Take Me

by Locklyn Marx

  He turned around and looked at her. “This will not,” he said, sounding insulted.

  “be guy French toast.”

  “Okay,” she said. “Then I’ll have some.” He grinned at her, and she was struck again at how absolutely gorgeous he was. Curly dark hair, a perfect smile, dark brown eyes. There was no word to describe him other than smoldering. “So your mom doesn’t mind that you’re just using her house? What if she comes home?” She glanced behind her, toward the front door, half expecting his mom to come waltzing in. That would be totally awkward. What would she say she was doing here? How would Chad explain it?

  Unless, of course, he brought women here all the time. The thought disappointed her, and she took another sip of her drink.

  “She won’t be coming home,” Chad said. His back was to her as he added vanilla to the eggs in the bowl in front of him. “She doesn’t live here.”

  Kenley frowned. “But I thought you said this was her house.”

  “It is her house. But she doesn’t live here.”

  She shook her head. “That makes no sense.”

  He turned around, wiping his hands on a dishtowel. “I bought this house for my mom when I signed my first major league deal. But she didn’t want it.”

  “Are you kidding?” Kenley asked. “Why wouldn’t she want it?”

  “Because.” Chad shrugged. “My mom left when I was seven, and she was never really around. I bought the house because she always wanted to live near the beach, and I figured she’d want it. Siesta Key supposedly has the best beaches in the whole country.”

  He was trying to sound like it was no big deal, but Kenley could see the hurt in his eyes.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “It’s not a big deal.” He shrugged again. She nodded, not knowing what to say.

  She looked around. The house was meticulously clean and the refrigerator was obviously well stocked. Chad must have been paying someone to stock the fridge, to clean the house and keep it up. The cleaning made sense. The house would fall into disrepair without any kind of upkeep. But keeping the refrigerator stocked could only mean one thing – he was hoping his mom would someday decide to take him up on his offer of living here.

  She felt a lump in her throat, thinking about the rejection he must have been feeling. “So why did you bring me here?” she asked.

  “I told you, I wanted to talk to you.”

  “Yeah, but we could have talked anywhere. Back at the hotel, anywhere.”

  He grinned then, all traces of sadness about his mom gone. He crossed the kitchen and sat down at the breakfast bar across from her, turning her stool toward him so that their knees were touching. It was the same move he’d used last night at the hotel, and her body was filled with longing, wanting to go back to that moment. “I wanted to impress you,” he said, “Give you the star treatment.”

  He was teasing her, she could tell. God, he was hot. And his lips were right there, just inches from hers now. It was all she could do to keep herself from kissing him. She tried to turn her chair back around, but just like last night, he held her legs, not letting her move. He touched her chin, pulling it, tilting it toward his.

  “Bullshit,” she said, and pulled away from him. “You wanted me on your turf, somewhere where you were comfortable.” Her heart was beating fast, so fast she could hear it, and she worried that he could hear it, too.

  “Your heart is beating fast,” he said, and put his hand over her heart. “Are you nervous?”

  “Why would I be nervous?”

  “Because,” he said, and grinned. “You’re alone with me.”

  “So?”

  “So last time you were alone with me, you lost control of yourself.”

  “No, I didn’t.” She turned away again and tried to move her chair away from his, but he was still holding her tight.

  “You didn’t?” He reached out and slid the tip of his index finger across her lip.

  Heat exploded through her body.

  “No,” she said, “I didn’t. Not even close.” It was a lie, of course. She’d wanted him so badly that she’d almost completely lost control of herself. But almost didn’t count.

  “Okay,” he said easily, and just like that, the spell was broken. He stood up and moved back over to the stove, pulling out a frying pan and setting it down on one of the burners.

  Kenley took a sip of her water and tried to calm herself down. Damn. She hated that it seemed like he was always getting the upper hand with her. But he was just so damn hot. And it wasn’t just his looks, either, although he was sexy as hell. It was his whole being, his whole vibe. He had this confidence about him that was such a turn on she almost couldn’t stand it.

  “Okay?” she asked, trying to sound annoyed. “That’s all you have to say for yourself?”

  “No, actually, it’s not.” He pulled a loaf of crusty French bread out of the breadbox and began slicing it into thick chunks. “I have a proposition for you.”

  “A proposition?”

  “Yeah.” He turned around and leaned against the stove. He looked relax and in control. “So you know how I had a meeting this morning at Expera?”

  “Right,” she said. “And you said there was something that went on there that had to do with me. I’m assuming it’s something besides the fact that you tried to have sex with me last night because you thought I worked there?”

  He grinned. “I was hoping you’d forget about that. Of course, I guess it was kind of unforgettable.” He winked at her and slung the dishtowel he was holding over his shoulder.

  “Whatever,” she said. “So what’s the proposition?”

  “Well.” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the counter.

  He looked like he was trying to figure out the best way to explain something to her.

  “You really know nothing about baseball? You don’t watch it at all?”

  “No,” she said. “Baseball’s boring.” It was true. She hated sports, but could handle watching basketball or football if she had to. But baseball. Ugh. It took way too long to get through. The games were so long that sometimes even the players seemed bored, standing there in the outfield, waiting for a ball to come their way. Kenley enjoyed needling Chad in this way, insulting his sport, but he didn’t seem bothered by it.

  “Well, my team, the Brooklyn Heat? We’re trying to rebuild our reputation.”

  “Oh, imagine that,” she said, and held her hand to her chest in mock surprise.

  “Your team has a bad reputation?”

  “Anyway,” Chad said, ignoring her sarcasm, “when I went to that meeting this morning, the one with Expera, they were really interested in signing me up for an endorsement deal. But they had some concerns.” He dropped a pat of butter into the frying pan in front of him, and it slowly started to melt.

  “So your reputation proceeded you,” Kenley said. She didn’t feel sorry for him.

  What had he been expecting to happen? It was about time these athletes figured out that they couldn’t just get away with cavorting with random girls and getting into all kinds of nefarious situations. She didn’t know for sure that Chad did any of these things, of course. But she was willing to bet on it, especially after what had happened last night.

  “Well, sort of.” Chad pulled his phone out of his pocket, pushed some buttons, and then showed her what was on the screen . “Our reputation preceded us.”

  She looked down at the pictures on the screen and gasped. It was her. Her and Chad. It was so shocking to see the two of them in a picture together, so unexpected, that at first, she didn’t remember who had taken it, how anyone could have gotten the two of them together. But then she remembered. Last night. The bartender. Getting ambushed outside of Chad’s hotel room.

  “Where did you get this?” she asked, as her fingers slid down the screen. She made the picture bigger. Her hair was all wild, and her clothes looked a little disheveled.

  In the background, you could see the do
or to Chad’s room, and it was obvious they’d just come out. They both had shocked looks on their faces, like they’d just gotten caught doing something bad.

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “The photo hasn’t been released.”

  “Released? Released to who?” she shrieked, trying not to panic. She could just imagine the headlines. “Connecticut Girl Caught With Bad Boy Baseball Player” or

  “Who’s The Mystery Woman?” or “Chad’s Latest Conquest!”

  They’d critique her hair, her body, her clothes. She’d end up on Perez Hilton, like one of those girls who got caught with Charlie Sheen or Ashton Kutcher. Of course, those girls at least got to have sex with the guys they were accused of messing around with, and then they got to sell their stories. She didn’t even have a story to sell! All she’d done was kiss Chad.

  “To the press.”

  “Oh my God!” She was having trouble breathing, and she felt the blood drain from her face.

  “Hey, calm down,” Chad said. He handed her the flavored water that was on the breakfast bar. She took a sip. “Don’t worry, Expera is owned by the Gulf Group, and they also own a lot of magazines.” He shrugged. “One of the editors at one of their publications got offered the picture, and so they put it on retainer.”

  “Put it on retainer?”

  “Yeah. They paid for an exclusive period of time to hold the pictures and decide whether or not they want to pay for the rights.”

  “So no one’s seem them yet.” She let her breath out in one big sigh. “Thank God.”

  “Nope.” He walked back to the stove and started dipping pieces of bread into the spiced up egg mixture and dropping them into the frying pan. She stared at him. How could he be so calm at a time like this? Yes, he was obviously a lot more used to this kind of thing than she was, but still. Wasn’t he worried about getting his picture plastered all over the papers?

  “So there’s no problem then?” she asked hopefully.

  “The problem,” he said cheerfully, “is that the people at Expera think you’re my girlfriend.” He flipped a piece of French toast expertly. The delicious smell of vanilla and brown sugar filled the kitchen, and Kenley’s stomach rumbled.

  “So what?” she said. “Just tell them I’m not.” Her body was filled with nervous energy, and so she got up from the breakfast bar and started opening cupboards until she located the plates. All the cabinets were filled to the brim with plates and bowls and mugs. It made her a little sad, honestly, thinking of Chad picking things out for this kitchen, hoping his mom would come back one day and live here. Of course, he probably didn’t even pick the stuff out himself. He probably had some assistant or designer or someone do it for him.

  “I can’t,” he says. “Because if I tell them you’re not my girlfriend, they’re not going to sign me.”

  “I don’t get it.” She brought the plates over to him, and he slid a piece of French toast onto each one. They looked amazing, with the perfect hint of cinnamon, and the perfect amount of golden brown on the crusts.

  “Well,” he said, “if they think you’re just some random girl I picked up at a bar, then that doesn’t exactly fit in with their brand.”

  She brought her plate over to the breakfast bar and poured syrup onto the French toast. She took a bite and considered what he was saying. “So basically, if you don’t tell them I’m your girlfriend, they think you’re some kind of male whore, and the deal’s dead. But if you do tell them I’m your girlfriend, it makes it okay that I was leaving your hotel room, and you become the new face of Expera.”

  He nodded. “Exactly.”

  She shrugged. “Well, looks like you lost yourself a deal.”

  “That’s fine,” he said, setting his plate down and sitting across from her at the bar.

  “But if I loose the deal then they’re going to publish the pictures.”

  She almost choked on her French toast. “The pictures of us together?”

  “Well, yeah.” He picked up a paper napkin from the holder and spread it across his lap. He grinned at her. “Bon Appétit!”

  “Why would they do that?”

  “Let the pictures go to press?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, if they’re not doing a deal with me, then they have no reason to pay the money to keep them out of the papers. What do they care if America thinks I’m some kind of male slut?”

  “Doesn’t America already think that?” she shot back.

  “I’m rehabbing my image.” He grinned at her again.

  “So this is your proposition?” she said, as everything fell into place in her mind.

  “You want me to pretend to be your girlfriend?”

  He nodded. She laughed, and threw her head back. That was ridiculous. “That’s ridiculous.” She forked up another piece of French toast.

  “How come? You don’t think I’m cute enough for you?”

  “First, no one would believe it.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because! How did we meet?”

  “I don’t know.” He shrugged. “We could concoct some kind of story.”

  “And what would I have to do?”

  “Spend time with me,” he said, shrugging. “Just long enough for us to be seen out together, for some other photographs of us to end up in the tabloids.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “No way. I don’t want to end up in some tabloid with you.”

  “You do realize that if you don’t do it, you’re going to end up in some tabloid anyway.”

  “But it’s not true!”

  “What’s not true? That you made out with me in my hotel room just an hour after meeting me, and then a paparazzi caught a snapshot of you leaving? Yes, that’s very true.”

  “I’ll sue them.”

  “For what?”

  “I don’t know.” There had to be something. Defamation of character or libel or something. Celebrities were always suing tabloids for things that were really true. Of course, in order to do that you probably needed lots of big name lawyers. And in order to get lots of big name lawyers, you probably needed lots of money.

  “Well, whatever.” Chad had finished his French toast, and he reached over and forked up a piece of hers without asking. “I tried.”

  She looked at him, thinking about it. He was trying to act like this whole situation didn’t mean that much to him, like it didn’t matter if he signed the deal with Expera or not. And from a financial standpoint, it was probably true. When you were making ten million dollars a year, another ten million on top of it was nice, but definitely not necessary. He didn’t seem like he was hurting for money, like some of those professional athletes who ended up blowing their fortunes and filing for bankruptcy. But still. He wanted that deal with Expera. And he wanted it badly enough to bring her here, to ask her if she would pretend to be his girlfriend. He needed something from her, and he was trying to pretend that he didn’t, that he was doing her a favor by keeping her picture out of the newspaper.

  “What’s it worth to you?” she asked suddenly, the wheels in her head turning.

  He stopped eating. “What’s it worth to me?”

  “Yeah.” She nodded. “How long until you sign the deal?”

  “A few days.”

  “And then we can break up?”

  “Yes.”

  “So like I said, what’s it worth to you?”

  He looked her in the eye, and she didn’t look away. She wanted him to name a figure. She would try to get him up of course, because she wasn’t going to do it for anything less than twenty five thousand dollars. Even though it would be in a more legitimate way, she was still going to end up in the tabloids. Her name was still going to be out there, linked with his forever, at least as far as google was concerned. Twenty-five thousand dollars in a few days would be way more than she’d ever made in her life. It would give her time to find another job, to relax while she did it, to not have to worry about anything for a while.

  “A hundred thousand d
ollars,” Chad said, his tone serious.

  Kenley almost blinked. But she forced herself to take a moment, to act like she was thinking about it. And then, finally, she said, “Deal.”

  Chapter Six

  One hundred thousand dollars. The words had been out of his mouth before he even knew what he was saying. Chad was no stranger to being a little extravagant –

  bottles of Cristal, the best hotel rooms, thousand dollar pairs of sunglasses. But those were treats, and at the end of the day, you at least had something to show for it.

  You’ll have something to show for this, too, he told himself as he walked through the airport in New York the next morning, fresh off his flight from Florida. You’ll have a shiny new endorsement deal, which could be a springboard into other, shinier endorsement deals.

  When he really thought about it, though, the hundred thousand dollars wasn’t the problem. Yes, it was a lot of money, but if it got him the deal, it was a small price to pay.

  The real problem, the problem that had been nagging at the back of his mind ever since he left his mom’s house and Kenley yesterday afternoon, was that he had been so quick to offer it.

  He hadn’t planned on offering her any money. Yes, he knew there were probably going to be expenses – clothes and dinners, that kind of thing. But those were normal expenses you had when you were dating someone. He hadn’t planned on actually paying her to pretend to be his girlfriend.

  He’d underestimated her, though, because she’s come right out and asked him what it was worth. And in that moment, he’d wanted her to say yes so bad that he’d blurted out a hundred thousand dollars.

  Why was she having that effect on him? He’d never seen anything like it.

  Actually, that wasn’t true. He had seen something like it, on his best friend Jay Havens.

  It was the same way he’d acted when he’d met his fiancé, Alyssa. The thought was so disconcerting that Chad picked his phone up and immediately called Jay.

  “Yo,” Jay said when he answered. “Where’ve you been? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for days.”