Playing the Game (11 page)

“
Stay the night with me
tonight. I’ll even let you go to the doctor with me tomorrow,” he
said. I wanted to so badly it hurt.

“
What am I going to tell
my mother?”

Snorting, he sat up against the headboard
taking me with him. “Tell her you’re staying with me. You’re old
enough.”

Groaning, I banged my head lightly against
his solid stomach. “Jess, don’t do this to me.”

“
Do what?” he asked, voice
incredulous. “Ask you to stay with me? I thought that’s what you
wanted.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, visions of what I’d
just done with him flashing behind my lids. My heartbeat picked up
and suddenly I wanted him again. Now. He lifted my chin and I
opened my eyes only to stare into his gray ones. “I will. I’ll
stay.”

His slow grin only increased my need for
him. I kissed him leisurely at first until I could hold back no
longer. He sensed my intentions and flipped me on my back. This
time passion overrode gentleness and my body arched into his,
wanting him to fill every inch of me. I was no passive near-virgin
this time as I expressed myself vividly. My hands and lips were as
busy as his and toward the end, the pleasure was so intense I bit
down on his neck, near his shoulder. He didn’t even flinch. He fell
back to the bed, panting.

My heart not only pounded from excitement
but also from the overwhelming love washing over me. Once I was
somewhat under control, I fished around the floor until I found my
jeans. I yanked my cell out of my pocket and called my house. My
parents weren’t home so I left a message, saying I was staying with
a friend and I would be home in the morning. Jess’s soft, unusually
sweet smile was a just reward. I snuggled against him, content to
stay in his arms for the rest of my life.

But eventually, his stomach awoke and he
declared it time to grab some food. My cheeks burned as his hungry
eyes watched me dress. It was ridiculous to be embarrassed to dress
in front him – especially after he’d just explored every inch of my
body. But still, I was. He pulled on his jeans, not bothering with
the shirt I’d dropped in the living room, and yanked me to his
chest. His eyes were soft as he kissed the corner of my mouth.

“
Go fix your hair and I’ll
take you out to eat.” I nodded and scurried off to his
bathroom.

The pony tail I’d had my hair in was one big
glob. I released it and worked it back into some order then bounded
down the hall to find him. He was standing in the living room,
shirt back in place, waiting for me. Taking my hand, he led me to
his huge truck. I climbed in and watched him out of the corner of
my eye as he started the engine and carefully backed out of the
drive.

Nervous, but equally happy, butterflies
danced in celebration inside my stomach. My heart was overflowing
with joy. I tried to hide the smile that refused to leave my face.
After what we’d just done and now he was taking me out, well, it
had to be a good sign.

Don’t push it,
sweetheart
, a voice mimicked inside my
head.
Remember what Gwen said about casual
sex. What makes you think you’re any different
?

I pushed the voice away and concentrated on
the present. I was half expecting him to take me to Champs so we
could watch the game while we ate but instead he took me to a small
diner a few miles from his subdivision. He found a booth near the
back and we ordered quickly. Once the waitress disappeared, he
scrutinized me carefully. He asked me polite questions about the
upcoming show and what I intended to sing. I described the country
theme we were supposed to do and how, even though I loved most
music, I wasn’t a huge country music fan. But the song I wanted to
do was one my mother used to sing around the house and it was one I
would be able to play on my guitar. I had high hopes that the
guitar might impress Richard and Marissa but I was more than sure
they’d find something about my guitar skills to berate me
about.

“
What song?” he asked. He
seemed curious enough but his eyes were a little glazed.

After I told him, he nodded, leaning back as
the waitress reappeared with our food. She smiled at me and bit her
lip.

“
I don’t usually do this
but I am such a big fan of
American
Star
and I watch you every week. Do you
think you could sign something for me?”

I ignored Jess’s amused smirk as I accepted
the order pad and pen from the waitress. I hurriedly scrawled my
name and shoved it back at her with a forced smile on my face.

“
Thank you so much! I hope
you win! I hate how Marissa and Richard always put you down. You
are the best one on the show!”

“
Thanks,” I muttered. My
cheeks were starting to ache from my smile and I hoped she’d finish
gushing so I could eat. “I appreciate it.”

I really, truly did but I was uncomfortable
with the attention. Just as I was about to point out to her that
Jess was a famous baseball player, he interrupted.

“
Thanks for your support,”
he said in a smooth voice. She looked at him, blushing at his
intense gaze. “Make sure you log onto the website and post your
comments. Aubrey checks it all the time. Perhaps she’ll send you a
comment back.”

I seethed, simple as that. I only checked
the stupid website when my mother forced me to and even then, I
rarely returned comments.

The waitress whipped her head back to me,
eyes wide and sparkling. She held a hand to her chest. “That would
be cool. My friends would never believe it. Thank you so much!” She
ran off, no doubt to call her friends.

I glared at him, appetite suddenly gone.
“How could you?”

His eyes crinkled in the corner, his smirk
was so huge. “Easy. The support from your fans can’t hurt you a
bit. Maybe Dicky boy will cut you a break.” I groaned and allowed
my head to fall back against the booth as he pushed my plate toward
me. “Eat. You need your energy if you’re staying with me
tonight.”

I lifted my head to glare, prepared to give
him a major tongue lashing but the desire in his eyes halted the
words in my throat. My groin burned and my heart skipped a beat.
Sighing, I dug in – he was right, again.

Chapter Nine

Keeping his word, Jess allowed me to
accompany him to his doctor visit the next morning. On the way
there, I checked the voice messages my mother had left me, her
tight voice concerned because I hadn’t told her with what friend
I'd be staying. She assumed I was with this ‘mysterious’ Kendra and
hoped I’d introduce them soon. I deleted the messages and
concentrated on Jess. I’d deal with my mother later.

Jess introduced me to Dr. Hoyt simply as
Aubrey and focused on his diagnosis. The doctor was optimistic,
explaining that there were no immediate problems he could see. He
went over the test results and glanced anxiously at me when he
asked Jess to remove his shirt. Smirking, Jess pulled his shirt
over his head. I blanched as all the blood drained from my face. He
had a perfectly formed bite mark on his collar bone, right at the
base of his neck. The doctor didn’t comment, thankfully, as his
skilled hands ran over Jess’s shoulder. I turned my head, too
afraid to look either in the eye.

When Dr. Hoyt finished, Jess yanked on his
shirt, knowing grin playing around the corners of his mouth. The
doctor recommended Jess go on the fifteen day disabled list and
follow a strict physical therapy regiment that would help loosen
the tightening muscles. He gave his okay for a couple side throwing
sessions with the pitching coach and warned him that if the
tightness returned, to come back immediately.

“
This has nothing to do
with the surgery he had a couple years ago, does it?” I asked,
recovering nicely from my embarrassment. It didn’t appear Jess
would question it so I decided to speak up. Jess glared at me but
the doctor merely gave me a kind smile.

“
No, at this point it
doesn’t appear so. Sometimes the arm breaks down when it is used at
this velocity. You have to understand that Jess, along with all
pitchers, uses his arm a lot more than you and I. He also works it
much harder.” He sat on the corner of his desk and folded his arms
across his chest. “Although he is in perfect shape, as an athlete,
his arm is still somewhat fragile. You or I could throw a ball and
it wouldn’t go as hard or as fast as when Jess throws. He uses a
lot of muscle and that puts a strain on his shoulder, his elbow,
even his bones. That’s part of the reason most teams have a five
man rotation. The starting pitchers are only allowed to pitch once
every five games. Gives their arms a chance to rest.”

He took a deep breath, obviously thinking I
didn’t understand. I did. Sort of.

“
Imagine playing a game of
catch. If you played for too long, your arm would get tired. A
pitcher throws much, much harder than a normal person and usually
much longer. Granted, they do get a break between innings, but it
still wears on them.”

I nodded, trying to digest his explanation.
It made perfect sense to me. “So you think it’s just his muscles
are tired?”

I ignored Jess’s frustrated sigh as the
doctor chuckled. “Something like that. At first I was concerned it
might be his rotator cuff but the x-rays showed otherwise. The
weather has been a little cool lately and that sometimes plays a
factor. Sometimes the temperature has a way of making the body
react.”

He waited for me to ask more questions but I
was dry. Standing, he patted Jess on his right shoulder, avoiding
his sore left one, and escorted us to the door.

Jess was silent most of the way home until
we turned onto his street. That was when his jaw tensed.

“
What was with the
grilling of my doctor?”

I blinked in confusion. “I wanted to
know.”

“
What’s it to you?” he
snapped.

A lump formed in my chest that nearly sank
my heart. “I don’t want you hurt, Jess. I wanted to know what was
going on.”

“
It’s not your business,
Aubrey,” he said angrily. He whipped the truck into his drive and
slammed it in park. He turned his blazing eyes on me. “All that
wasn’t necessary.”

“
Yes it was,” I said, just
as angry. “You are my business.”

He barked out a hollow, sarcastic laugh. “I
am, am I? And why is that?”

I ducked my head, gnawing furiously on my
lip. “Because I love you, Jess.”

Groaning, he jumped out of the truck,
slamming the door. I followed helplessly.

He shoved his key into the door knob. “I
should have known. I never should have let last night happen.”

My heart crashed at my feet. And I should
have never opened my mouth. “Why?”

He whirled around to face me, his eyes
unreadable. “Now you have all these delusions about love. I didn’t
want that to happen.”

He could have punched me in the face and
kicked me in my ribs and it still wouldn’t hurt as much as his
words. The burning sensation returned to my eyes but I fought
valiantly against the latest onslaught of tears.

“
I guess you’re right. I
am pretty delusional.” I stormed across his lawn and hopped into my
own car without a look back.

***

I raced to Gwen’s house and pushed through
the door, not bothering to knock. She looked up from her spot on
the couch and jumped to her feet. “What’s the matter?”

I poured the entire pathetic story out to
her while she stroked my hair. “And I told him I loved him. How
stupid!”

“
Oh, honey,” she cooed.
“What did he say?”

“
He said I was
delusional.”

“
He is a bastard,” she
said. Sighing, she pushed me to her sofa. “What are you going to do
now?”

“
Forget I even know him,”
I murmured. “I should have never called him in the first place. I
wish I would have flushed that stupid baseball he gave me down the
toilet.”

“
That would have made a
big mess for Dad to clean up,” she said with a tentative
smile.

“
Don’t try to cheer me
up,” I crooned.

“
Fine. Mom’s called here
numerous times asking me about this Kendra girl you’re supposedly
hanging around with,” she said in a feeble attempt to distract me
from my dour mood.

I groaned again. That hurt. Kendra. I really
liked her but it would be far too painful to hang out with her now.
Especially because Jess always happened to show up at her house.
“She’s engaged to one of the players. I guess I won’t be seeing her
anymore.”

“
Now don’t push her away.
It’s great that you have a friend outside of the music crap.” Her
hand flew to her temple while the other rubbed her
abdomen.

“
Are you all right?” I
asked. She did look a little green.

“
Fine. Haven’t been
feeling well lately.”

My heart twinged. She had been a little
distant and preoccupied. What if she had some serious fatal
disease? Panic gripped my body. “What’s the matter? Are you okay?
Do you need a kidney?”

Chuckling, she patted my leg. “Keep your
kidneys.”

“
What is it? You’ve been
preoccupied lately and not totally with it. What is wrong?” I
demanded.

Her eyes turned from warm to furious in a
millisecond. “Just because I’m not always up to listening to your
complaints doesn’t mean something is wrong with me. The world
doesn’t revolve around you, Aubrey Rose.”

I winced as though she’d smacked my
face.

“
I know,” I whispered.
“I’m worried about you.”