AJ
AJ had two rules when it came to women. He didn’t play games, and he didn’t beat around the bush. If he was in it for nothing more than sex, he made it clear up front. There was no sense in making promises he didn’t intend to keep for the sake of getting in their pants. Too many were able and willing to give it up for nothing more than the fun of it or even bragging rights to have to lie his way into anyone’s panties.
He’d always known that, if he ever wanted more than just a good time, he’d be up front about that too. There was nothing stupider than when he heard guys get all bent out of shape when they found out the girl they’d been bagging, no strings attached, was screwing someone else too. In most cases, the guys were just selfish pricks. They didn’t want to stop bagging other chicks, but they wanted one in particular for themselves exclusively.
In other cases, some guys had fallen for their part-time girl for real but were afraid of losing what they did have with her if they pushed for more. That was just insane. AJ had always known it. If he ever fell for anyone he was screwing, he’d be damned if he wouldn’t just tell her, and she’d either agree to exclusivity or he was out. No way would he stay in a relationship with anyone he felt more for, knowing it was an open one.
No fucking way.
He’d known for weeks if he ever took the risk of trying for anything with Addison it wouldn’t be a casual fling or even a one-time deal. If he were going to risk it, it was all or nothing. With Addison, he wouldn’t even be willing to sleep with her the onetime just to get it out of his system, not with what he felt for her now.
If they did agree to something more and it didn’t work out, at least he could say he tried. It’d probably be even more brutal to have to see or hear of her with someone later, but that was a risk he was willing to take if it meant the chance of so much more. He still didn’t know enough about her, but he knew himself. What he’d been feeling ever since the day he met Addison was like nothing he’d ever felt.
After thoughts of Addison had distracted him throughout the entire game today, he decided to take Clair up on her offer for tonight. He needed to confirm if what he thought he’d picked up from Addison in Toronto and Niagara Falls was just a fluke or if she might actually be feeling the same thing he was.
The moment in the car earlier was promising. Addison’s response to his eating up her sweet lips with his eyes had been a welcoming one. It if hadn’t been for Clair in the backseat, he would’ve already gone for it. So he was actually thankful for Clair now. He could easily give into the temptation of tasting Addison’s lips, devouring her mouth if she let him, but he didn’t want to go there until he had a few things straight.
They got Clair into her room, and AJ waited for Addison out in the front room while Addison changed her and got her under her blankets. He circled the front room, looking at the photos on the different wall cabinets and in the expensive-looking frames that adorned the walls throughout.
He had to chuckle at some of Addison’s photos as a little girl. Clair had been right when she said you could barely tell them apart. There was one collage in particular where they’d purposely put photos of the two side by side using photos of Addison at the same age as Clair.
“She is so out.”
AJ turned at the sound of Addison’s voice. “I was surprised she didn’t wake up when I picked her up.”
“Oh no,” Addison said, smiling and shaking her head. “She’s been so excited about this weekend all week: first, because you guys would be back in town then because of today. So she was up early this morning with her papa making pancakes and getting ready for the big day. When she has a day with this much excitement, she knocks out good and hard. Nothing short of a freight train crashing through the house is gonna wake her up now.”
Good to know.
“Your parents gonna be home soon?”
“No.” She shook her head. “That banquet they went to is in Highland. It’s too far. They’re not driving home tonight.”
Perfect.
He waited until she walked up next to him to look at the collage he’d been smiling at. “It’s funny that Clair and I look so much alike because I look nothing like my mom’s childhood photos.”
“Clair was right. You two could pass as twins in these photos.”
She was close enough that their hands grazed, and he hooked his pinky onto hers, feeling her go rigid in response. So he turned to face her, slipping his hand completely into hers. It was so quiet in there he could hear her breathing accelerate as she licked her lips and searched his eyes. They weren’t as welcoming as they had been in the car. She seemed alarmed now.
“Are you seeing anyone, Addison?’
“No,” she said as her anxious eyes shifted from his eyes to his lips then back to his eyes again.
AJ lifted her hand, placing it on his chest so she’d see she wasn’t the only one feeling the insane anxiety—another thing no girl had ever made him feel. All the weeks leading up to today he’d known Addison was a first for him. She’d be the first girl he ever felt inclined to ask for—needed to hear her say she’d be his exclusively. He just hadn’t anticipated being so fucking terrified about the real possibility of her saying no.
“I haven’t stopped thinking about you since the day we met,” he said as his eyes searched for clues of what she might think of that.
“I’ve thought of you this whole time too,” she said, even as the anxiousness in her eyes remained.
His apprehension began to drain a little, and he took a step forward. “I was really looking forward to getting back to see you again. You and Clair.”
Finally, the alarm in her eyes waned, and she smiled sweetly, her eyes dropping to his lips as he moved in closer. “Well, you know how much Clair was looking forward to having you back.” She peered up into his eyes. “I was too.”
“Were you?” he asked, a little confused, but he still couldn’t fight the temptation to slip his hand around her soft nape. Her brows pinched together at the question, even as she quivered slightly at his touch. “I kept wondering if what I’d felt from you the day of our Niagara Falls trip hadn’t been just imagined. Then you didn’t show last night to the game.”
Her eyes widened strangely, but only for a second, and then she shook her head. “I had a lot of work I needed to catch up on, and I knew I’d be gone all day today.”
AJ searched her eyes, not sure what to make of the strange flicker he’d seen in them. “When Clair told me you’d made the game today but didn’t come down with her on the field before the game, you have no idea how disappointing that was. I was dying to see you at that point. I almost turned Clair’s invite down to come with you guys tonight because I was beginning to think your feeling anything remotely close to what I was had to be all in my head.”
There was no flicker this time, but she did glance away for a moment. “I, uh,” she said, making eye contact with him again. “I stayed with my mom because she has a condition in her legs that acts up occasionally and she can’t be doing too much walking around. It was acting up again today.”
The unease he’d seen in her eyes moments ago was gone. A sudden softness permeated her eyes now as she brought her hand up and touched his face.
“I really did miss you, Andrés. A lot.”
AJ leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. “God, I love hearing you say my name.” She giggled as he stared deeply into her eyes. “Does your missing me as much as I missed you mean I stand a chance of being more than just Clair’s best buddy who keeps you company on her play dates?” The pinch in her brows made him add one last thing. “Not that I think it’s a bad gig. I loved hanging out with you guys tonight. It’s just that”—he gulped before adding the most terrifying part of this statement—“I want more.”
The unease in her expression was back, but it was different this time. “I’ve had a longstanding rule about not getting involved with any of my dad’s players—baseball players in general, AJ.”
“Good,” he said, still curious about why that was, but he’d save that question for later. “But you’re standing here with me now so close I can almost taste your lips, and you just told me you missed me as much as I missed you. Please tell me that it means you’ll make an exception for me only.”
“That depends.”
AJ pulled his forehead away and peered at her. “On what?”
“On what exactly you mean by more. I’ve been around traveling baseball players long enough to know—”
“I’d never disrespect my coach or Clair by asking you for anything less than something serious and exclusive,” he said, making sure that was clear. “As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t want it any other way. I know it’s soon and we can take things as slow as you want, but it’s the one thing I’d need to know you’re on board with before anything else.”
She stared at him for a moment, a semblance of skepticism—or something—in her eyes.
“What about Miranda?”
“Who?”
She lifted a brow, tilting her head sideways. “The girl you spent the entire night with and then hung out with again after Clair’s birthday. The reason why you couldn’t do the zoo tour.”
Feeling utter annoyance that she still remembered that when he’d long forgotten the groupie, he frowned. “Look. I’ll admit, as a single guy, I’ve met and hung with girls who offer up no-strings-attached fun. She was one of those. But if I do this, all of that changes. In fact, I’ll be completely honest here. I admit that first night, the one she mentioned the day I first met you, I did spend with her. But after that, I made no further plans to see her. I would’ve hung around for the zoo tour. I was planning to because I didn’t have any plans with her that day. Only reason I didn’t was because I saw the exchange between you and Travis.” He took a deep breath before admitting the next part. “It pissed me off even way back then. But I’m telling you I wouldn’t dream of disrespecting you by spending time with any other women once we’re exclusive, especially because I’d be expecting the mutual respect in return.”
He stopped short of saying he’d demand it because, in time, he was sure she’d pick up on what his heart would be demanding. The way he felt now, standing this close to her and knowing he was but seconds away from claiming her mouth, he knew he wouldn’t be able to hide just how entitled his heart would feel if this happened with her.
“I couldn’t tell my parents or Clair for a while. You have to understand—”
AJ kissed her softly before she could finish, tasting what he’d been dying to since that first day he ran into her. Her mouth was as agonizingly soft and delicious as he’d imagined. It made him want so much more.
He pulled away with a smile, barely able to contain himself. If he didn’t need to get this absolutely straight and she hadn’t just finished saying she didn’t want Clair to know, he’d be all over her already. “How you handle things with your dad and Clair is entirely up to you. I’ll go along with whatever you ask. We can keep it on the down low as long as you want. It’s the other part I won’t compromise on. You don’t have to tell anyone you’re with me until you’re ready. I just need to know you’re in agreement with this being more than just a friendship.”
An expression of sheer relief came over Addison’s face, and she smiled, her gorgeous dark eyes sparkling. “You know when my father started training you full-time and he began telling me about you, I could hardly believe it. Everything else about you seemed so perfect. And then on top of it all, here was my dad calling you a class act.” She continued to smile with a small shrug. “Class act with a short fuse.”
Addison laughed softly but quickly went serious again. She still hadn’t agreed to anything, and the hesitation in her eyes made AJ anxious. She took a deep breath and squeezed AJ’s hand. “It’s not that I’m not attracted to you or that I don’t think that something more than a friendship with you would be anything but amazing,” she said, and he hung on her every word. “I’ve just always been terrified as it is to disrupt or complicate Clair’s life. She’s not your typical little girl. Like you said earlier, she worries about things she shouldn’t, and with her being so close to you and all, this could be even worse if things don’t work out between you and me than if you were just any other guy.”
Clenching his jaw, AJ stared at her, hoping he wouldn’t sound as agitated as her response was making him feel. “Maybe we should think a little more positive then. Why assume things won’t work out? I’ve given this a lot of thought, and I wouldn’t be suggesting this or even be here right now if I didn’t think they could.”
That last statement wasn’t entirely true. Up until tonight’s game when he’d hardly been able to concentrate, knowing he might get to spend time with her again, he still wasn’t so sure about taking this risk. But after spending the evening with her and especially after tasting those lips, he knew he was a goner. He wanted this bad now.
A sudden twinkle in her eyes gave him hope. Then she closed them for moment, making AJ hold his breath. “Gosh,” she finally said as she opened her eyes again with a slight smile. “If there’s anyone I’d make an exception for because I swore I’d never date a baseball player again, it would be you.” AJ searched her eyes but dared not say anything until she was done. “You have no idea how tempting this is,” she whispered.
“Then say yes,” he whispered back, unable to hold his silence any longer.
“Yes,” she said then quickly added. “But . . .” His brow rose as his eyes glanced down at the finger she held up then back to her eyes. “You’re going to have to be patient with me. I don’t want anyone to know yet. Not for a while. Not until I’m certain it’s all going to work out and that Clair’s ready to know about this. It’s my biggest hesitation about this.”
“You have more than one?” he asked, searching her eyes.
“Well, yeah,” she said as if that were a given. “Getting my heart broken is the other. It’s been a long time since I’ve opened my heart to anyone, and I can already tell falling for you is going to be just too easy.”
“Well, it’s too late for me now,” he said, his eyes going from her eyes to her lips and then back again. “I’ve already fallen for you.” He kissed her softly then closed his eyes before adding with a whisper. “I’ll do this however you want. No one else has to know as long as we do.”
He opened his eyes and was pleased to see the hesitation in her eyes was gone and that twinkle he’d seen in them earlier was back. “Okay.”
AJ kissed her again, feeling a mixture of bliss and disquiet. He’d been so glad that he finally seemed to have a handle on his short fuse. It really did feel like a weakness, and it felt more important than ever that he didn’t come across as weak. Suddenly, he had two very important reasons to continue to be a class act—minus the flaw. There were two people in his life now who he knew he’d have to prove he was worthy of being a big part of their daughter’s lives. And rightfully so. Only he could already tell that fuse would be extra short when it came to anything that involved Addison and Clair. He didn’t want to blow this.
He had his work cut out for him, but she was worth it. They were absolutely worth it. Addison and Clair were a package deal, a precious package he now felt she’d bestowed a rare opportunity to try and win over.
The kiss was supposed to be a soft one: a sweet, harmless, getting-to-taste-the-lips-and-tongue-that-belonged-to-him-now kiss. But the longer he kissed her, the more frenzied it got. Like the irrepressible rage that often overtook any self-control, the hunger he was feeling for Addison now overwhelmed him. He had to pull away. Catch his breath. Calm his pounding heart—his throbbing cock. “So the just-between-you-and-me stuff,” he said breathlessly. “Exactly how slow did you want to take that?” He traced her lips with his tongue slowly. “No pressure,” he said, sliding his tongue into her very willing mouth. “I’m just wondering.”