Impossible To Resist (BWWM Romance Book 1)(24)

Jared fell into the chair across from A.J. She took his hand and squeezed lightly.

“It’s fine. You can do this. Take back control,” A.J. coached him. “I will hide until they are gone, you will turn on the charm and play media darling like you always have. Show them what you can do and give them the assurances they are looking for. They’ll leave and it will buy you time to get things together.”

“This isn’t what I wanted,” Jared murmured, his words edged with bitterness.

“That’s how this works, Jared,” A.J. agreed glumly. “But don’t do what I did. Don’t let it chase you away from the game because it’s not on your terms.”

Jared regarded her, surprised that she admitted to regretting her choices and moved that she trusted him enough to confess it to him now. It meant only one thing, he had to respect her opinion and go along with her plan.

“Okay. I’ll do it. But I really wish you would do it with me.”

A.J. shook her head. “No, not now, not like this. Can you imagine? They would have a field day with it. And I can’t do that to Jaida.”

“No, you’re right, I wouldn’t do that to Jaida either.” Jared frowned. “It just feels wrong making you hide out like you’re a shameful secret or something.”

“You and I both know that’s not the case.” A.J. rolled her eyes. “You didn’t spend all this time convincing me about what a good guy you are just to ruin it all now, right?”

Jared chuckled. “No, that is true. Get your ass in the bedroom.”

He swatted at her as she high-tailed it back down the hall toward his room. Jared took a few deep breaths and opened the door as if he didn’t already know they were out there. He turned on the charm, offered his trademark half-smile and waved.

“Oh, hey guys, good to see you.”

Might as well make it look like he’d intended for them to find him all along, steal back some of that control he wanted.

The flurry started with requests to see him walk, to run, to jump and devolved from there into the usual media circus. They pressed and probed and joked like he was the same guy who took the field so many months ago. Jared played the role, smiled, performed, and convinced his audience that he was still that man.

They asked about women and how busy he’d kept the local socialites. Jared quipped that it was just a bit different in the Midwest than it was in California but he wasn’t cold at night. It took a solid hour of answering questions and posing before they were satisfied and Jared knew he’d be a headliner on ESPN that night, but they finally left.

Jared watched the last van disappear before he went back inside. Just to be safe, he locked the door behind him. A.J. was sprawled on his bed when he returned to the bedroom, fully clothed and Skyping with her sister.

“Yeah, you should have seen him, J.” A.J.’s eyes flicked toward Jared. “He was all kinds of pretty boy out there.”

“Hey! I’m right here!” Jared protested playfully.

“Yeah, I know.” A.J. laughed. They could both hear Jaida giggling on the other end. “That’s kinda the point, isn’t it?”

Jared flopped on the bed next to A.J. “I remember it being a lot more fun than that.”

“Are you gonna be on TV tonight?” Jaida asked eagerly. “That would be so cool!”

“Yeah, prolly,” Jared answered casually. “You might want to clear out that party you’ve got going on cuz I’m sending your sister home, okay?”

Jaida giggled. “No party here, just Claudia yelling at me for reading too long and not doing my chores.”

“Those chores had better be done!” A.J. teased. “I’ll see you in a few, sis.”

“Bye, J!” Jared waved at the younger woman before A.J. ended the call. He pecked A.J. on the cheek and rolled off the bed. “I’m really not trying to kick you out, but I don’t know how long we’ve got before somebody else shows up knocking on my door for a story. If you want kept out of the mix then you’d better head out while the coast is clear.”

A.J. popped off the bed. “Thanks. I just don’t want Jaida to go through this again. It was rough before.” A.J. tugged her shoes on. “Did you know they showed up in her hospital room? I slipped out to get coffee and when I came back, they were taking pictures of her and started snapping some of me. I threw my coffee at them and they tried to sue me. Turns out they paid off a nurse to get her room number. It was awful. They’re like buzzards.”

“I know,” Jared agreed. “Believe me. I have a whole new take on the media. Do you know what it was like to see pictures of yourself after surgery and know that they were taken while you were unconscious? The media saw me before my own parents did. How fucked up is that? I really don’t want to go back to that, I just don’t.”

“But it’s not just that, it’s football. It’s your team,” A.J. reminded him. “I’ve seen you with Paul and I know that it still means so much to you. Do what you have to do for now but cut out the media as much as you can.” She stood and pressed a paper in his hand.

“What’s this?” Jared asked.

“That list of names I told you about.” A.J. brushed her lips across his and smiled. “You’ve got options if you want them.”