Chapter Two – Gunner

“Hey there, Gunner.”

I paused on the treadmill and forced a grin at Crysti. “Hey, Crysti, how’s it going?”

She licked her lips slowly while letting her eyes roam across my body.

“It’s going. I didn’t know you worked out here.”

I glanced around the workout center. “Well, I do go to school here, so . . .”

Her fake laugh almost caused me to roll my eyes.

“It’s Saturday, though. I didn’t think I’d see you on campus.”

I winked. “You caught me sneaking in a workout.”

She fake laughed again, and I internally groaned.

“Jemma’s been hinting around to a possible double date with you and Jeff.”

That caught my attention. What in the hell is Jeff up to? He’d been trying for a year to get into Jemma’s pants, and if he thought this would do it, he’d drag me into hell with him.

Lifting my brows, I asked, “Is that right? News to me.”

She jetted her lip out and pouted. “Oh, come on. Don’t be such a party pooper. I know we’d have . . . fun.”

I wanted nothing more than to tell Crysti her idea of fun was not the same as mine.

Hitting the speed, I started running faster, making it harder for Crysti to talk to me.

“Well, I’ll see you around!” she called out.

With a wave, I pushed my earbuds back in. Fucking hell. A campus the size of UT, and I have to keep running into this chick.

My phone buzzed, causing me to glance down at it.

Jeff.

 

Jeff: I need a favor.

 

Turning down the speed, I picked up my phone.

 

Me: Why does this feel like I’m about to be tortured with an evening of Crysti and Jemma?

Jeff: Dude, how did you know?

Me: Ran into Crysti. The answer is no.

Jeff: Gunner, dude, I need this girl to help me in a class. The only way she’ll help me is to go out with her.

Me: Wait. You don’t want to just fuck her?

Jeff: That hurts. That really hurts. This is Jeff, dickhead . . . not Josh.

 

I laughed and shook my head.

 

Me: Are you failing the class?

Jeff: Almost.

Me: Fine. But you will owe me. Big-time.

Jeff: I would bow down and kiss your damn shoes right now if I could.

 

Letting out a sigh, I sped up the treadmill again. I couldn’t help but notice Crysti across the way talking to another guy. I watched her as she pulled out her phone, read a message, and jumped for joy. She turned my way and flashed me a huge smile.

I did the only thing I could do: I smiled back.

“Oh, he is going to owe me so fucking big,” I mumbled under my breath.

Walking into the house, I slammed the door behind me.

“Before you say anything, it was torturous for me too,” Jeff said.

“Really?” I asked. “Because at one point, I swear to God, Jemma was jerking you off under the table.”

Jeff laughed. “That was me pushing her hand away from my junk every five seconds. Christ almighty, the girl had six hands.”

“Yeah, well, lucky you. I just kept getting a damn tongue shoved down my ear.” I shuddered. “At one point I was pretty sure she was going to offer me head under the table.”

Jeff grabbed a beer, walked back to the sofa, and dropped down on it.

“Damn. I’m tired of this game.”

Popping the lid off my beer, I asked, “And what game is that?”

“The women. I mean I’ve gone out with some nice girls, don’t get me wrong. Just no one I want to keep going out with.”

I lifted my beer.

“It’s too easy get them into bed, and those are the kind that I don’t want in my bed. At least not all the time.”

Shaking my head, I grinned.

“Is this what it’s going to be like from now on?”

With a shrug, I replied, “I don’t know. Is there anyone you’ve got your eye on that is keeping the interest down on all the others out there?”

Jeff paused for a second, almost as if he was thinking about how he wanted to answer me. When he gave me his answer, I knew he was lying through his teeth.

“Fuck no. There isn’t anyone I’m interested in.”

“Hello?”

“Gunner? Gunner Mathews?”

Sitting up straight, I replied, “Speaking.”

“Hi! This is Macey Williams. Bryce Williams is my son, and you help coach his Little League team.”

I rolled my eyes. How in the fuck did this lady get my number?

“Yes, ma’am, how can I help you?”

“Well, Coach Adams gave me your number and said you might have time to help Bryce on the side. A little extra coaching. He’s feeling very unsure of himself, and no matter what I try to do to help him, he thinks I don’t know what I’m talking about. Bryce’s dad travels for work a lot and can’t be here as much as he would like. He was the one to suggest maybe extra coaching.”

I nodded. “Well, my schedule is pretty full, but I guess we could meet either before or after practice for a little bit of extra one-on-one.”

With a wide smile, Jeff took a drink of his beer and then motioned with his hips like he was air fucking something.

Grabbing a pillow off the sofa, I threw it at him.

His phone went off, and he picked it up. I could tell by the smile on his face it was his sister, Ellie.

“That would be amazing! Can we do maybe thirty minutes of extra coaching after practice? It’s hard enough getting there on time as it is.”

I sighed inwardly. The only reason I was agreeing to this was because I knew Coach Adams wouldn’t give this lady my number if he didn’t think she was being serious.

“Sure, that’s fine.”

“Great! Next practice shall we start?”

“No problem.”

“How much will you be charging?”

“No charge, ma’am. I do this as volunteer work.”

I could hear a gasp from her mouth. “Are you sure? I don’t mind paying, Mr. Mathews.”

“I’m positive, and it’s just Gunner. Please.”

“Wonderful! Oh, Bryce is going to be so excited. Thank you, Gunner.”

“Um, Mrs. Williams, may I ask one thing?”

“Of course.”

With a sigh, I stated, “Will you please keep this between us. I don’t really want the other parents finding out I’m doing extra coaching.”

I could hear the smile in her voice. “I completely understand. Not a word from me.”

Hitting End, I tossed my phone onto the cushion next to me and cursed.

“Motherfucker.”

“What’s wrong? Got yourself in a bit of a pickle there?”

My head dropped back, and I let out a long groan. “Coach Adams gave my number to a mom. Guess he figures the kid needs a bit of extra work.”

Jeff laughed. “He figures someone needs extra work . . . time will only tell if it’s the mom or the kid.”

I reached for the only pillow left and threw it at Jeff.

“Maybe I should have you coach the kid since you owe me!”

“Hey, if the mom’s hot, I’m down for it.”

Standing, I shook my head and headed down the hall. “I’m going to bed.”

“Hey! Thanks for the double date, dude!”

“Yep, I’ll think of my payback.”

I could still hear Jeff laughing as I shut my bedroom door. After stripping out of my clothes, I didn’t have the energy to take a shower, so I climbed into bed and pulled the covers over me. It didn’t take long before my dreams took over.

“Gunner?”

Her voice was soft . . . innocent.

“Who’s there?” I asked, straining to see the shadow of the woman.

“Drew . . . I need you. Please come find me.”

My heart started pounding. Her voice was pleading and sent shivers across my body.

“Are you hurt?” I cried out as I tried to move closer. Her hair fell below her shoulders, and it swung out every time she looked behind her. It was like someone was following her. The closer I got to her, the more my heart rate increased.

Even though I couldn’t see her face, I somehow knew she was beautiful.

“Who are you?” I asked as I reached my hand out to hers. When our fingers touched, my entire body erupted in heat. My breath caught, and all I saw were her eyes. It felt as if they looked right into my soul. They were lost and confused . . . yet filled with so much hope.

“Please . . . Drew . . . I need you!”

I shot straight up, sweat pouring off me.

“What the hell?” I panted out as I tried to catch my breath. My heart was pounding in my chest.

Swinging my legs over the side of my bed, I glanced at the clock. Five in the morning. There was no way I would be able to go back to sleep now. I quickly changed and put on my running shoes. The image of the faceless woman was still planted in my memory. I’d never felt something so powerful in a dream that rolled over when I freaking woke up.

The moment my feet hit the pavement, I took off running. I couldn’t wait for spring training to start. I was ready to unleash some of this built-up energy. The faster I ran, the more the sweat started to build.

Maybe Josh was right. I needed to get laid. Jerking off in the shower wasn’t cutting it anymore.

The faster I ran, the farther the memory slipped from my mind. By the time I was back at the house, I was ready for a hot shower.

I pushed open the door and came to a stop.

“Look who’s here, Gunner,” Jeff said, his smile forced.

My eyes darted between Jemma and Crysti.

“Ladies,” I said with a quick nod. Both of them eyed me up and down. There was another girl sitting at the bar, not giving me one ounce of attention.

“Who’s this?” I asked as I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a water from the refrigerator. The girl lifted her head and gave me a polite smile.

Damn. She was cute.

Jemma snorted and said, “This is Kenzie. She’s helping Jeff with a little problem he has in science and technology.”

I turned to Jeff. “Dude, I’m in that class with you. Why didn’t you just ask me?”

Jeff glared at Jemma before turning back to me. “Because I didn’t want to bother you with it and make myself look like a stupid fuck.”

Kenzie chuckled.

“A stupid fuck would need help in history or something,” I stated.

“Um . . .” Kenzie said as Jeff turned and looked at her. He shook his head, and she glanced back down to the laptop.

I rolled my eyes. “Can I talk to you for a second?” I asked as I nodded for Jeff to follow me into my bedroom.

Once he walked in and shut the door, I stared at him. “You didn’t want to go out with Jemma for help; you wanted help from her friend Kenzie.”

He smirked. “She’s hot.”

I nodded. “Yeah, she’s cute.”

“Cute? Dude, did you see her body?”

Frowning, I tilted my head. “No. She’s sitting at our counter. How the hell would I see her body?”

He shrugged. “She’s in our government class too. I’m totally acing the class, but the moment she walked in, I was failing.”

I laughed. “Christ almighty. She doesn’t look like at all like she’s interested in jumping into bed with you.”

Jeff shrugged. “Hey, a little kissing, fondling . . . I’m all right with that.”

The knock on the door had Jeff giving me a wink and opening it. He headed out of my room, leaving the door wide open for Crysti to walk right on in.

“Hey there.”

I wasn’t in the mood.

“Hey. Listen, I need to jump in the shower and get to class,” I said.

Walking up to me, her hand went right inside my jogging pants. She lifted her brows as she found what she was looking for.

My fucking cock of course came to life with someone other than me touching it.

“Well, looks like someone wants to come out and play.”

Fuck. This girl was the last person I wanted to mess around with, but it had been so damn long.

I took a step back as I pulled her hand out of my pants.

“Thanks, but no thanks. Like I said, I need to get to class.”

Folding her arms across her chest, she pouted. If she only knew it didn’t make her any more attractive when she did that.

“Gunner, what is it going to take to get you to have sex with me?”

“A lot of alcohol.”

As I walked around her and headed to the bathroom, I heard her whisper, “Asshole.”

It was a dick move, but one I hoped would keep her at an arm’s distance from me. At least until she got the urge to try again.

The second the hot water hit my face, I closed my eyes. I willed the girl from my dreams to come back to my memory, but she was gone. I wish the aching in my chest had vanished along with her.