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Though I’m definitely not opposed to it, and the more time I spend with her on this date, the more I want…more.
Our eyes meet, and hers look confused.
She’s clearly wondering whether I just did that for show or if there was more to it.
And there was definitely more to it, but I’m not sure this is the time or place to admit that.
This is all so confusing. I want to be with her, but I can’t. I like her—a lot—but I promised her brother I’d take care of her.
How is kissing her at a Heat game taking care of her? How is it protecting her?
Every time we start to get close, I feel myself pumping the brakes.
But isn’t that always what I do? How do I make things different with her when she deserves so much more than what I can give her?
“Nice, you two,” a voice whispers from behind us, interrupting the rather intimate moment. I glance back and see Ellie, who clearly just saw me kiss her and obviously believes it’s all part of the act.
It wasn’t. And I’m torn between telling Ava the truth about that or not.
Maybe it’s better not to. I should play it safe. Protect her like I promised I would.
Ava unwraps the Tootsie Roll and pops it into her mouth, and she closes her eyes for a beat as she chews.
I shift in my seat as my cock throbs.
This is ridiculous.
I sigh, turn my attention to the field, and focus on the proverbial baseball as a way to get my raging boner to calm the fuck down.
But when I’m sitting next to Ava Maxwell and she’s moaning her delight over a fucking Tootsie Roll, there’s little chance that’s ever going to happen.
Note to self: buy more Tootsie Rolls. Stat.
Chapter 34: Ava Maxwell
So Smart and So Goddamn Clueless at the Same Time
The Heat win on opening day at home, and we have the best time together. It feels like we’re in a real relationship—we don’t stick only with each other the entire time. I sit with Ellie for a bit, who introduces me to her sister-in-law, Jack Dalton’s wife, Kate. I chat with Victoria and Tessa for a while, too. Grayson chats up his teammates, and I watch him from across the room.
I never feel that awkward sense of loneliness even though we’re not side by side for the entire event. He’s free to do his thing, to get to know his teammates, to have some fun, and the girls chat me up as they try to figure out my secret ingredient in my cookies, but I won’t tell a soul.
Especially not now—after the intimate moment I just shared with Grayson.
He’s such a force, even in this suite with a whole bunch of other forces, too. He still somehow stands above the crowd even though he’s not the tallest man here, or the biggest, or the loudest. He’s magnanimous, and it’s this charismatic energy that he carries that turns him into the center of attention.
The guys on his team all seem to like him already, and I love that for him. I think he was initially worried about fitting in, but I can’t see why he’d have any problem with that at all.
I hang around with Grayson toward the end since he’s the kind of guy who’s the last one standing as he talks to everyone and makes the rounds. As they leave, I hug the girls who feel like friends goodbye. Eventually, it’s just Jack and Kate remaining, and we say our goodbyes before Grayson drives me home.
He’s quiet on the car ride home, and I can’t help but wonder what he’s thinking. At times it feels like I know him so well I can read his mind, and other times it feels like I hardly know a damn thing about him. Maybe we’ve known each other for seventeen years, but knowing who somebody is and actually knowing them are two different things.
If Beck’s held onto a friendship with him for this long, though, I think that means I can trust him, too.
“You’re quiet,” I muse.
“So are you,” he counters.
Neither of us asks what the other is thinking. We’re probably both too scared to ask.
