everything else away and joined him on the couch. As she lay curled up next to his body, she mused over how easy things were with him. It was as if the night they’d spent together wiped out every bit of anxiety she’d had about her future. Everything they did seemed so natural, so…right. The worries were still there, somewhere, but for now, she’d keep them locked away.

  Tucked into Tyler’s side, she rested her head on his chest.

  His fingers brushed paths up and down her arm. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Um…maybe.”

  He pinched her arm.

  “Ow. Okay, yes, Tyler, I would love to answer your question.”

  “That’s better. You said your parents don’t need you at the restaurant, right?”

  “Uh…yeah. I mean, I help, of course, but they have enough staff to cover the shifts. They’re mainly giving me a means to pay my bills and not feel so guilty about living with them.”

  “You live with them?”

  “Yeah. The apartment manager raised the rent, and I couldn’t afford it, so they offered to let me come home and work at the restaurant until I figured out what I wanted to do.”

  “That was nice of them. They sound like caring parents.”

  Jena smiled. Her mom and dad were great. How many parents let their kids mooch off them while they made decisions about their life? She vowed to pay them back someday. “Yeah, they’re pretty awesome.”

  “You also said you thought opening a daycare in the city would be tough, right?”

  “Um…yeah.” Where is he going with this?

  “Have you looked into it? I mean, really looked into it?”

  Maybe he was going to give her advice on how to move forward with her career. It was odd, the timing, since only last night he was trying to get her to live in the moment and not worry about the future.

  “Not completely. I mean, I researched the number of daycares in the city and those in surrounding areas. There are tons, by the way. I checked into the financial aspects of the business too. You know, startup costs, supplies, rent, stuff like that. I also researched some of the ones that shut down to get an idea of the issues they’d faced. The number of failed daycares is pretty daunting. That’s as far as I got.”

  “Hmm.”

  She inched back and peered up at him. “Why are you asking about all this?”

  Tyler studied her as if gauging how to answer. “Okay, hear me out?” She nodded. “What if you stayed here until the wedding?” He cut her off when she started to shake her head. “Just…let me finish. You can stay here with me and take on some babysitting jobs around Seeton. I know several people around town in need of daycare. You’d be making money and getting experience. And, bonus, Riley would have her maid of honor near for bridezilla emergencies.” A sweet smile parted his lips as he cupped her cheek. “Best of all, I’d get more time with you.”

  Jena stared back at him wordlessly as questions and arguments bounced around in her head. Was he serious? What would she tell her parents? She couldn’t live with a man she barely knew. That would be crazy. Would she gain enough experience merely babysitting people’s kids? Essentially, that was what a daycare was all about, though, right? But would it provide her enough money to lessen the guilt of living off someone else for a while? Her conscience had already taken a pounding over scrounging off her parents, and she was related to them.

  But amidst all of the debates racing through her mind, one fact seemed to stand out the most. He wanted her to stay. That piece of information had her heart fluttering around and sprinkling red glitter all over the place. As far-fetched as the idea was, it intrigued the hell out of her.

  Tyler put a knee up on the cushion and faced her. “Talk to me. I can see the wheels spinning in that beautiful head of yours.”

  “I just…I don’t know, Tyler.”

  “What part don’t you know about?”

  “All of it,” she said with a flustered shake of her head. “I mean…like, what would I tell my parents?”

  “That you’re working in town to be closer to Riley for the wedding.”

  “Okay. Which leads to the working part. It’s babysitting, not daycare. They’re not exactly the same. And I’m quite certain I wouldn’t make enough to pay you to live here, even if I did think that was a good idea, which I don’t, by the way. We still barely know each other.”

  Tyler’s eyebrows shot up as his gaze scanned her body.

  She swatted his arm. “Other than that way, ya perv.”

  “Okay, okay.” He chuckled. “Then
you can stay at the apartment above the bar. Riley and Dax aren’t using it, and I’m sure Riley would love the idea of you sticking around. You won’t get an argument from her. And as far as the babysitting goes, I know it’s not exactly daycare, but you’d be taking care of kids and getting paid for it. It’s experience, Jena.”

  “Fine. But the fact remains, I still won’t make enough to pay Riley and Dax. They could rent out the apartment and make money. I don’t want to stand in the way of that.”

  “They already told me they’re not renting it out. They want it available for out-of-town guests, which you are.”

  Jena turned away from him. His mere presence flustered her common sense. One intense look from him might have her pulling the trigger and living it up in Seeton, if only to repeat what they’d done last night. She couldn’t let lust cloud her vision and make the decision. She wondered if that was what had him asking her to stay. Would it matter?

  His hand settled over the fidgeting fingers in her lap. “Think about it, Jena. You’re here for the next week anyway. Use that time to talk to Riley…see what she thinks. Call your parents. Or you could just…say yes.”

  With a sultry smile, he winked, and it seemed like the whole sexy package that was Tyler Cole became amplified to Godlike status. She was dangerously close to saying yes to anything that came out of his mouth.

  Laying her palms on his thighs, Jena leaned into him until her lips were inches from his. “I’ll think about it.”

  He stuck a finger into the waistband of the boxers she wore and yanked. “Let me help you with that.” Then his mouth proceeded to help all sorts of things.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  “So, a little birdie told me you were thinking of hanging around until the wedding and looking for a place to stay.”

  Jena nearly spit out her coffee. Okay, maybe she did because Riley grabbed two napkins from the silver holder near the window, held one out, and wiped the table with the other.

  They’d stopped at the diner for breakfast before going to see the wedding dress at Tyler’s mom’s shop.