It must suck not to be able to hide his effect on her.
Raine gritted her teeth and led him across the clinic to the equipment and the physical therapist assigned to his rehabilitation.
“Jake, this is Steve, the physical therapist who’ll be working with you. Steve, this is Jake Forrest.”
“Um, yeah, I’m aware, Raine. As is everyone who follows sports for people over age eighteen. Mr. Forrest, nice to meet you. Great season last year. We’re going to start with some exercises to increase your range of motion and build strength back. It’s going to hurt…a lot. Feel free to call me every name in the book. My personal favorite is ass munch.”
“Steve…”
“Relax, Raine, I’d never encourage the juveniles to call me ass munch, they prefer butt nugget.” Jake laughed and Raine couldn’t help but smile. “Go work yourself to death, I got this.”
She walked away to check Angelica and Jake watched her go.
“Pretty, right? Yeah, I caught you looking, Jake. No worries, I’m not involved with her in that way. I hit for the other team…and no, despite propaganda bandied about, we do not roam the streets in a fag pack looking for men to deflower and drag into our gay coven.”
Jake was laughing hard and Steve grinned.
“I’m pretty humorous. You’ll like that about me. Until you want to beat me to death with your crutch. And you will get there.”
He put him on a machine and set the weight low, showing Jake exactly what he wanted him to do.
“Is she seeing anyone?” Jake said through his clenched jaw.
“Our Raine? Nah, girl doesn’t date. Well, now that isn’t true, exactly. She does rarely but the men never hold her attention. She has crazy expectations.”
Steve stood, massive and muscular, arms crossed as he watched Jake’s every movement. He reminded him of a young John Rhys Meyers, only bigger and prettier.
“I wonder where she got those.” Jake’s shirt was already soaked with sweat and he was furious when he noticed he was only lifting twenty pounds on his bad knee.
The big man shrugged. “There was a guy years ago. A mysterious stranger. He really put it on her, excuse my slang. No one else does it for her. Dude, power through it and give me ten more.”
“Must be a lot of pros after her around here. Not much to look at, no offense.” Jake’s face was pouring sweat when Steve helped him out of one machine and guided him carefully to another.
Steve was nodding. “I’ve worked here for ten years, back when she was just a kid. They chased her even then, not realizing she was only sixteen in college. She’s very pretty and she has something men seem drawn to. Big bad athletes come in here and think she’s going to be an easy mark. Not. Push through it, Jake, I need another twenty.”
Jake took the clean towel to mop up the rivers of sweat that shouldn’t be pouring off his body.
“She’s feisty. Likes to hang with me and a few of my friends. She enjoys beautiful gay men…all the fun, none of the groping that isn’t going to get her anywhere. We adore her, of course.”
“What does she do for fun?” Jake said breathlessly.
Steve smiled. “Going to give it a shot? Alright, I’ll play along. Poor woman hasn’t been laid in like two years. I think she gave up. Her mom is having fits about that.” He gave him a careful onceover. “You are definitely her type.”
“Her type?”
“Only used to date guys with dark hair until med school. Then suddenly only liked blondes, guys with soulful brown eyes, which I personally would say you have. I’m assuming that’s due to this mystery man. You might do the trick. Tall and lean muscle, she doesn’t prefer bulk like mine. Well, she likes it on me…but I’m her BFF.”
Steve paused for a moment, thinking as he watched Jake work.
“She likes kids, does lots of work with local youth sports teams. She runs daily, used to be in track. She’s a movie buff, has a major Brad Pitt addiction…you kinda look like him actually. Loves concerts, mostly hard rock, some newer country bands, too. Loves to dance, can go for hours. Favorite flower is Gerber daisies…sweet, right?”
Steve leaned forward and held Jake’s leg in the extended position for three seconds. Jake saw stars. “Excellent, give me another ten. Power through it, man, you can do it.”
After thirty minutes on two machines, he was soaked to the skin and wrung out. As he drank from a bottle of water Steve handed him before heading to get a fresh towel, Jake watched as Raine walked quickly across the room, her lab coat flapping behind her and giving him a better view of her lovely figure.
“How are you holding up, Jake?” He nodded, still trying to catch his breath. She took his vitals and he watched her fingers on his wrist. “My mom will be here in two weeks and she’ll take over your case.” Jotting notes in Jake’s file, she added, “You’ll like her. She’s amazing. Do you have any questions?”
“Just one. Will you have dinner with me?” She jumped. “Come on, I’m fairly harmless right now. Say you will.” He reached out to take her hand. “For old times’ sake.”
Raine was frozen, a look of terror on her face as he realized Steve had returned and was standing right behind him.
“Holy hell…you’re the guy?”
“Shut up, Steve.” Raine’s voice came through clenched teeth and barely moving lips.
“Oh, I think not, chica. This is the guy who’s had you all tied up in knots for five years?” Looking shrewdly at Jake he added, “Please tell me I’m not going to have to pummel an injured man. It really isn’t my style.”
“Steve, can we please discuss this later? You know, at a less embarrassing time and place?” Raine begged. “Jake, um…no. I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She turned on her heel and hauled ass to the stairs.
Jake’s eyes landed on Steve’s, his annoyance obvious. “Dude, I almost had her convinced to have dinner with me,” he said miserably. He halfheartedly reached for the towel that was tossed in his direction.
“Spill the deets and I’ll decide if I’m going to help you…though pumping me for information wasn’t cool, dude.”
“I don’t typically share information about women I’ve been with, Steve. She wanted to lose something. I helped her with it. I only knew her first name, and she didn’t know mine at all. Blew me a kiss as she ran off the next morning. I tried to find her, I really did. Been thinking about her for years, wondering who she was…where she was. Walked in for rehab this morning and boom.”
Jake was staring in the direction she’d gone.
Steve stood thinking for a long time. “You know she’s compared every man to you, right? Only wants men who look like you, and gets upset when none give her what she wants.” He sighed.
“I’ll help you but you better not be a dick, man, or I will seriously put a hurtin’ on you. You take it slow, don’t come at her hard. Keep doing what you’re doing, do what you came here for, and don’t try to intimidate her into what you want. She’s fragile where you’re concerned. We clear?”
Jake nodded and Steve helped him up from the machine, handing him his crutches.
“Ice your knee, twenty on, twenty off for the next four hours. I’ll see you in the morning. Take it easy.”
Jake headed to his truck and climbed in carefully. He was backing up when he saw her in a second floor window, watching him with her arms crossed. He wanted her so bad but he knew if he pushed, she’d back away on principle.
He blew her a kiss and smiled when she dropped her arms.
Driving away, he let the fact that Raine hadn’t forgotten him sink in.
Chapter Three
When he got home, he called a florist and had a bouquet of Gerber daisies delivered to her with a note that read: “Raine, it was so good to see you again. I promise not to push. Jake”
He showered and iced his knee, as instructed, and pulled up everything he could find on Storm Sports Medicine.
Jake wasn’t surprised to learn Raine
had been a child prodigy. She could have gone to college two years earlier than she did but her mother made her wait. She took college courses in tandem with high school and excelled on the cross-country track team. Graduated top of her class and had never been in trouble.
Apparently, the most outrageous thing she’d ever done was him.
Boy, was he glad she had.
His mom and youngest sister stopped by, feeding and pampering him until he felt like he was once again living at home. He’d grown up in Louisiana but moved to Arlington when he was drafted by the Rangers right out of college.
As the oldest sibling and the only male, he tried to keep them all safe and sound since their dad’s death from a heart attack when Jake was a teen. He felt his dad would have wanted it that way. His sister Lacey, middle child of the family, was finishing her sophomore year at his Alma Mater, LSU.
Youngest child Brittany was starting at the local campus of Texas State University this fall, and spent the visit talking a mile a minute, asking questions about campus life and Jake's college experience, but not pausing long enough for him to be able to answer any of her questions.
His mother had recently retired from a lifetime of nursing, something Jake highly approved of as he had been begging her for years to get off her feet.
The females of his family adored him, of course, but seemingly had no idea how much he adored them in return. They’d gone through a rough patch back when Lacey was in high school, but she’d pulled her butt back into line.
Jake was proud of the fact that his mom and the girls were always taken care of, no matter what they needed. Mom wouldn’t let him outright spoil his sisters but he’d set up college funds and savings accounts for them, bought each of them reliable cars…just nothing fast or flashy, per Mom’s orders.
He was turning thirty this year and life felt good. He had no shortage of female companionship, but knew his mom hated seeing him with different women all the time.
It was starting to get to him, too. Pretty damn bad when you forgot someone’s name because she was your third girlfriend in a week.
His experience with Raine had stuck with him, snuck up on him every few weeks. It was worse during the off-season. Down time gave him too many opportunities to dwell on the pretty young woman who’d wanted to lose her virginity but hadn’t known his name...or told him hers.
“Jake, what…or should I say, who…are you thinking about?” his mom asked suddenly. “Please tell me not another trampy girl chasing you. A mother can only handle so many, son.”
“No, nowhere close to trampy, Mom. It’s…complicated,” he admitted honestly.
“Sounds fascinating. Do tell…immediately.” Mirabeth Forrest was compelling when something struck her curiosity. Jake told her the story, leaving out all the steamy details. Just the basics were said about the night they’d shared five years ago and meeting her again today.
When he was done, Brittany sighed, “How romantic!”
His mother sat watching him for a long time. “You know, Jake. You’re a keeping kind of man and you’re getting older. Passing the wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am stage. You go through all these women because you’re looking for one with some damn standards. The fact that this young woman held on to her virginity until she was twenty-one, well, that’s pretty amazing. Not even your sisters managed that.”
“Mom!” Brittany was horrified, covering her face with her hands to avoid her protective older brother’s glare.
“Anyway…” Mirabeth cast an annoyed glance in her daughter's direction. “I think you might be impressed with her because she isn’t cheap and easy. I mean, let’s be honest, your choices since you went pro have left a lot to be desired. Fun in the sack only goes so far. Eventually, you do have to climb out of bed…and when that happens, you’d better have something to talk about, something in common, or it’s doomed.”
Her smile made him feel better. “You already know she’s into fitness and sports…kids too. She’s obviously much smarter than you…aww, don’t make that sad face. It’s just a fact. She’s probably smarter than all of us combined. You’re more fun and relaxed than she is. She has a great work ethic, is compassionate with her patients." She paused to chuckle. “I like her already.”
The two women busied themselves with cleaning up the meal, and then hung out a few more minutes before saying their goodbyes and leaving him alone to brood.
His mom was right. Most of the women he dated met a need, fulfilled something immediate, but he’d never take them home to meet his mom. None of them would have passed inspection.
Jake realized he tended to look for women who were aggressive sexually, both of them going into the situation with their eyes open, a quick roll in the hay, see you later.
He didn’t like them in his bed, he never stayed overnight at their place. Jake released tension, they had the novelty of fucking a pro baseball player. It was a win-win situation where everyone was happy, no expectations of more.
So why wasn’t he happy with it anymore?
Chapter Four
Jake slept hard that night and found himself excited to get to physical therapy the next morning.
A pretty brunette, obviously the missing Tiffany from the day before, was at the reception desk when he walked in and she smiled flirtingly. He kept it light and eventually she sighed and called Steve to come escort him back.
The two went through the same exercise routine as the day before, Jake casually insulting Steve without really meaning it, and Steve giving as good as he got.
While the therapy itself hurt, it was definitely cushioned by the amazing staff.
At the end of the session, Raine made an appearance to take his stats and check on him. Her hair was piled high on her head today, with only a few wild curls falling around her face. It told him how busy she’d been.
Jake smiled but kept it casual and she seemed surprised at his reserve. He told her how pretty her hair looked, noted her light blush, and left for the day.
This went on for days. Jake found he liked the building tension, something he’d never experienced before. With all the female sports groupies that had been hanging around him since high school, he’d never had to.
Every day he’d compliment Raine on something she’d done with her hair or a piece of jewelry or clothing. He realized at the end of the second week that it was the first time he’d courted a woman in his life, and he was really enjoying himself.
Unlike the precious few who had pretended to run so he’d chase them, with Raine he felt no rush to the finish. The goal was there, yes…but it almost seemed that the path he took to get there was as important as the end result, even more important at times.
He already knew she wanted him and compared other men to him. She’d separated herself from male companionship because she’d been unable to find someone who could match what he’d done for her. Jake knew he was in…now it was time to make Raine realize it, too.
When he was able to ditch the crutches, it seriously helped his confidence. He did his physical therapy, found he really liked Steve despite the pain the man put him through, and continued exercises at home he’d been given.
He was getting stronger every day.
At the start of his third week in therapy, he arrived and saw a new face behind the receptionist’s desk. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Mr. Forrest. I’m Raine’s mother. I hear you’re coming along nicely; Steve says you hardly ever call him names or make threats anymore.”
Rhiannon Storm was a beautiful older woman who shared her daughter’s amazing smile. Raine was her mother’s spitting image, though perhaps an inch or so taller.
“It’s wonderful to meet you, Ms. Storm. Please, call me Jake. I see where Raine gets her beauty,” Jake told her honestly.
“Thank you very much. Aren’t you the charmer?” She gave him wink.
Tiffany arrived to take her place at the desk, and Rhiannon led him back to an Olympic pool where Steve was waiting.
“We’re going to
do water exercises today to increase your mobility and flexibility. Steve will show you to the locker room. Once you’re all set, I’ll be back to check your progress.” She gave him another pretty smile and left, making notes on his chart as she walked away.
“It’s amazing. She’s a slightly older Raine.”
“Yeah, they’re beautiful women, aren’t they? Rhiannon comes out with us sometimes, dances with our little group. Men love her, but she’s like Raine…she wants to have fun, not be pawed. We’re good for that and we get pretty women to look at and pamper.”
“Lucky bastards,” Jake growled good-naturedly.
“Yeah, aren’t we just?” Steve laughed. “Okay, there’s a swimsuit and towels in here for you. Hit our little locker room, get changed, and meet me back in five. Today won’t hurt nearly as bad as the last few weeks, but tomorrow we start the stair climber and squats. Enjoy the pool while I let you.”
Jake raised one eyebrow at him in a slight challenge and headed in to change. He stripped quickly, ignored the hangers, and tossed his clothes into one of the cubbies provided. As he pulled on the bathing suit, he realized it was…quite a bit less than he would have preferred.
Instead of his usual board-shorts, these appeared to be made out of pure spandex. While not quite what he would call a Speedo, the snug trunks fit securely to his upper thigh.
Great. There would be no hiding anything in these…please don’t let Raine show up.
When he exited the locker room, Steve whistled. “Holy shit, Jake. Very nice. You’re in much better shape than I realized. Okay, get your zero body fat butt in the water, dude.”
“Hey, why do you get regular trunks and I get the porn edition?” Jake couldn’t hide his irritation.
Steve laughed as Jake climbed carefully into the heated pool. “You like them, huh? They’re a special fabric. Since we never know where someone is going to be injured, it comes in handy. If your injury was a hip or thigh, we’d want to see you move it.”
Love of the Game - The Complete Collection (Box Set) Page 28
