The Lineup(92)

“Jason,” she says, her voice compassionate and sweet. “I’ll be there. No matter what, I’ll be there.”

“Yeah?” I ask, excitement blooming in my chest. “You’ll be my date, even a month out?”

She nods while linking her fingers around my neck. “I might be annoyed by you on a day-to-day basis and there are moments I want to strangle you, but you make me happy, Jason. I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me.”

“God, that just made my dick hard.” It made my heart burst too, but I won’t be sharing that tidbit. I do know when to shut up. Sometimes.

She reaches down between us and cups me, causing my eyes to roll back. “Looks like we need to do something about that then.” She presses a quick kiss against my mouth and then drops to her knees, pulling my shorts with her.

God, this woman . . .





Chapter Twenty-Six





DOTTIE





Ms. Domico, We hope you’re fairing well. We’re sorry about the delay in our plans, but we wanted a few more weeks in peace and quiet before we made such a significant decision.

We talked it over and we’re hoping to have dinner with you, your dad, and hopefully, Jason. We understand Jason is a celebrity and we respect his privacy, but we’re not looking to have dinner with him because of his status on the baseball field, but because he’s the man who’s stolen your heart.

We understand this is a big ask, but we’re hoping you’ll say yes.

We’d love to set up dinner this Friday night? Let us know if that works for you.

Thank you and hope to see you soon.

Sincerely,

Mr. and Mrs. Carlton





Friday. They chose Friday. They couldn’t have picked another day to give me more time to prepare? No, they chose Friday. Two days from now.

When I got the email, I panicked, because the subject line read dinner date, and then I read it and panicked even more. They want Jason there, and I know he’ll do it, but at this point, I can’t remember a damn thing I said to the Carltons about Jason. Will they remember every detail? I sure hope not, because that could be a disaster.

All I know is that I’m standing outside Jason’s apartment, trying to work up the courage to ask him to a business dinner. I know he asked me to be his date to his fundraiser, but this feels different. It feels like I’m using him to show the Carltons that I’m the right person for the job. And maybe that’s what propelled me to give in to the temptation of seeing what Jason and I could be, but it isn’t what’s kept me around.

I’m falling for the man and hard . . . that’s if I haven’t fallen already. Every day, every minute, I can feel myself growing closer and closer to him to the point that it feels like a piece of me is missing when he’s not around.

Which means this dinner should be easy, because there’s no faking the feelings I have for him.

Feeling like I gained some confidence back, I raise my hand to knock on the door when Knox and Emory’s apartment door opens.

“Oh,” Emory says, bringing her hand to her chest while nervously chuckling. “I wasn’t expecting to see you there.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “Going to visit with Jason?”

“Nope, I just like standing outside his door.”

“Aren’t you charming? But while I have you here, I want to extend—”

Jason’s door opens and his sexy smile appears when he spots me. “I heard voices. I didn’t know you were coming over, babe.” He pulls me in by the waist and keeps his hand protectively around me while talking to Emory. “Unless . . . was she coming to visit you?”

Emory shakes her head. “No, we were both actually coming to see you.”

“Lucky me.” He kisses the side of my neck. “I know why this little sex-crazed harlot is here.” Whispering he says, “She wants the dick.” I shouldn’t be shocked at this point from his ability to make me blush in seconds . . .

Emory laughs. “Giving her the good dick, huh, Jason?”

“Only the best of the best. Told you I would take care of your friend.”

“That you are, but while I have you both here, I wanted to invite you to our Friends-Giving we’re having. Not sure who’s going home for Thanksgiving, but we thought we would host a little get together at our place. Knox’s mom will be visiting and she plans on making a turkey. We’ll pitch in with the sides—”

“Calling the yams,” Jason says, raising his hand with excitement. “I have a killer recipe that will blow everyone’s dicks off, including Dottie’s. We all know she has the hardest dick of us all.”

“What is wrong with you?” I ask, laughing while Emory gives us a strange look.

“You two are odd,” she finally says.

“Us? Uh, no.” I shake my head. “He’s the weird one, I just deal with it.”

“Because of the good dick,” Jason says, leaning forward as if to put an exclamation point on the end of his sentence.

“Ah yes, it all makes sense.” Emory chuckles and even though she thinks we’re weird—well, Jason is weird—she still loves us together. She’s said as much when we’ve talked. She loves Jason, thinks he’s a sweetheart—obnoxious, but a sweetheart—and she couldn’t pick a better guy for me.