Play Maker(37)

“Dammit!” I muttered, trying to slide out of bed, but James’ arm was still wrapped around my waist. I looked down at him. His eyes were still closed but the grip he had on my hip made it clear he was awake. As did the obvious bulge in his pants, the same one I had felt press so deliciously against me only moments before.

“I have to go,” I told him, reluctantly extracting myself from his grasp.

He opened one eye. “What time is it?”

“Almost 7:00am,” I told him, sliding out of bed and looking around for my clothes.

“Where do you have to be at 7:00am?” he sat up, his hair deliciously disheveled.

I bit back a moan. He looked so good. Better than anyone had a right to look first thing in the morning. I was sure my hair was a mess and no doubt I had several lines from the pillow smushed into my face, but James didn’t seem to mind. In fact he was staring at me like I was the last bite of waffle.

Why had I let myself fall asleep? I should have jumped him the moment I got out of the bath. But I had been so hungry. I looked at the piles of dishes on the floor, feeling immensely guilty about the hotel staff that would have to clean it up. At least we had left everything neatly stacked and hadn’t made a mess.

I finally located my jeans and shirt, finding them neatly folded on the chair. Had James done that while I was in the bath? My heart gave a little leap, one that I immediately dismissed. Stop being silly, I ordered myself. Get your clothes and get out of there. Mikey and Mom were probably worried sick.

“Do you have a charger?” I asked.

James nodded and pointed towards the desk. I plugged in my phone and after it had charged enough, I saw that I had almost a dozen missed calls and text messages, some from Maya, who had apparently been contacted by my mom as well. Goddammit.

I quickly sent off a message to my mom and Maya saying that I was on my way home and not to worry. But I could feel a headache coming on. I was going to get lectures from both of them and even though I didn’t want to hear it, I knew I deserved it. Oh god, Mikey was going to be so upset. First the movies and now this. I never stayed out all night, never ever. He must have been so worried when he woke up this morning and I wasn’t there. What had I been thinking?

Sadly I knew the answer to that. I hadn’t been thinking. I had let myself get lost in the fantasy of everything – of the bath, the robe, the room. The guy. Glancing back at James, I found that he had gotten out bed as well. He was so f*cking gorgeous. I had let myself get carried away – not just by his good looks, but by the kindness he had shown me last night. I had let myself escape into the fantasy and had lost reality for a night. It had never happened before and it could never happen again. This had gone too far.

“I need to go,” I told him, but before I could stop him, he had grabbed keys and his wallet.

“Let me drive you,” he offered. “I’ve got a rental down in the garage.”

“No, that’s ok, really.” The last thing I needed was for him to see where I lived. Nothing was more of a boner killer than the reality of my personal situation. This was no Cinderella story – he wasn’t a prince looking for a poor girl to save and I definitely wasn’t a poor girl looking for a prince.

“I insist,” he said firmly and I got the feeling that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

I hesitated, but I knew that getting a cab would be a real pain right now and with people heading to work, traffic would be a mess and Uber was probably at double rates or worse. Maybe he could just drop me off at the end of my street. Or maybe it was better to end this all now. Face the reality of our differences. Destroy the fantasy before we got too lost in it.

“Ok,” I finally conceded. “Let’s go.”





23





Nicole





We spent the car ride in almost complete silence, except for my occasional offering of directions, which ended up being echoed by the voice of James’ GPS each time. James kept his eyes on the road, though I could sense them flickering over to me every few minutes and I kept my own gaze focused out the window, my fingers twisting the straps of my bag viciously.

It was clear neither of us knew what to say to each other. And what could we say? Last night had been…well, I didn’t know what last night had been. Going in I had been hoping for another night of great, mindless sex, but somewhere along the line things had gotten intimate. Intimate in a way I wasn’t comfortable with. This whole thing was spiraling out of my control. I just knew that I couldn’t risk any more evenings like that. Not with someone like him. Not with anyone.

And my reason for that was coming up around the corner.

“You can just drop me off here,” I told him as we came up to my block, but he gave me a sidelong glance and kept driving.

“I’m not leaving you on some corner,” he responded. “My mum raised me better than that.”

It was gentlemanly of him, but my fingers twisted my bag’s straps tighter as we pulled up in front of my apartment complex where my brother was pacing in the driveway – in his pajamas, flashlight in hand, despite the sun being up already – looking extremely upset. My mom was sitting on the apartment steps looking equally upset and exhausted.

“Thanks for the ride,” I said to James, and not waiting for a reply, bolted out of the car, hoping that he would take the hint and drive away. But he just followed me and pulled into the driveway. I avoided looking at him, not wanting to see pity or disdain for my home. It was nothing like the kind of life he was used to, but it was my world and I was protective of it. And the people in it.