Fumbled (Playbook #2)(12)

“TK, no.” I shake my head, moving away from him.

“Poppy, yes.” He moves toward me, closing the distance I tried to create.

“I told you yesterday, I’m not the same girl you knew.” I gesture to my costume, something I regret as his gaze follows my hands, his eyes heating, lingering on my bare legs. “You don’t really want to go out with me. We didn’t have a real ending. You want closure and I understand why, but we don’t have to date to do it.”

“Wrong, Sparks.” He reaches for my hair and tugs it lightly, forcing me to look up at him. “This isn’t about closure.”

“It is.” And if it isn’t, it will be soon. I might not have social media or follow football, but I’d have to live under a rock not to know TK’s acquired quite the reputation during his time in the League. I can’t, nor do I want to, compete with the women he has at his beck and call. The only thing I need to focus on is telling him about Ace.

“No. It. Isn’t.” He still keeps his grip in my hair, but now his other hand is at the base of my back, bringing me even closer to him. “The thing is, I thought I had closure. You left. I went to school. It was closed. But then I see you yesterday, wide-eyed and scared, fuckin’ scared to see me. And when I went after you, I found you.”

“It’s not like I was hiding.” I gesture to the open parking lot. “I wasn’t hard to find.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he grinds out. “I found you, Poppy. As soon as I touch you, something in your eyes settles. I know you don’t know it, because it’s the only part of your body you don’t have guarded, the one place this mask you’re wearing doesn’t hide. But I saw it, and without you even knowing it, you told me you’re still mine. I don’t know what happened while I was gone, but I’m gonna fix whatever is broken.”

“TK.” I close my eyes, not sure how to feel.

“Open your eyes, Poppy.” He lets go of my hair and lifts up my chin, dusting his thumb across my cheek as he goes.

“I’m not yours and you can’t fix me,” I whisper.

“I know I fucked up. I was a stupid kid, and when I left for school, I was selfish. But a lot changed in the time we were apart. I grew up.” His voice is gentle, but it feels like a warning. “I know what I want and I protect and fight for it. And right now, I want you.”

This is my chance. Tell him about Ace, get it over with!

I open my mouth, Ace on the tip of my tongue. But before I can say anything, TK’s mouth is on mine, erasing all the reasons to tell him about Ace right away.

His tongue coaxes mine, twisting and tangling, and I feel it straight down to my core.

He pulls away, biting my bottom lip before he lets go and takes a step back. I feel the loss of his body pushing against mine as soon as the breeze hits my face. But when I look up at his face and the way he’s looking at me?

Holy shit.

It takes my breath away. Nobody has looked at me like that for . . . well . . . for ten years.

“See?” he asks. “Settled.”

He’s right.

I hate it when he’s right.

“When’s your next night off?”

“Sunday.” I don’t know why I tell him . . . besides never wanting him to stop touching me and everything to go back to how it was before my life exploded into a million pieces.

“Sunday night then.” He tugs on the end of my hair, smiling when I narrow my eyes and shake my head free. “I’ll pick you up at your place.”

“’Kay.” I try to keep the panic of TK knowing where I live from showing. I guess I’m successful because there’s only a quick peck on my lips before he takes his phone out of his back pocket, unlocks it, and shoves it into my hands.

“Call your phone, then save my number.”

“’Kay,” I say . . . again. Because not being awkward for ten minutes is too much to ask.

I do as he asks/demands/suggests, knowing with every digit of my number I should hit the Delete button and end this for real. But I don’t. Because, again, why wouldn’t I take up an offer to potentially blow up the nice, secure life I’ve created for me and Ace?

I hand him his phone, my number now his most recent call, and hope I’m not ruining three lives by doing so. He looks at it, the bright glow of the phone illuminating his face. I take the moment to stare at him, to notice the different shades in his beard—the same colors that highlight Ace’s hair each summer—the way the lines in his forehead deepen when he raises his eyebrows, a look, I’ve noticed, he does often.

He taps the button on the side and it goes dark, not giving me enough time to avoid getting caught staring at him.

“You can stare all you want on Sunday, I know I will.”

I forgot how well he disguises his smooth as sweet . . . and I forgot how easily I fall for it.

“Whatever.” I half roll my eyes, so not committed I can’t even convince myself I mean it.

I head back inside, half because I need to go back to work, half because I no longer trust myself to be around him. He follows a step behind me the entire way and I feel his gaze burning a hole into my ass as I walk.

The dim lights and loud music are a welcome distraction when we step onto the floor. I walk straight to the bar, ignoring the look on Sadie’s face, and pick up my tray. I do, however, chance a quick glance at TK as he walks past me, heading back to the third floor.