Chapter Twelve – Jeff

Gunner sat on the bench with a bag of ice over his shoulder.

“How bad is it?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Hurts like a motherfucker. I need to go and get it looked at.”

I shook my head. “Damn, hopefully it isn’t anything too bad and doesn’t keep you from playing next year.”

With a laugh, Gunner replied, “Nothing will keep me from playing next year. Hell, it’s our last year.”

Coach yelled out for Gunner. “Mathews, go with Doc and get that shoulder looked at.”

“Want me to drive you?” I asked as Gunner stood.

“Nah. Josh said he would follow me in my truck. He ran to practice today, so he doesn’t have his truck.”

Before I could say anything, my phone went off in my bag with a text message. Ignoring it, I walked with Gunner toward Doc’s SUV.

“Let me know what they say after they look at your shoulder.”

My phone started ringing again. It wasn’t Ellie’s ringtone, so I continued to ignore it.

“I will. Will you be home later, or are you going out?”

“I’ll be home. Don’t worry about anything to eat; I’ll take care of it. Hopefully you will be in and out and it’s just a strain.”

Doc, the team doctor, walked up. “All right, Mathews, let’s go.”

When my phone rang again, a slight panic hit me. What if it was Ellie trying to get hold of me?

“Later, Gunner,” I quickly said as I dug into my bag for my phone. When I saw the name, I frowned.

Ari.

Turning toward my truck, I answered it. “Ari?”

The moment I heard her sniffles, I wanted to rip someone’s head off.

“What’s wrong?”

“I . . . I didn’t know who else to call.”

My heart was hammering in my chest. I looked at my watch and knew she was normally at the shelter about now.

“Are you okay? What happened?”

“Where are you?” she asked, her voice sounding scared and weak.

“Just leaving practice.”

“Shit,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry. I forgot Ellie said you had spring training. I’ll . . . um . . . let you go.”

“No!” I cried. “Tell me what’s wrong. Are you hurt?”

“No . . . just scared.”

Son of a bitch. “Tell me where you are right now, Ari.”

She sniffled again, and it about made me throw up. I tossed my bag onto the passenger seat and started my truck up.

“I’m in my car. In the parking lot of the shelter.”

“Don’t move. I’m on my way, okay?”

“I didn’t mean to bother you. I thought . . . I thought . . . maybe you . . . you were h—here.”

Fucking hell. She was crying harder. I’ll kill the person who hurt her.

“I’m on my way, sweetheart. Just don’t leave, okay?”

“I w—won’t.”

How I didn’t get a speeding ticket I’ll never know. I made it to the animal shelter ten minutes later. When I pulled into the parking lot, I saw Ari’s jeep. Pulling in next to it, I jumped out of my truck and made my way over to her. She had her face buried in her hands, and I had to keep myself from punching something.

I lightly tapped on her window, and when she unlocked the door, I opened it and reached in for her. She was unbuckled so I pulled her out of the jeep. She instantly wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in my chest. Her body shook as she sobbed.

Running my hand over her hair, I softly talked to her. “Shh, it’s okay. Tell me what happened, Ari. Please tell me what happened.”

She drew back and looked up at me. Her beautiful hazel eyes were filled with tears and bloodshot from crying. I pushed a piece of hair that was stuck to her tear-soaked cheek away and behind her ear.

Fucking hell. Even upset she was achingly beautiful.

“What happened?”

“I . . . I took the dogs out for a walk on the trail. And this guy started talking to me about them. He . . . he kept telling me how pretty I was and how he wanted my number. I politely told him no and started immediately back to the shelter. He followed me h—here and wouldn’t leave.”

“Did you tell anyone here?”

She nodded. “Bryce went out and told the guy he needed to leave, and he did. But—but when I got to my jeep, I saw him pull in and park in front of the door. I crawled into the back seat of my jeep and hid. I didn’t w—want him to see me.”

I pulled her back to me. “Baby, why didn’t you call the police?”

She started crying again. “I don’t know. The only person I could think of to help me was you. I thought maybe you were on your way here and you could make the guy leave.”

My heart felt like it slammed against the wall of my chest. Ari thought of me. I was the one she wanted to help her. Was it because she had feelings for me, or was it simply because I was like an older brother? Right now none of that mattered. Only she mattered.

“Is he still here?”

“No. Um . . . he left a few minutes ago. I think he thought I had already left.”

Resting my chin on her head, I closed my eyes. If anything would have happened to her, I would have hunted the guy down and killed him.

“Fucking asshole,” I whispered.

Ari was clutching on to my shirt like her life depended on it. I hated that she was scared, but I loved having her in my arms. It was the first time in I didn’t know how long, we hadn’t exchanged heated words.

“I think you need to take a break from volunteering here, sweetheart.”

She nodded. “Probably.”

I pushed her out some and stared into her eyes. Cupping her face in my hands, I smiled. “Are you okay to drive? I’ll follow you home if you want.”

When the corners of her mouth rose slightly, I had to force myself not to kiss her. My resolve was breaking, though, when her eyes searched my face and then landed on my lips.

Leaning down, I kissed her on the forehead because if I didn’t kiss her somewhere, soon I’d be pulling her mouth to mine. “You scared me, Ari.”

“I was scared. I’ve never been so scared before in my life, Jeff.”

Her head dropped, and I hugged her again.

“I’ll never let anything happen to you, I swear. Come on, let’s go grab a coffee really quick so your nerves calm down some before you go home. I’m sure you don’t want to come home upset.”

She fisted my shirt again, as if she was saying she didn’t want me to let her go. And in true Ari fashion, to cover her tender side, she used it to wipe her nose. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“You don’t mind? I mean, I don’t want to be alone right now.”

Lifting my hand to her face, I brushed my thumb over her cheek. “I don’t mind at all.”

Her smile made my knees weak and my heart jump.

“No fighting?” she softly asked.

“No fighting.”

After waiting for her to get back into her jeep, I got in my truck and followed her over to Mozart’s Coffee. We got two cups of coffee and sat outside.

“So how is school going?” I asked.

She shrugged. “It’s going okay.”

Ari wasn’t the type of girl to brag, so I knew she wouldn’t tell me she was valedictorian of her class. I only knew because Ellie had told me.

“Been a busy year?”

Chuckling, she nodded. “Yes and no. The teachers seem to be giving up on us. We hardly do any work. The closer we get to the end of the year, the more boring it gets.”

I laughed. “Yeah, wait until the last few weeks. It’s boring as hell.”

We both gave each other a grin. This was nice. Just the two of us being civil with each other.

“Ellie said you’re going to UT also.”

“Yep. I’m a little nervous. The campus is so big, and after today . . .” Her voice trailed off, and her eyes filled with tears again.

I reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “Don’t ever walk around campus alone at night. Okay?”

She nodded. “’Kay.”

“If you ever need anything, y’all call me or Gunner.”

Her brows lifted. “Who’s Gunner?”

I sat back in my chair. If she got one look at the bastard, I’m sure she would have to wipe the drool away.

“My roommate.”

She grinned. “That’s right. You always make him leave when Ellie comes over. Why?”

It was my turn to shrug. “I don’t know. He’s good-looking, and I don’t really want my sister having a crush on a college guy. At least not yet,” I said, shooting her a wink.

Ari took a drink of her coffee, dropping her head so I wouldn’t see the pink on her cheeks. “You ever think maybe she might not have a crush on him?”

My head tossed back, laughing.

“What’s so funny?” she asked, letting loose a small laugh of her own.

“You have to see Gunner to understand.”

She gave me a really look. “Well, now I’m intrigued. Let me see a picture of him.”

I frowned. “Hell no.”

“Why. You afraid I’ll have a crush too?”

“Yes.”

Fuck. It came out before I could stop it.

Ari chewed on her lip for a few seconds, and my dick instantly started to get hard.

“No, I mean, I wouldn’t care if you liked him. Well, I guess I would in a brotherly kind of way.”

Fuck. Dig yourself deeper into the friend zone there, Jeff.

She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Don’t worry; I sort of already like a guy.”

My stomach dropped. “Really?”

It wasn’t lost on me how disappointed my voice sounded.

“Well, maybe it’s more of a crush kind of thing. It would never work out, so I admire from afar.”

“Huh? I’m sure he’d want to know.”

She shook her head, then laughed. “Nah. He’s older and has no interest in me at all. He’s made that very clear.” When her eyes met mine, for the briefest of moments, I thought maybe she was talking about me.

No fucking way.

Ari couldn’t stand being near me half the time. This was the first time in years we had even talked like civil human beings to one another.

“Then it’s his loss.”

Her eyes widened slightly before she broke the stare. “So let me see a picture of him.”

I sighed and pulled out my phone.

“Shirt on or off?”

“Um . . . I’m slightly disturbed you have a shirtless picture of your roommate on your phone, Jeff.”

I laughed. “Don’t let your thoughts get crazy. We were at spring training a few days ago and were messing around. A friend of ours told us to take off our shirts and pose. He was sending the picture to a girl who was interested in a double date, and he wanted her to pick between me and Gunner.”

Ari snarled her lip. “Christ almighty, what type of women are y’all dating at UT?”

I scoffed. “Yeah, well, she wanted her friend to pick, so . . .”

She rolled her eyes and held her hand out for me to show her.

The idea that Ari would like Gunner made me physically sick. Pulling up the photo of me and Gunner messing around a few weeks back, I handed her my phone.

Ari winked as she took it from me. Her smile faded quickly, and she stared just a little too long. I needed to know which one of us she was looking at. I could have shown her a picture of just Gunner, but I showed her this one on purpose. It was both of us. Shirtless.

“Wow. I didn’t realize you had such an amazing um . . . tattoo.” Her eyes lifted to mine, and her teeth sunk into her lip.

My stomach dropped. She had been staring at me and not Gunner. I wanted to fist-pump and yell out in celebration right then and there.

“Yeah, you didn’t know I had that?” I asked as she looked back down at my phone.

She shook her head and replied, “No. When did you get so built?”

I laughed. “I work out, Ari. A lot.”

Her gaze lifted to mine again and then back to the phone. “I see that.”

“So what about Gunner . . . see what I mean?”

Her eyes drifted to the left, and that’s when I knew she hadn’t even looked at him yet. That did weird shit to my chest.

With a half shrug, she answered, “I mean, he’s cute. Nice body and all.”

She handed me back my phone and smiled. “I could see Ells thinking he was hot. She’s dating Ryan, though, so I honestly think you don’t have to worry about it.”

Narrowing my eyes, I took my phone from her hand. I attempted to ignore the way my skin caught on fire when my fingers brushed against hers. Of course, when she inhaled quickly at our touch, the fire grew ten times hotter across my skin.

What in the hell was happening?

“Yeah well, I’m not ready to introduce her to the college scene just yet.”

Her smile was genuine. “I can understand that. It won’t be much longer, though. A few more months, and she’ll be graduated.”

I nodded. The faster she got out of that house with my mother, the better.

“You feeling better?” I asked her.

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll be going back down there to volunteer for a while. That really sucks, though; I love it.”

An idea hit me. “Well, we could go together. I mean, I could pick you up and drive you over. That way if he is ever there, he’ll see you with me.”

Her mouth parted open, and she stared at me for a few seconds before pressing her lips tightly together and looking away.

“No? Doesn’t sound like a good idea?” I asked.

“That’s a pretty big commitment on your part. I wouldn’t ask you to do that.”

I smiled. “You’re not asking; I’m offering.”

She let out an awkward laugh. “We don’t even really get along anymore, Jeff.”

I winked. “We seem to be getting along fine right now.”

Ari chewed on her lower lip, and I knew she was thinking it over. I reached for her hand, not being able to go another second without touching her. Even if it was meant to only be a sweet gesture.

Then I heard my name.

“Jeff?”

Turning, I let out a mumbled curse word when I saw her. “Hey there, Lynn.”

Lynn Dominic walked up to the table and smiled. She glanced over to Ari. “Oh! Is this your little sister you told me about?”

Ari lifted her chin and forced a smile.

“No, um, this is a friend of mine. Ari Peterson, this is Lynn Dominic.”

Ari smiled. I could tell it was forced.

“Hi, Lynn. I’m actually best friends with Jeff’s sister, Ellie.”

Lynn glanced down to my hand covering Ari’s, then back to me. “She’s a little young, isn’t she, Jeff?”

Jerking her hand out from mine, Ari sat back some. Her face showed her embarrassment.

I shook my head and kept my smile the same. Fucking hell, Lynn. Just go away.

“What can I do for you, Lynn?”

Her eyes heated, and I had to force myself not to let out a frustrated sigh.

“I saw you sitting here and thought I’d say hi.”

With a nod, I replied, “Hi.”

She laughed. “Is that it? I don’t get to join y’all or anything?”

“No, I’m having coffee with a friend.”

“Well, that gives me hope then.”

With a confused expression, I asked, “Hope for what?”

“A second date. I’m open tonight if you’re in the mood for dinner.”

My mouth nearly dropped open. Was she serious?

I glanced back over to Ari. She was now staring down at her cup of coffee.

“Sorry, Lynn. As you can see, I’m actually with someone right now, and I’m perfectly content on staying here with her.”

Ari’s eyes lifted to mine, and she smiled. There was no fucking way I was blowing off Ari for Lynn. Not when we were getting along so damn good.

Lynn’s gaze bounced between me and Ari. “Okay, well, I guess I’ll see you around then.”

I nodded. “See ya around.”

When Lynn walked off, I watched while Ari stared at her.

“Wow. Do you always have women come up to you and offer themselves up like that?”

There was no way I was going to answer that question truthfully. “She only wanted a free dinner.”

Ari focused back on me. Her expression told me she knew I was full of shit. “Yeah . . . she wanted something all right, but it wasn’t dinner.”

When her phone went off, she glanced down at it. “It’s my mom. Do you think I should tell my folks what happened?”

I don’t know why I did it, but I slid my hand across the table and grabbed on to her hand again. I gave it a little squeeze. Ari’s eyes fell to our hands and then snapped back up to look directly at me.

“Yeah, I’d tell them about it, sweetheart.”

She swallowed hard. “Th—thanks, Jeff. For being there for me today.”

“Anytime, Squirt.”

Something in her eyes changed, and she pulled her hand away from mine. She stood quickly. “I better go.”

Fuck. I just treated her like she was my sister’s annoying best friend. I knew she hated that nickname, and I had no fucking clue why I used it just now.

“Is something wrong?” I asked as I stood along with her.

She stared at me for the longest minute. It felt like she wanted to say something but wasn’t sure if she should.

“Thank you again. I’m sorry I pulled you away, and I hope I didn’t ruin a date or anything.”

“A date?” I asked with a gruff laugh. “I didn’t have any plans, and stop saying you’re sorry. I’m glad you called me, Ari. Really glad.”

She smiled, and this time it reached those beautiful eyes of hers. “I have to go.”

“I’ll walk you to your jeep.”

“Thanks.”

As we walked through the parking lot, I tried like hell to get the courage to just ask her out. But what if she laughed? Or worse, what if we went out, and things got out of hand and I ended up sleeping with her? Was I ready to settle down with just one girl? Yes . . . if it was Ari. Or no. Shit. I was so confused. Hell, she was younger than me, still in high school and getting ready to start a new life. Then another thought occurred to me.

Ellie would never forgive me if I hurt Ari.

When we got to her jeep, I opened the door for her.

“So thanks again,” she said, barely above a whisper.

I wanted so badly to drop my mouth onto hers.

“Sure. That’s what friends are for.”

She looked down and nodded. “Yep.”

Before I could say anything else, she was in her jeep and shutting the door.

Fuck.

After she started the jeep, I tapped on the window. She rolled it down.

“Please be careful, okay? Don’t go back to the shelter. If you do want to go, you call me, okay?”

Her eyes lit up. “Okay.”

I didn’t know what in the hell came over me, but I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. My entire body felt like it came to life. Ari let out a breath of air as she smiled.

Taking a few steps back to distance myself from her, I nodded. “See ya around.”

“See ya around, Jeff.”

Watching Ari pull out and drive off gutted me. What I wouldn’t give to have that girl be mine. I always thought it was a dream that would never happen. But after today, I had a small glimmer of hope bubble up in my chest at the idea that there was a small chance that dream could maybe come true.