Fumbled (Playbook #2)(83)
“You gonna sit next to me, Sparks?” he asks, the crinkles next to his eyes on full display.
“Yeah.” Now I’m whispering, because even in a room full of supermodels—fine, one supermodel—TK is still staring at me like I’m the only women in the universe.
I don’t just love him. I love him.
* * *
? ? ?
“I REALLY LIKE them,” I say into the darkness of TK’s Range Rover as we navigate the Denver roads back to the house. The tint on his windows is so dark, the world fades away as we drive.
“I’m glad.” TK keeps his eyes on the road, but one hand falls from the steering wheel to my bare knee. “They’re good people. I lucked out with this team, I’ve heard some stories.”
“Aviana is freaking hilarious.” I think back to the way she tried to convince all of us to sign on for the reality show. Poor Jacqueline didn’t even stand a chance—as soon as she said it sounded fun, Aviana leapt from her seat and called the producer she’s been talking to. “I hope they do get the show. I’d tune in.”
“I’m just glad Ace is with Jayden tonight.” TK ignores my enthusiasm about a TV show that may never exist. “Because as soon as we get home, I’m ripping this off”—he tugs at the hem of my dress—“and burying my face in between your thighs until you’re begging me to stop. Then I’m going to slide inside of you and stay there for the rest of the night.”
My lungs seize and I say nothing.
I mean, what do you even say to that?
“You have no idea what that was like for me. Having to sit in that room, watching you in that dress, knowing I had to keep waiting until we could be alone.” He groans and his fingers flinch around my thigh. “I almost tried to convince you to run to the bathroom with me.”
“You’re insane.” I mean for it to come out strong and unaffected, but it’s a breathy whisper.
“You make me insane.”
I shake my head, biting my lip to hide my smile. “People don’t say stuff like that, TK.”
“I do.” He tells me what I already know. “And you like it.”
He is correct. I love it.
“I do not.”
“Sparks.” He turns his head, aiming a smile at me before focusing on the road again. “I could feel your legs tense and goose bumps cover them when I said it.”
Betrayed by my own body!
“Whatever,” I pout, not willing to admit what he already knows.
His soft laughter fills the car just as he turns onto my street, my purple shutters visible even at night thanks to the bright security lights TK had installed.
He slows to a stop and is out of the car, opening my door before I’ve even unbuckled my seat belt.
“You ready?” TK grabs my hand and pulls me from the car. His eyes travel down my body as if he’s just seeing me for the first time. “Keep those on,” he says when they stop at my gold, strappy heels.
My core spasms and my legs turn to jelly.
“Okay.”
Now TK’s the one who doesn’t say anything.
He tightens his grip on my hand and pulls me behind him up the path and through the door and turns off the alarm without letting go of me.
Then, he does what he promised.
And I wake up still wearing my shoes.
Thirty-six
I thought the energy at the first game was off the charts.
I was wrong.
The energy tonight is so intense the hairs on the back of my neck haven’t gone down and the butterflies in my stomach haven’t settled.
“This is crazy!” I yell to Charli even though she’s standing right next to me.
“Isn’t it great?” She claps, bouncing on her toes as the guys run back onto the field after halftime.
As much as I want to deny it, I can’t.
It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
“It’s the best!” Ace answers for me through a nacho-filled mouth.
“Don’t talk with food in your mouth.” I still manage to scold Ace through my excitement.
That mom life never stops.
Charli laughs. Ace shakes his head. I roll my eyes.
I look back to the field and watch the guys jump around, loosening up like they’ve been sitting for hours instead of the ten minutes it’s really been. I don’t have to look hard to find TK. His ass is like a billboard in Times Square—impossible for me to miss. However, that’s not why it’s easy this time. He’s walking toward the stands, crooking a finger at me and Ace.
“Cool,” Ace breathes, seeing what I see. “Will you hold these?” he asks Charli, but shoves them in her hands before she answers and is halfway to the aisle before I register what TK wants.
I follow Ace down the concrete steps going slow and steady, a vision flashing in my mind of me meeting my demise if I try to skip down them like Ace. When I reach the bottom, Ace is leaning over, TK’s hand ruffling his curls before doing the handshake they perfected last week.
I shake my head, but only to disguise the way my heart is threatening to explode out of my chest.
“Come on,” TK says, turning to me.
I have no idea what he’s talking about. I just know there’s not a chance he’s ruffling my curls.