Playing for Kicks (Play Makers Book 5) (26 page)

“Sounds like fun,” she said lightly. “As long
as I’m in Seattle by four o’clock Sunday for my shift.”

“I guarantee it,” Bam boomed at the same time
Erica said, “Yay!”

Only Sean seemed to catch the undercurrent.
“Are you sure?”

“Why not? I’m dying to meet Rachel,” she said
without meeting his gaze. “And I’ve always wanted to see Pac Bell
park. Let’s hope someone hits one over the bay, right? Then life
will be complete.”

Before they could respond, she reached for
her purse, stood and said apologetically, “I hate to eat and run.
But my shift starts at five, so I’d better take off.”

“What?” Erica groaned. “I thought you only
work Sunday and Monday.”

“The Friday guy is sick,” Tess lied. “So I’m
elected. Bummer, right?” She turned to the guest of honor. “Bam? It
was great meeting you. Johnny? Stay strong.” She almost couldn’t
bring herself to speak to Erica, so she just gave her a halfhearted
wave, said, “Bye, Sean,” and rushed out of the room.

• • •

Bam was the first to speak. “Man, she’s cute.
Too bad she had to take off.”

Sean took a deep breath, knowing this wasn’t
Bam’s fault. Sensitivity wasn’t the guy’s strong suit, was it? But
meanwhile, the rest of them had truly blown it.

So he told them, “I know you guys mean well.
But we can’t pressure her like that. She’s skittish.”

Bam chuckled. “She’s not a
horse,
dude. Maybe that’s where you’re making your mistake.”

“My point is, you can’t crowd her.
We
can’t crowd her.” Exhaling in frustration, he murmured, “I’d better
catch up with her.”

“No, Sean,” Erica insisted. “Let
me
do
it.”

“Sorry, babe, but I’m pretty sure you’re the
one she’s pissed at.”

“That’s why it has to be me.” Her silver eyes
flashed. “I’ll fix it, I promise.”

He hesitated, then nodded. Not because he
thought she’d have better luck, but because of what Johnny had
said—that this friendship with Tess meant a lot to her. And while
Sean had a stake in it too, it was ultimately Tess’s call, not
his.

As soon as Erica was gone,, Bam surprised him
by saying in a mournful voice, “Sorry, bro. I was just trying to
make something happen.”

“It’s my fault,” Johnny interrupted. “I
knew
this would happen. Damn.”

“It’s fine,” Sean assured them both. “She’ll
let it go. She’s so cool,” he marveled under his breath. “So
we
need to be cool too.”

Bam surprised him again, this time by
thumping him on the shoulder. “She’s awesome, buddy. And she’s into
you, no doubt. Just let Erica do her thing. She never fails,
right?”

• • •

Tess had fired up the RAV4, anxious to make
her escape, when she saw Erica sprinting down the steps and waving
her hands. It was tempting to ignore the spectacle. To pretend she
didn’t see her. Just drive away.

And then what? Deal with it on the phone? Or
at their next—possibly last—lunch on Tuesday? It would be painfully
awkward, especially since Tess hadn’t yet finished the effing
book.

So she sighed, killed the engine, and stepped
out, trying for a noncommittal expression.

“Oh, thank God.” Erica pulled her into a hug.
“I’m so sorry, Tess. Please forgive me?”

“For what?” she asked coolly. “I don’t want
to be late for work, Erica.”

“Don’t be this way. I’m an idiot. Just forget
about the stupid Giants game. And please don’t blame Sean. If you
could see how he chewed us all out.” Her voice quavered. “I’m so
sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Tess gave her a halfhearted
smile. “I get it, you know. You love him. You
all
love him.
Just leave me out of it, okay? I have my own problems, believe it
or not.”

Erica’s gray eyes warmed. “I was doing so
well. Then I saw you dancing together. And you were so smitten.
Both
of you. So I fell off the wagon. Forgive me?”

Tess tried to scowl, but there was some truth
to that, wasn’t there? She had been mesmerized by him on the dance
floor, at least for a moment. And the eagle-eyed McSpurlings had
spotted it.

So she explained to Erica, “You’re his
friend, so you want him to find someone safe while he gets his head
straight. But if you were
my
friend, you’d want to protect
me. Because he has a history of romantic screw-ups. He means well,
but if I ever really fell for him . . .” She exhaled
unhappily. “I just don’t want to be a punch line.”

“Oh, God, you’re right.” Erica pulled her
into another hug. “I’m such an idiot. Give me a second chance,
please?
I’ll be the best friend in the world, I
promise.”

Tess smiled in frustration. “That’s where you
overachievers go wrong. Just be a
good
friend. Save the best
for your triple hunks.”

Erica started to respond, then glared toward
the house instead. “Oh, fine. Here he comes.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it isn’t. He can find someone else.
You’re mine.”

“Down, girl.”

“You and I are going shopping,” she said
firmly. “The stupid Triple Threat can shoot hoops or whatever. They
don’t need us, and
we
don’t need them.”

“Hey,” Sean said cheerfully. “Everything
okay?”

“We’re fine,” Erica told him. “Just go back
to the house.”

“I need a minute with Tess,” he corrected
her. Then he gave Tess a hopeful smile. “Thanks for sticking
around.”

Erica’s tone grew haughty. “We’re going
shopping. Just the two of us. You and your buddies can do
whatever.”

“That’s enough,” Tess told her with a laugh.
“I’ll talk to Sean while you get your purse. Then we’ll buy up the
town.” When Erica still hesitated, she told her more sincerely,
“It’s fine. I
want
to talk to him.”

“Okay. If you’re sure.” Erica hugged her,
then gave Sean a warning sniff. “I fixed it. So do
not
mess
it up.”

“I won’t.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek
and then, once she headed for the house, he turned to Tess. “Sorry,
babe.”

“I’m sorry too,” she admitted. “I’ve been
sending mixed signals, so naturally your friends decide to tie me
to your bed. It’s just human nature, right?”

He chuckled. “So we’re good? And Bam too?
Because he feels like shit.”

“Why? It was just awkward. Because obviously
. . .”

“Yeah,” he murmured

“It’s been a strange couple of days.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” he said gently.
“We’re just hanging out. And they get that now, trust me.”

“Zero pressure?” she asked with a wry
smile.

“That’s our motto.” His smile softened. “Have
fun shopping, then we can meet at the taco stand for dinner.”

“I would but—ugh—I’m stuffed with barbecue.
And shopping always makes me cranky. So how about tomorrow?”

“Great.” He leaned into her, then hesitated.
“Okay?”

When she gave a shy nod, he duplicated the
moves of their very first kiss. His hands on her hips, pulling her
close. But not
too
close. Intimate but so very respectful.
So very hopeful.

Like they had all the time in the world.

The kiss was so sweet, so hot, she had to
force herself not to ramp it up. Because fair was fair. Especially
since the poor guy didn’t know how close they had come to buffer
dating.

“Sean Decker!” Erica shouted from a distance.
“Stop
that.”

He grinned down at Tess. “We created a
monster.”

“Save yourself. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Good deal.” He seemed ready to say more, but
settled for, “Bye, babe,” before heading back to the house.

When Erica shot him a final warning glare,
Tess had to laugh, especially when the feisty hostess turned her
annoyance on
her
. “Why were you kissing him?”

“It’s just a harem thing.”

“Give me a break. He never kissed
me
like that and I’m the founding member.” She touched Tess’s
shoulder. “He’s irresistible. We all know that. But there are tons
of hot guys in the world who don’t have his—what did you call it?
History of romantic screw-ups? You’re so right about that. So he’s
out.” She arched a teasing eyebrow. “How did it go with Tsar
Romanov?”

“Did I mention I’m not looking for a
boyfriend? I don’t even know where I’ll be living a month from now,
but it won’t be Portland or Dallas. So they’re
both
out.”

She could see Erica was bummed by the
reminder that she was a short-timer, so she told her firmly, “We
talked about alternating between Seattle and Portland for book
club, right? So let’s hit a bookstore and pick our next
selection.”

“You finished the first one? Finally!”

“Oh, my God, you’re such a nag,” Tess said,
laughing. “Just get in the car,
please.”

• • •

As she dozed off that night, she decided the
day’s events had been a blessing in disguise, alerting her to the
biggest stumbling block to buffer dating.

Sex.

To her, it was obvious. Light and casual? No
pressure? And the fact that she would be moving back to Seattle in
less than a month? Didn’t that add up to lots of innocent make-out
sessions, no brass ring?

She had only slept with two guys in her life,
so going all the way still meant something to her. Meanwhile, Sean
was an NFL hunk with broad shoulders and a killer smile. He
probably had sex for breakfast!

They needed to clarify terms. Dating: yes.
Kissing: yes. A bit more eventually. But no sex.

It could be so much fun. Or at least better
than nothing.

• • •

She wanted to call first thing in the
morning, but sex talk at that hour seemed gauche, so she put the
finishing touches on the Noah section of her article first, waiting
until four to ring Sean up.

He answered right away, which would have
worried her if he didn’t sound so completely relaxed when he said,
“Hey, babe. How’s your day?”

“It’s been good. How about yours?”

“The craziest thing happened,” he said in the
same casual tone. “I heard a noise in the middle of the night and
found a raccoon clawing at my back door.”

“Oh, no!”

“Yeah, they can be assholes. But this one was
all tore up so I cut him some slack. And luckily I had good gloves,
so I got him in the car and found a vet to take him off my hands.
Crazy night though.”

“You put a bleeding raccoon in your beautiful
Mercedes?”

“I put burlap down first.”

“Okay, then. Good talking to you, Dr.
Doolittle.”

He laughed. “Are we still on for dinner? At
the taco place? What time?”

“I’m starving, so anytime works for me.”
Trying to keep her tone light, she said, “I could drive myself. Or
you could pick me up.”

“Seriously?”

“Assuming there’s no raccoon blood.”

“If there is I’ll buy a new car,” he joked.
Then he coughed lightly. “I can be there in twenty minutes.”

“Perfect. I’ll be waiting at the curb.”

• • •

Nervous, she dressed in jeans and the pink UH
tee then chatted with a security guard until the white Mercedes
approached. She knew Sean wanted to open the door for her, but she
wasn’t ready for the full-body effect, so she encouraged the guard
to do the honors before Sean could beat him to it.

Settling in, she smiled sheepishly. “Hi,
Sean.”

“Hey, babe. How’re we doing?”

The question made her flush. “We’re doing
good. I mean, we need to talk, but we’re good.”

Pulling away from the curb, he eyed her
curiously. “We need to talk about us? Or Noah Cunningham? Or
. . . ?”

“Us. I have a new theory,” she admitted.

“I always like your theories. Even when you
call me a loser.”

“I took that back,” she reminded him with a
laugh. “How’s the raccoon?”

“He’s on the mend. Apparently there’s a
rescue group that will nurse him back to health then return him to
the wild. So I’m basically off the hook.”

Pleased, she told him about her shopping trip
with Erica, then he shared a story about his afternoon with his
buddies at the batting cages. Finally they arrived at the taco
stand and chose the same table as before.

As before, the service was efficient, and
soon they had their drinks—tap water for Tess, beer for Sean—and
ordered their food. And then, because she was nervous again, she
decided just to go for it.

So she blurted out, “I really like you, Sean.
We have fun together. We have chemistry. And even though you’re not
technically ready for a new relationship, the good news is:
I’m
not ready either. I’m only here until August, and I’m
transitioning between two careers. So in that sense, we’re perfect
for each other.”

He leaned forward, his smile mischievous. “I
already dig this theory.”

A blast of heat distracted her, but she
rallied and said, “Neither of us is ready for serious dating. But
it’s hypocritical—of
me,
not you—to say we’re just friends.
Because obviously, friends don’t kiss the way we do. And I’m the
worst offender because . . .” She allowed her giddy smile to
break through. “I love it. It’s so much fun.”

His eyes twinkled. “Yeah, it’s the best.”

“So it’s not just a friendship. But if we
want to keep doing this without feeling like hypocrites, we need to
recognize it for what it is. Transitional dating. Or as I like to
call it, buffer dating. Since it acts as a buffer between the old
and the new.”

“So we’re dating? Cool.”

She laughed lightly. “
Buffer
dating.
The same thing we’ve been doing for weeks. The difference is, we
can be more open about it. I think we’ve earned that, don’t
you?”

“So it’s the same? But instead of taking
separate cars you’ll let me pick you up?” He gave her an
enthusiastic nod. “I’ll take that deal.”