Chapter Eight

Carson

Scoring the winning touchdown had nothing on the feeling of having Gwen on my arm. There was something about her that made me feel completely comfortable and antsy all at once. She had a strange pull on me that was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. I wanted to know everything about her, all at once, but also wanted to relish unveiling each new piece of her.

“What happened to your friend? I hope you weren’t all by yourself for too long,” I said as I stopped to pull open the door for her. The night air instantly whipped at the back of my neck and I regretted leaving the locker room in such a hurry that I’d left my thick winter coat behind.

Gwen tugged her own coat closer around her as she stepped through the open door. “She has to work tomorrow and couldn’t stay out too late. She took the street car home. She doesn’t live too far from downtown.”

Secretly I was relieved. I wanted Gwen all to myself. “I’m glad you stayed.”

Gwen glanced up at me as we walked down the sidewalk. “Me too.”

God, her smile was addictive. As soon as it faded, I was aching for it to make another appearance. Those lips. The little dimples on either side. Damn. I was a goner. My mind had been racing for days, concocting all kinds of scenarios of how to get her alone. Now, walking down the sidewalk outside the stadium, I had her all to myself and my insides felt like a live wire flailing around, sparks flying every which way.

Gwen rubbed her gloved hands together as we walked. “Damn, aren’t you cold?”

“I’m freezing. I left my coat to catch you before you left.”

“I’m sorry, do you want to go back and get it?”

I rubbed my arms quickly, warming them up. “No, I’ll be okay. Ill kick up the heat in the truck.”

“Honestly, I don’t know how you play in the snow and wind like that. I was freezing to death, with a blanket and a coat!” she said with a laugh. “Weather like this is only good for one thing.”

My mind easily filled in what I’d like to be doing.

“Blanket fort?” I asked, keeping the R-rated version to myself.

Gwen laughed. “I was gonna say staying in bed, but yeah, a blanket fort could work too.” She glanced up at me and all the air left my lungs at the sparkling mischief in her dark eyes. “As long as there’s hot cocoa, I’m there.”

I chuckled and dragged a hand through my hair. “Good policy.”

We reached the end of the sidewalk and Gwen came to a stop a step ahead of me. “Where are you parked?” Gwen asked, scanning the street in both directions. “I’m in that garage over there.”

I followed the direction of her hand before reaching for it. “Well, we’re going that way,” I said, taking her hand and pointing it toward a garage on the opposite corner. “I’m driving.”

“No arguments here. Hopefully the street sweepers will be out by the time we get back. Even though I grew up here, I still don’t like driving in the snow,” Gwen said, eyeing the road conditions as we went up to the nearest crosswalk.

A few straggling fans were waiting at the light and I hung back. There were guys on the team who would have loudly announced their presence, creating an opportunity to be rowdy and get compliments, but that was the last thing I wanted. Especially, in front of Gwen. I didn’t think it would impress her and would only serve to take time away from our night.

“I don’t mind driving you home,” I offered. “If the sweepers don’t make it out in time.”

Gwen looked up at me, her eyes wide. “Guess we’ll see…”

A rush of excitement warmed me up. How gorgeous would those eyes look rolled back into her head, my name on her lips, her curvy ass on display. I couldn’t wait to see how the night would end.

****

“Table for two?”

I glanced over at Gwen at the hostess’ question. We’d only agreed on getting a drink, but the bar entrance was locked so we had to go around to the main restaurant entrance instead. Before I could ask which she’d prefer, she nodded and offered the young woman a smile. “Please.”

“Right this way,” the hostess said, grabbing two leather bound menus from the front counter.

“I’ve never been here before,” Gwen said as we walked a few paces behind the hostess. “Wasn’t this a Mexican place?”

“I’m not sure.”

“It’s hard to keep track. The city changed so much while I was away at school.”

The hostess indicated which table was ours and I stepped forward to pull out Gwen’s chair before the hostess could do it for me. The hostess gave us a smile, deposited the menus, and informed us that our server would be on the way shortly. Gwen shrugged out of her coat, revealing the curves I’d been fixated on since the first time I saw her at Maggie’s diner. Damn she was beautiful, and in a blue sweater as well—team colors.

“Spirit sweater?”

“What’s that?”

“Your sweater, it’s the same color as the team’s blue.”

“Yeah, I guess it is.” She smiled up at me, and caught me in the act of checking out her ass, before she lowered into her seat. “Thank you.”

I inclined my head and took my own seat. “Did you come back often? While you were in school, I mean.”

She shook her head. “Not really. Flights were always really expensive during the holidays. My dad’s a high school principle and my mom has a part-time job at a craft store but spends most of her time doing volunteer work. It was a miracle I was able to even come up with the money to go to an Ivy League school.”

“Understandable.” I grabbed a menu and popped it open. I didn’t want to leave too much space for her to ask about my own family. It wasn’t fit for first date kind of conversation. Hell, it wasn’t really fit for any kind of date conversation. “Well, I’ve only been here a few times and can recommend the braised chicken cutlets with the garlic baked potato.”

Gwen smiled at me over the top of her own menu. “Sounds good.”

Our server approached us before we could find a new thread of conversation and we placed our drink orders. When he’d gone, I fidgeted with my hands, unsure what to do once the menu was out of them. Gwen’s were away, folded in her lap, and I wished they were resting on the top of the table.

“How long have you been in Bitsburg?” Gwen asked, cocking her head ever so slightly.

“Almost four years.”

“Do you go somewhere else in between seasons?”

I shook my head. “No.”

She gave a slow nod. “Where is your family?”

My heart jumped in my chest. Gwen was circling around the darkest part, poised to ask the questions I didn’t want to answer. I couldn’t sway her in another direction without looking completely shady. Damn it. I swiveled a quick glance around the restaurant, hoping that the server would conveniently come over with our drinks and save me.

Gwen fidgeted in her seat and glanced down. “If you don’t want to—”

“No, no. It’s okay. Uhm, I’m originally from Arizona and that’s where my mother still lives. As for my dad, well, even I don’t have the answer to that one. He walked out when I was two and I’ve never heard from him.”

“Oh,” Gwen said, her full lips forming a soft O.

“It’s kind of a fucked up situation so I don’t really talk about it with people.”

Her eyes flashed with something. Pity? No. Sadness. I hated that I didn’t have a better answer. The normal, dad and mom are still together and we spend every holiday together and it’s just dandy, type of story. But no. That dream had been ripped to shreds a long ass time ago. “I’m really sorry, Carson.”

“It’s all right. How could you have known?” I replied, offering a smile that felt too tight. Strangled.

“I guess I could have done a more thorough Googling job,” she said, smiling.

I chuckled. “Oh yeah? Trying to dig up the dirt?”

“I’m a lawyer. Rule number one is to know what you’re getting into.”

My chuckle rolled into a full laugh and it felt good. Like a heavy weight was starting to lift. I leaned forward, bracing my forearms against the edge of the table. “Fair enough. What did you find out? You’re here, so I assume you didn’t dig up all of my skeletons.”

She laughed and I memorized the sound. It was melodic and unapologetic. The kind of laugh that was impossible to hear and not join in. “Oh, you mean the part where you have three families stashed across the country? No, I found that, I just decided it wasn’t a deal breaker.”

“Oh, thank God. You’d be surprised how many people are turned off by that,” I fired back, loving the game she’d started.

Gwen flapped a hand, still giggling. “No biggie.”

“What a relief. Since you know all my dirt, how about sharing some of your own. What do I need to know about Gwen Bristol? What am I getting myself into?”

Gwen met my eyes, a smile still playing at her lips. “Hmmm,” she started, tapping a finger on her chin. “Should I tell you? Or let you find out for yourself?”

“I think you know which way I’m voting.”

She laughed again. “Honestly? I’m very boring. I’ve spent seven years buried under books and now, I’m done with school and just buried in debt.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, hitching a shoulder. “It’s all right though. It’ll all be worth it.”

“True. Lawyers probably pay off student loans pretty damn quick.”

“Well, not the ones who work at the public defender’s office,” she quipped.

“Oh?” My eyebrow arched, caught off guard by her statement. Gwen wasn’t flashy or presumptuous but she carried herself in a way that made it easy to see her as a powerful lawyer. She’d own the court room, in her designer suits, the star of some downtown firm, eating fancy business lunches. “You’re going to be a public defender?”

She nodded. “That’s the plan once I get my test results back, at least.”

“Why would you want to be a public defender and not a partner at some fancy firm, if you don’t mind my asking?”

She smiled. “No, I don’t mind. It’s a long story, but the nutshell version is that I believe that the system is stacked against certain people and I want to be a voice of reason in the madness.” The tone of her voice was fused with passion and an edge of anger. “I’ve seen firsthand what it can do to innocent people’s lives when no one is fighting for real justice and truth.”

I leaned back in my seat, as though her strong words had blasted me back a few inches. “I think that’s very admirable, Gwen. I’d love to hear the long version of that story sometime.”

She nodded but didn’t launch into it, so I dropped it. “So you’ll be staying here in town then?”

“Yeah. I’m waiting for my test results. I should have had them over a month ago, I’ve already lined up a job with the office downtown. Not too far from here, actually. I’ve called the bar association and they kept giving me the run around, but the last time I called, they found my file and said they’d process it immediately, so now it’s just a waiting game—although at least I know it’s being worked on. And…embarrassingly enough, I’m still at my parents. I’ll be looking for a place of my own as soon as I can. What about you? You staying in Bitsburg after this season?”

I shrugged my shoulders. Another unpleasant topic. She sure had a knack for unearthing things I didn’t necessarily want to delve into. “Actually, I’m in limbo right now. I guess it’ll depend on how the postseason shakes out. My contract could be extended, or they could cut me. And if that happens…I don’t know where I’ll end up. A four-year quarterback with no real experience in the game has limited options.”

Gwen smiled as she raised her wine glass to her lips. “Then it’s a damn good thing you kicked ass tonight, isn’t it?”