Playing For Keeps (9 page)

Haley nodded absently while she
watched the game. She held out the hot dog for him. He took a big
bite. While he chewed he sat back and couldn’t stop smiling as
Mitch frowned at him. For the next ten minutes he held the beer for
her to sip while she held food out to him.

Jason wasn’t even sure she realized
what they were doing. Her focus seemed to be on the game itself.
When their beer was empty he put it down and turned to find another
beer vender.

“Oh shit!” Brad yelled as he jumped to
his feet the same time Mitch did.

He turned in time to see Haley jump to
her feet and then jump onto her seat, holding her hands out as she
mumbled, “Oh no, oh no, oh no!” He jumped to his feet the same
moment as something white slammed into Haley’s hands. She held onto
the thing for dear life as she lost her footing from the impact of
the ball and from several guys trying to grab it from
her.

Before he could push the bastards away
from her Haley was jumping up and down on her seat while hugging
the ball to her chest. Her smile was intoxicating when she looked
down at him and proudly showed him the ball.

“Look!”

He placed his hands together in front
of him in a praying gesture and slightly bowed. “Very good,
grasshopper.” He straightened up in time to catch her in his arms.
He whirled her around as she hugged his neck tightly.

“I can’t believe I caught
it!”

“You did great!” he said, kissing her
cheek. The action was so sudden that it took him back. He carefully
placed a very happy Haley on the ground. She sat down, still
grinning while hugging the ball.

After a few minutes she said his name
tightly.

“Yes?”

“I think I broke my hand,” she
whimpered.

**************

“You sure you don’t want to go with
us?” Mitch asked, giving her a puppy dog expression.

Haley forced herself to smile. She
liked Mitch, not as much as Jason, but she didn’t see it going any
further than friendship. Mitch was becoming rather persistent over
the past week. It was getting kind of annoying.

She held up her hand and ice pack.
“Sorry. I think I’m going to go relax. You guys go have fun. Hit
the clubs or bars or whatever you guys do. No doubt Jason’s going
to want to hit the all male review.”

While the other men laughed Jason
stuck his tongue out at her. Haley looked at the front desk. “Ah,
guys, did you remember to check in earlier?”

Jason waved it off. “We have the room
reserved on a credit card. It will be there by the time we get
back.”

Haley didn’t think it would be. Hotels
usually had a tendency to give rooms away when the holders didn’t
show up and since it was now nine o’clock she didn’t have high
hopes that the room the guys reserved was still available. She
didn’t say anything knowing it would come off as bossy and she was
sick of being a worrier. She didn’t want to nag the guys and wreck
their good time.

“Alright, have fun, guys,” she said
before making her way to the elevator.

“Haley! Wait up!” Mitch called. She
almost groaned.

“What’s up?” she asked him, feeling
her patience fraying.

He shrugged. “I was going to ask if
you wanted company. I know your hand must hurt so I figured I’d
keep you company,” he said with a charming smile that probably
worked on most everything female.

Her eyes shot past him to see Brad
grab Jason by the arm and hold him back. What the hell was that
about? She gave herself a mental shake and focused on
Mitch.

“That’s really sweet, but I’ll be
fine. I’m just going to watch a movie and go to bed. I’ll see you
tomorrow.” She didn’t give him a chance to respond before she
headed off towards her room.

She might not have the best track
record in dating, but she knew the womanizers by sight and Mitch
was definitely a womanizer. She didn’t feel like being just another
notch on any man’s bed.

A few minutes later she was closing
her hotel room behind her. She walked to the first double bed and
searched her bag for aspirin. Her hand was throbbing like crazy.
When she couldn't find any she called room service for a bottle and
a large ice cream sundae.

Twenty minutes later she was sitting
comfortably in a bubble bath while eating a decadent hot fudge
sundae. Her mind wandered to Jason and how good it felt to have him
hold her most of the day. Then she reminded herself that they were
just friends and forced herself to smarten up.

Nothing was ever going to happen
between them. Jason was a buddy, a real good friend and she
wouldn’t ruin that for anything in the world. Friendship was one of
the things she valued most in the world and she would not risk
their friendship. It wasn’t worth it.

Besides he was probably with some
bimbo at the moment. The idea turned her stomach. She placed her
half-eaten sundae on the floor and groaned. Sometimes friendship
sucked, she thought as she dunked herself under the water so she
could let out a frustrated scream.

Chapter 8

“Come on, guys! Let’s go back. Those
women were hot!” Mitch said for the hundredth time since they'd
left the club.

“No,” Brad and Jason said in
unison.

Mitch let out a frustrated sigh as
they walked into the hotel foyer. “I know why Brad doesn’t want to,
he’s married, but why don’t you?”

He shrugged. “I just don’t want to. Is
that okay with you?”

“All night you turned girls down. What
the hell is wrong with you?” Mitch demanded.

“Nothing,” he mumbled. He wasn’t in
the mood for this conversation or for Mitch. All night he resisted
the urge to punch the asshole. When he wasn’t thinking about
punching Mitch he was kicking himself for leaving Haley. He should
have stayed and taken care of her. She was cool enough to bring
them with her to catch a really great game and they ditched her
like a bunch of ungrateful bastards. Plus, if he was going to be
honest, he probably would have had a better time with her just
sitting around watching a movie than going to a club and having a
bunch of women rub all over him.

“Problem guys,” Brad said as he walked
back to them from the desk clerk.

“What is it?” he asked.

“They gave our room away since we
didn’t check in and there are no more rooms available.”

“Shit.”

“Yup.”

“Hey, where are you going?” Jason
asked Mitch’s retreating back.

Mitch stopped and gave him a "duh"
look. “We don’t have a room. I’m going back to that club to find a
warm body and a bed for the night.”

That son of a bitch.

He’d been trying to get between
Haley’s legs for a week and wouldn’t stop it. Now he was trying to
get laid just for a bed. Jason had no doubt come morning he’d be
back sniffing around Haley.

“Are you coming or what?” Mitch
demanded.

He shook his head in disgust. “No, you
go have fun. I’m going to bed.”

“Whatever,” Mitch muttered as he
headed out.

Jason nudged Brad. “Let’s go beg for
mercy.”

Brad looked relieved as he nodded and
gestured for Jason to lead the way.

They walked up to Haley’s room and
knocked. After a few minutes they knocked again. Finally the door
opened revealing a sleepy eyed Haley.

“What is it?” she asked, trying to
stifle a yawn.

“They gave away our room,” he said
with a pout.

She rolled her eyes. “Well duh, you
didn’t check in this afternoon.”

“You don’t have to rub it
in.”

“That’s not me rubbing it in, trust
me. If I was doing that I would give you an evil little laugh and
shut the door in your face.”

“Good point,” he said, wincing, while
hoping she didn’t do just that. He was exhausted and didn’t feel
like fighting with Brad over the backseat of his car.

“So what do you want?”

“Mercy?”

She rolled her eyes. “You want to
sleep here? There isn’t enough room for all four of us.”

Obviously she hadn’t noticed Mitch’s
absence.

“Mitch went elsewhere for night. It’s
just me and Brad.”

Something in her expression shifted.
Was she upset that Mitch wasn’t here? The idea pissed him off more
than he wanted to admit.

“Alright, guys. Come on in,” she
mumbled as she made her way back to the first bed. Jason of course
took the time to note the cute little tank top and matching cotton
shorts that hugged her round backside rather nicely.

She climbed onto the bed and flopped
down beneath the covers. Obviously she was all set to go to sleep
and wasn’t giving them a second thought.

“Ah, Haley?” Brad said
hesitantly.

“What? Please tell me you two don’t
need me to brush your teeth and tuck you in,” she mumbled into the
pillow.

“Ah, no,” Brad said, smiling. “Is it
alright if I sleep in my boxers? I don’t want to make you
uncomfortable.”

She waved a hand at him without
looking. “Knock yourself out.”

“Okay, good night,” Brad said, heading
for the bathroom.

Jason looked around the room, noting
only two beds and no other furniture except for a chair and
shrugged. He yanked off his shirt, pants, and shoes and began to
climb into bed with Haley.

Her hand came up in a stopping motion.
“Hold up there, buddy,” she said, turning to face him. She pointed
to the other bed. “Have a good night.”

Jason frowned at the suggestion. “You
can’t expect us to sleep together.”

“Yup.”

“Nope,” he said, climbing onto the bed
quickly and flopping onto his stomach. She pushed him, well tried
to anyway. He did outweigh her after all.

“Out.”

“No.”

“You’re not sleeping in the same bed
as me.”

“Yes, I am. Unless you’re planning on
sleeping with Brad and I don’t think you want to do that. His wife
will kick your ass.”

She groaned.

He smiled.

“Look, I’ll stay on my side and you
stay on your side. We’ll both sleep. Problem solved.”

“No way.”

“Afraid you won’t be able to keep your
hands off of me?” he teased.

Haley rolled her eyes and dropped back
onto the pillow. “Fine, but just so you know, anything that comes
over this way will be chopped off.”

“Duly noted,” he said, snuggling
deeper into the bed.

“Oh, and if you snore I’ll kill you in
your sleep,” she mumbled.

“Ditto.”

***************

“Ah, guys?” Brad said.

Haley buried her face deeper into the
warmth while she tried to block out Brad and the sunlight streaming
into the room.

“Go. Away,” she muttered.

“I’m hungry. Let’s go grab some
breakfast,” Brad said a little louder this time, earning a groan
from her cushion of warmth.

“Fuck off. We’re sleeping,” Jason
mumbled as he pulled Haley closer. Surprisingly she went willingly.
Her head rested on his chest just under his chin, her arm laid
across his stomach, and one leg was thrown over one of
his.

She felt so good in his arms. He’d
never held a woman like this, never cuddled with one never mind
spending the entire night in her bed. Normally when a woman tried
to cuddle he felt cornered and irritated. With Haley he felt
comfortable, relaxed, and even happy. She felt like she belonged
with him. He wasn’t about to look too far into that at the
moment.

“If you weren’t the best mattress ever
I would totally kick your ass for moving onto my side,” Haley
mumbled against his chest.

“Actually, you’re both in the middle,”
Brad pointed out.

“Why is he still here? Sleepy,” Haley
grumbled adorably.

Closing his eyes, he waved his hand
towards the door. “Go eat with Mitch or something. We’ll be up in a
little while.”

Brad sighed unhappily.
“Fine.”

A moment later the door was closed and
they were both drifting back off to beautiful deep
sleep.

*************

“Stupid pillow,” Haley muttered,
trying to punch her once comfy pillow into submission.

Last night had been the worst night of
sleep she’d ever had. She spent the entire night tossing and
turning and trying to get comfortable only to finally fall into a
restless sleep around five this morning. Now it looked like she was
in for a repeat performance.

She looked over at the alarm clock and
groaned. It was nearly two in the morning. She buried her face into
her pillow and screamed. This sucked! She was so tired. All day she
kept herself busy with grading tests and homework, and even cleaned
her house, thinking by the time she went to bed she’d be too
exhausted for anything else but sleep.