Kick (Completion Series) (16 page)

His semi-grumpy features changed. His lips curled up and a teasing
light entered his eyes. “The question is… do you want to stare?”

H
e had his husky sexy voice down better than Van. “I like brains, not brawn,” I lied.

“Hmm,” he said as he reached for me
, wrapping his large hands around my hips, and lifting me up the two steps in front of the tavern door.

Holy fuck. He didn’t even strain to do it. I needed a drink and it was
n’t yet noon. I swayed against him knowing I probably had a stupid dreamy look on my face. Why couldn’t I be an ass girl? At least then men wouldn’t see the effect they had on me; they’d be facing the other way.

I made the smallest groan and his arms circled me.

“I like when you make that sound,” he said while rubbing in a small circular motion against my lower back.

“You are so bad for me
.”

His hands froze and then he moved me away slightly, his expression gone serious. “Why would I be bad for you?”

The words tripped out of my mouth before I could stop them. “Because I have a thing for muscles and you have too many.”

He bit his upper lip for a
second, probably trying to keep his laughter contained. “A thing?”

“Shit, why did I say that?”
I muttered. I couldn’t look at him and glanced around for a place to hide.

“Muscles
, huh?”

“Don’t start. I have very little willpower when it comes to
ripped bodies. Add alcohol and I’m Jell-O. If you would just wear looser shirts and not cross your arms in that he-man way, things would go easier for me.”

Joel reached around and opened the door
, crowding me into the tavern. He didn’t say anything, just grabbed two menus, and scooted me forward with his body. Completely unfair. My boy-girl friendship worked with Tyson because I wasn’t attracted to his skinny geek body. Joel was another story.

It was Estella’s day off
, so an unfamiliar waitress worked our table. She cast sly glances at Joel when he wasn’t looking, but went out of her way to be nice to me too. Maybe Joel brought out the sweet side in women and his brother the opposite. We ate lunch and Joel never brought up my declaration about being a muscle nympho. Maybe we could be friends after all.

“You coming to practice today?” he
asked before laying some bills on the table.

I really needed to insist on paying. I had a company credit card that had seen very little use. “I don’t think so. I need to organize some of my notes and do laundry. I also have a few calls to make and emails to catch up on.”

He took my hand and led me outside. “I’ll pick you up for dinner. What do you feel like?”

This had to stop.
“Sorry, but I’m putting my foot down. You are not buying me dinner. I’ll just grab a sandwich and eat in my room tonight.” I tried giving him my stern face, but it didn’t faze him.

“I’ll pick up sandwiches and bring them to you your room. What do you want on yours?”

I reached up and tapped my knuckles against the side of his head. “Hollow, just like I thought.”

He took my hand and squeezed a
bit before weaving his fingers between mine. He bent my arm behind my back and used his other on my opposite hip to draw me closer. “Don’t make me bring out the big guns. I have no problem taking off my shirt.”

“
I’m sorry I said anything,” I huffed.

“I already caught onto the fact you
like staring at me. Now tell me what you want on your sandwich.”

A slow,
wet lick was exactly what I wanted, but it had nothing to do with a sandwich. It suddenly occurred to me that we were standing in the middle of the parking lot in broad daylight and rumors were floating around that I had sex with Joel’s brother.

I gave in.
“Turkey on wheat, everything but onions.”

“See
, that wasn’t so hard.” He jerked me a little more firmly against him.

“You don’t play fair.”

Joel gazed down at me, his eyes searching. He kissed the tip of my nose then let me go. “I don’t play anything but rugby,” he said before turning and walking away.

I wrote the outline for the next installment of my series. This one concentrated more on the crazy fans. I called Stub and she was happy to email me files of costumed antics complete with names and contact information so I could get permission to use their pictures.

I email
ed Skylar to see how she was feeling. It was nice of her to offer assistance and I might need it.

Hi Skylar,

How is the mother to be?
I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner. I hate that your incapacitation is my big break. You should know that a gig in a third world country with an infected water supply would be more to my liking. I’m not a sports fan, and even though I find myself enthralled with rugby, I’m more attracted to the man candy. And, oh God, I shouldn’t say that. It’s quite unprofessional of me, but I don’t understand how you do it. I hope you get a laugh out of this. We leave Friday for my first away game and I’ll be trapped on a bus with more testosterone than I’m comfortable with, poor me.

Cami

I reread
the email and almost deleted it. For some odd reason I trusted Skylar. I also wanted to open the door to this line of discussion if what I suspected was true. I put a lot of thought into why I was here instead of a more seasoned reporter. I had a feeling that young and female might have been the qualifications for this assignment. The question was, why me? One of the more unappealing choices I’m sure.

I clicked the speed dial on my cell.

“What’s up Ca-ca
?” I smiled at Tyson’s deplorable nickname for me.

“Not much Ty-ty
,” I grumbled.

He laughed. “Point taken
, Cam. How’s life in the big city?”

“I have no idea. I’m in Colt, Ohio
, working a story.”

“You got promoted. Congratulation
s, I knew it was only a matter of time before those idiots realized your talent was wasted in classifieds.” He sounded happy enough to jump through the phone, which only made my smile bigger. I missed him so much.

I laughed at the joy of just hearing his voice.
“Not so fast. I’m working a series of articles on rugby.”

Dead silence
…

“You… rugby?” There was actually a slight squeak on the word rugby.

Yeah, that about summed it up. I knew he would understand. “Me and rugby are tight,” I teased.

“This is a joke, right?”

It was time to fess up. “I wish. The reporter assigned the case was placed on bed rest due to pregnancy complications and yours truly was sent in her place.”

Again
Tyson hesitated before replying, but I knew him. He liked to think things through. “Okay, so it’s not the break you were looking for. You’re still capable of giving them a story that will knock their socks off.”

Here went nothing. “I slept with one of the team’s owners
, and I’m kinda sorta friends with his brother. They both play on the team too.”

“What the fuck
, Cam?” He answered his own question. “I take it they’re built?”

“Understatement. M
r. Universe material. I’m an idiot and to top it off, I’m in a perpetual state of horny.”

That got a laugh that continued much too long before he came back with, “Need me to fly in and offer some relief
? I don’t have the bulk, but I’ve learned a lot since we hooked up.”

I gave a loud groan. “You have no idea how much I wan
na take you up on that offer.”

“Hot damn
, you just made all my wet dreams come true.” He exaggerated hot and heavy breathing for a few seconds before giving a sigh. “It’s totally screwed up that I hear a
but
in this arrangement.”

“Why did you go and mention your wet dreams
? Ick. I don’t need to know that and I hope I’m not part of them. I must find a way to control my own libido.”

He grumbled a little and it sounded so sweet on him, not sexy at all. “You have always been a key factor in my wet dreams
. That said—I’ve never understood why you don’t go after what turns you on. For some reason you think you can change it. Wake up, Cam, and take control of your desire by giving into it. And don’t give me any of that shit about dumb jocks. You can’t keep your eyes off of them and I’ve been watching you try to do it for years. There are bound to be a few smart ones out there that would make good daddy material…”

I cut him off. “Wait a minute, who said anything about babies?”

“You just did. I only spoke of daddies and don’t interrupt me, I’m just getting started. I’ve wanted to tell you this for entirely too long. Hell, I’ve fucked you, Cam. I know what you want and spent years hoping it was me.
That
is never happening. Stop screwing around and go after what gets your juices flowing.”

He was so lucky we weren’t having this conversation
in person. “You know you’re pissing me off. I know exactly what I want. I want a career in journalism. The last thing I need is my slutty behavior keeping me from my goal.”

He grumbled again.
“You’ve always had the tools to make your way to the top, and, yes, I mean your tits. Don’t go all squeamish on me either. If you’re going to fuck the key men in your story then you can just as well fuck your way up the ladder.”

“You bastard.”
Everything inside of me deflated and I started crying. This was not why I called my best friend.

Tyson’s
voice went incredibly soft. “Exactly, Cam. You didn’t just jump into bed with this guy because you like his pretty muscles. You care. Every guy you’ve ever been with, including me, was because you cared. I know you even if you don’t understand yourself. You like this guy, so go after him. Fuck his brains out and either get him out of your system and move on or keep him.”

I couldn’t help the loud
trembling breath that escaped. “He’s a womanizing asshole and he made sure, after the fact, that I knew he only wanted me for one night.”

“Ahhh
, Cam. I’m sorry. You know I need to fly in and kick his ass now. No one treats my best friend that way.”

A burst of laughter escaped through my tears
. “I love you too.”

I could feel
Tyson’s smile across the distance. “So what are you going to do? Does the brother have the hots for you?”

“I’m not sure. We’re friends. He’s a nice guy.”

“Now I understand. Cam wants the bad boy.”

“No. Yes. Crap, I don’t know what I want.” I really
didn’t. Joel turns me on too. Maybe it was the whole bad boy thing. What the hell was wrong with women anyway?

“Go after what you want—a man, the biggest break in your career
, or both. I’m standing by to be your rebound fuck if that’s what you need. Before you turn me down, you know it’s no hardship. You’re the one who wanted the friends-only relationship.”

“You’re making me sad again
, Ty.” If I had continued having sex with him, we wouldn’t be friends now.

“I want you happy
, Cam. Never forget that.”

“Same here. Thanks.”

“And Cami?”

Oh no, he was going to ruin everything again. “Yes.”

“I can hear the change in your voice. I always knew someday you would bust out of your shell and leave the shit from your past behind. Whatever you do, don’t let the brothers push you back again. Lift your head.”

We hung up
a few minutes later. I knew Tyson had crushed on me for a long time, but I thought it had faded. Boy was I wrong.
Lift my head.
Getting this assignment forced me to. I refused to take one step forward and two back. Ty was right; it was time for me to grow up.

Chapter Nineteen

I worked for
hours outlining the next two articles I wanted to write—one being the family man’s perspective. Currently, there wasn’t a lot of money in rugby and somehow you had to juggle a full-time job, practice, matches, and family. I wanted a wife’s input too. I’d decided on Mean Mike, a huge guy who worked, played rugby, and was father to four young children. His wife would be the key ingredient, so I needed to interview her.

The knock on the door startled me because I had no idea it was
dinner time. Barefoot, I walked over and opened it. Joel stood holding a bag of food with a tired smile. I moved back so he could enter.

“How was practice?” I asked as he set the food on the dresser. I started clearing the small table of my laptop, recorder, and notes so we had a place to eat.

“Long and I missed you.” His voice came from directly behind me.