Playing for Kicks (Play Makers Book 5) (40 page)

“Yum.”

“Where’s Sean?”

“He had to go to the ranch. To shoot a lame
horse.”

Erica gasped. “Oh, no! How awful.”

“I know.” She gave her a weary smile. “He’s
their best shot apparently.”

“It’s the twenty-first century. Aren’t there
drugs for that?”

“That’s what
I
said. But it’s a wild
horse and it would frighten her if they tried to catch her. So this
is the most humane way.”

Erica cocked her head to the side. “Are you
okay?”

A voice boomed from the next room. “Hey!
What’s going on?”

Erica rolled her eyes. “He’s wilder than
usual tonight. So let’s just sit on the deck and have book club,
okay? They can fend for themselves.”

“You’re a good friend, but I’m fine.” She
hesitated, then gave Erica an extra-warm hug. “Thanks for being
here.”

Without waiting for a response, she hurried
to the living room and said, “Hey, guys,” with a sheepish
smile.

“Finally! We want margaritas,” Bam said with
a teasing grin. “Served by a professional.”

“Right away, sir,” she teased back. “Johnny?
You too?”

“Sounds great, thanks.”

“Why do you guys always make her wait on
you?” Erica scolded them. “Don’t you notice anything unusual?”

“Huh?” Bam scanned the room. “Where’s
Decker?”

“He had to leave unexpectedly. To go to the
ranch,” Tess said, trying to sound nonchalant. “To shoot a lame
horse.”

“Geezus.”

She nodded. “He’s their best shot.”

“Yeah, he’s an effing stud. Don’t tell him I
said that.”

“I won’t.” She hurried to the bar and
assembled her ingredients: tequila, Cointreau and four limes.
“Erica? Do you want in on this?”

“I’m good, thanks. Come and sit with us,
Tess.”

“In a sec.” She juiced three limes, then
whirred everything with ice in a blender, salted the rims of the
glasses, and sliced the remaining lime for garnish, then brought it
all to the coffee table, where she carefully poured the drinks.
Then she sat in Sean’s usual spot on the sofa, pulled off her
X-Cals, and tucked her feet under herself. “So? What’s new?”

Johnny exchanged looks with his wife, then
asked gently, “Did he say when he’d be back?”

“He said a couple of days. I offered to go
with him, but . . .”

“Yeah, that would just make it harder,” Bam
agreed cheerfully. “Pun intended, right?”

When she gave a halfhearted laugh, he caught
on and said briskly, “Come here and tell Uncle Bam all about
it.”

“I’m fine.”

“Get your ass over here.
Now.”

Rolling her eyes, she still did as he asked,
mostly because it was lonely on the couch, and the loveseat looked
cozy. And when he draped his powerful arm around her shoulders, she
didn’t resist. “I’m fine, really. It just happened quickly. And
it’s been a weird week. So ignore me, okay?”

Johnny leaned forward, his expression intent.
“Are you worried about the horse?”

“What?” She tried to laugh. “I feel awful
about the horse, but I saw the video, so I get it. She’s in pain.
It must be so scary for her not to be able to run.”

“So you’re worried about Decker?” the QB
persisted. “He grew up this way, Tess. To us it seems shocking. But
not to him.”

“I know.”

“Was he upset?” Erica asked.

“Sean? No, it was the strangest thing. He was
so—well, not businesslike. Just focused, I guess. I’m so used to my
laid-back boyfriend. But this guy . . . ?” She tried
to laugh. “I guess I don’t know him as well as I thought.”

Johnny arched an eyebrow at Bam. “She’s never
seen him in the zone before.”

Bam grinned, clearly relieved. “Yeah, that’s
gotta be it.”

Startled, she pulled free enough to study
each man’s face. Then she asked warily, “Tell me what that means.
In the zone? What zone?”

“It’s his gift, Bammie,” Bam explained. “Just
like God made
me
a perfect physical specimen, and made the
big dog smart, he gave Decker the ability to zone in and out.
Mostly out.”

Annoyed, she turned to the QB. “English,
please?”

He chuckled. “Like you said, he’s laid-back.
But it’s more like a holding pattern. Keeping him calm and balanced
so when he needs to step up, he’s ready. We see it all the time.
He’s a great kicker, right? No big deal to him. But when the game’s
on the line, he gets in the zone.” He paused, then assured her,
“It’s an actual phenomenon. And when it happens, he can’t miss. And
he won’t miss that horse either,” he predicted, his tone ringing
with pride. “It’ll be over in a split second.
That’s
why it
has to be Deck.”

Tess nodded slowly. Not that she understood
any of it yet, but she had time to figure it out, didn’t she?

So she stood and announced, “I’d better get
going. I’m way behind on the article.”

“What if I want another drink?” Bam
protested, his blue eyes twinkling.

“You know what? You really
are
a
perfect physical specimen.” Leaning down, she planted a kiss on his
cheek. “I love you, dude.”

While he stared, clearly in shock, she walked
over to Johnny and Erica, who had gotten to their feet. “I love
you, too,” she told them, giving each a quick hug. “Thanks for
everything.”

Before they could react, much less
over
react, she grabbed her purse from the sofa, flashed a
grateful smile, and hurried to the door.

• • •

In the zone.

Did it get any cooler than that?

She still didn’t understand it. Or at least,
not completely. But as she jotted down notes, doodled little
hearts, worked feverishly on her article, and then dozed off for a
few hours before starting the sequence again, she knew one thing
for sure.

There was something to this Decker guy.
Something substantial. The kind of thing that could balance out an
underachiever like Tess Colby.

She didn’t try to picture him at the ranch
since that would involve firearms and blood. Minimal blood, since
he was the best shot in the entire world, but still, it wasn’t
something she cared to envision.
Or
doodle. But she could
write about him. About his calm, easy-going attitude that masked a
core of iron. How it had been so easy to dismiss him as a sexy guy
who slept with twins and got crushes on his best friends’
girlfriends. And yet, how she had been drawn to him—not just the
green eyes, great smile, hunky body, but the sense that he was
perfect if only she could figure out how such a loser could be the
most amazing winner of them all.

Of course, none of that could go into the
article. But at least the words were flowing. Now there would be no
stopping her.

• • •

He had said “a couple of days” and it had
sounded like an eternity. Instead it flew by. Then her phone played
the Eagles song at seven p.m. on Thursday night, Portland time, and
she bolted out of a half sleep and murmured, “Sean?”

“Oh, man, did I wake you up? Go back to
sleep—”

“I’m awake, I promise. Is everything
okay?”

“Yeah, it’s all taken care of. I would have
called sooner but—” He exhaled as if expelling a demon. “Man, your
voice sounds good.”

“Yours too.”

“Sorry I left in a rush. But I’ll be back in
time for practice tomorrow. Riga was cool about me missing one day.
Not sure he’d be good with two.”

“You sound so tired,” she told him fondly.
“Luckily we can cuddle on the flight to San Francisco.”

When he was silent, she regretted being coy
and explained, “For the Giants game, right? And meeting Rachel.
Unless you’re too tired to go.”

He was silent again, but only for a few
seconds. Then he said firmly, “I appreciate the gesture, babe. But
I never planned on going. So we’ll find something else to do. Naked
Jaws,
right?”

“We can do that anytime. But partying with
your friends? All five of them? I’m ready if you are.”

“You’re sure? Man . . .”

“Just get some sleep. And don’t kick the ball
too far. After that?” She closed her eyes, imagining the feel of
his arms. Then she pulled herself together and told him
breathlessly, “We’ll have fun in San Francisco, Romeo. I
promise.”

Chapter
Twelve

Tess had sounded great on the phone. But
Johnny Spurling had been shocked when he heard they would be
joining them on the flight to San Francisco since, in his words,
“You should have seen her Wednesday night, Deck. Totally freaked
about that horse thing. She was better by the time she left, but
still . . .”

Worse, Bannerman had flat out told him: “Take
better care of my Bammie, dude.”

Of course, both of them had refused to
elaborate, mostly because Riga didn’t approve of chitchat. But Sean
also sensed his friends wanted him to step up. And he intended to.
She was
his
girl, not theirs. Which cut both ways, didn’t
it? He knew her better than they did, so his instincts were
hopefully better.

He had texted her when his plane landed at
five a.m. on Friday, Portland time, and she had replied by text an
hour later, saying,
Yay! C U at curb. 4ish? Back to bed
. . . zzzz

In other words, she had been up all night
working on her book. Or maybe on her journal. Either way, she was
still in Portland. Still wanted to hang out.

He didn’t actually care what they did.
Scones, tacos, naked
Jaws?
It all sounded great. But just in
case she had been serious about dinner with Rachel, he had stopped
by his place to pick up some clothes, toothbrush and a dinner
jacket early that morning.

Now he headed straight to the Ashton. It was
already four fifteen, and Johnny wanted to take off by five thirty
at the latest, so he threaded through traffic and made it to the
lobby curb in record time. Then he phoned her and was charmed by
her breathless: “On my way, Romeo. Don’t move a muscle.”

She appeared in what seemed like seconds. No
garment bag to indicate a fancy outfit, just the lightweight duffel
she used for quick trips to Seattle. And given how she was
dressed—jeans, her X-Cals and a loose-fitting ruffled blouse—he
assumed the trip was canceled, which worked for him, especially
since her eyes were sparkling, her skin glowing, and her smile
dazzling. Then she walked right into his arms and kissed him with
gentle passion.

She seemed softer. Sweeter. And unusually
receptive, so he slipped his hand under her blouse as he kissed her
back. No bra, which was almost unprecedented. So he enjoyed her for
another few seconds before saying in a wary voice, “This is
new.”

“I missed you.”

“Yeah, I missed you too. So let’s just hunker
down at my place for the rest of the night.”

She looked up in surprise. “What about San
Francisco?”

“I want you to myself,” he said, nibbling her
ear. “Rachel can wait. It’s cool of you to offer, though.”

“I want to do it, Sean. Unless you’re
exhausted.”

Hesitating, mostly because she sounded oddly
passive, he remembered what his QB had said. That she was “freaked”
on Wednesday night. He had assumed it was because of his quick
departure. But was it more?

“Is this because I had to put the horse
down?” he asked carefully. “Because it was over in a second, babe.
I swear it.”

“I know. And I’m so proud of you. That’s why
I brought my favorite dress to party in.”

When he eyed the duffel bag, she explained
solemnly, “It’s completely crushable.”

“That sounds handy,” he admitted with a
teasing smile. “If you’re sure—”

“I wouldn’t miss it. Really.”

“Okay, then . . . Let’s get
going.”

• • •

Tess couldn’t take her eyes off Sean. He was
his old self again. Charming. Relaxed. Except now she knew there
was something even cooler beneath the playful demeanor. This was
his holding pattern. Calm. Balanced. Ready for anything. She had
sensed it that first night at the McSpurlings. Had felt it when
they were introduced, then been rocked by it on the redwood deck.
Then all the irrelevant details about the twins and the crushes had
distracted her, making him seem frivolous, masking the core of
strength.

Of all her discoveries of the last two days,
re
-discovering that first episode of Tantric sex was her
favorite. It had mimicked the sensation of being in the moment, but
she should have known it was more erotic than that. Now she knew
the truth—it wasn’t about being in the moment, it was being in the
zone.
And even better, Sean’s ability to pull Tess into the
zone with him.

It also redefined the take-charge,
blot-out-the-sun passionate sex they had had after her run-in with
Zane. Sean in the zone, stepping up when needed, manifesting
strength and power, but all too ready to slip back into the holding
pattern where he and Tess loved to play. To make love. To fall in
love.

Hopefully they wouldn’t need the other kind
of sex again, but if they did? It was beyond cool to know it was
there.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked as
they threaded through traffic.

“Just something Johnny said. About
you
. A compliment,” she added quickly.

Something registered in his eyes, but his
tone was light when he said, “Did you add it to the notes and
doodles?”

She nodded.

“Good deal.” He cleared his throat. “So I
told John we were coming after all. And I reminded him you need
your own room. So that’s taken care of.”

She was pretty sure they didn’t need the
extra room, but decided to let it ride. At best, he’d be pleasantly
surprised. At worst, something could go wrong at dinner. And even
if nothing went wrong, Sean might honestly be too tired to make the
most of it. Then they would wait for Hawaii after all.