Player's Princess (A Royal Sports Romance)(57)

"All in that house?"

"Almost all, yes."

"You live like a half mile from this park and you've never been here?"

I nod, and shrug again.

"Well, we need to fix that."

The sidewalk curves up the road and opens onto a gravel path leading into the trees. The sign reads, New Castle County Property, No Alcoholic Beverages, Closed at Dusk.

"Jason, it says the park is closed."

"Yeah, they say lots of things. Come on."

"Are you sure…?"

I stop at the sign, biting my lip. Jason grabs my arm and gives me a tug, and I stumble after him. He slips his arm around my waist, and we walk up the path, into the dark.

"Don't worry," he says cheerfully. "The mountain lions probably won't get us."

I stop and stare at him.

"I'm joking, Ana. We're safe here. Come on."

On the far side of the field there are tables and benches. Jason hops up and sits on the tabletop with his feet on the bench. I climb up and sit next to him, close. It's grown very chilly tonight, and I start to shiver.

When I tuck up against him, he puts his arm around me and I mold myself to his body. My gaze rises to the stars above. It's strange, but we were in town twenty minutes ago, and now it feels like we're in the wilderness, alone and miles from nowhere. Just us.

"I come here to sit sometimes," he says. "There are some days I just can't stand it."

"Stand what?"

"The big-man-on-campus routine."

"What's that?"

He sighs.

"You know, the all-star quarterback. It usually starts right around now. I'll be scouted. They're going to try to recruit me to play professionally."

"Is that not good?"

He shakes his head. "It was never my dream. It was my dad's dream."

"What is your dream?"

He looks at me and smiles.

"I'd like to have a house. Not a big house, an expensive house, not a trailer, not a cheap house. Just a house. In my head it's a Colonial with a big wraparound porch, with porch swings. I'd like to come home from work and walk in the door and get a kiss from somebody. Maybe have some kids run up to me and yell, 'Daddy's home!' Just be a regular person."

I nod and nuzzle my cheek against his chest. "That is a good dream."

"What's yours? What does Princess Anastasia want for her life?"

I blink, and stare at nothing.

"Ana? Are you okay? I didn't mean—"

"No one has ever asked me that before," I huff. "I don't have a dream. I will be queen. There is no room for anything else."

"If you could do whatever you want, what would you do?"

I sit up and think about that.

"I would see more of the world. So far I have seen only the island and a little of the town here. Yesterday was the farthest I have ever been from campus."

"Where would you like to go?"

I'm quiet for a while.

"I would like to see Montana."

"Why Montana?"

"Why not?"

He laughs. "That's as good a reason as any."

"I would like to go to Japan, and tour Europe. I would like to go to beaches. Perhaps I could get a tan."

"You'd better be careful. You'll burn to a crisp without sunscreen."

"There are beaches at home," I tell him. "I do tan. I have tanned."

"What are the beaches like?"

"Covered in little pebbles. No one sunbathes on them."

"Tell me more. More dreams. What would you do if you could do whatever you wanted?"

"I would like to go to a place with a beach. A real beach. With a little… bungalow, yes, that is the word. I would like to go there and sit in the sun all day and get very tan."

"Would you have tan lines, or sunbathe nude?"

I smile even as I start to blush. "What would you prefer?"

"Well," he says, slipping his arm up inside my hoodie. "See, I'm of two minds. Tan lines are sexy as hell. On the other hand, I'm imaging you lying buck-ass naked on a towel on the sand covered in sweat. I think I'd like to see that."

"What would you do if you saw me like that?"

"What would I do? I think I'd have to give you a rubdown. A nice, long, slow massage. Start at your neck and work my way down, all the way to your feet, until you're completely relaxed."

I start to feel hot, even though the night is cool the night is. "Then what?"

"Then I'd pick you up in my arms and carry you."

"Where, to bed?"

"No, to the pool. I'd toss you in and jump in after you."

"I can't swim."

He draws back and stares at me. "You live on an island and you can't swim?"

"The sea rarely rises above five degrees."

He blinks a few times.

"Centigrade," I add quickly.

"You should learn to swim. I swim. It's relaxing."

I shrug. "Perhaps I should. Perhaps you only want to see me in a bathing suit."

"I want to see you in your birthday suit."