Playing the Game (20 page)

“
She cannot kick you out
of this house because you lost a stupid competition!” he exclaimed,
face turning a lovely shade of purple. “I’ll settle
this.”

“
Dad, no! I don’t want you
and Mom to argue,” I pleaded.

“
Aubrey, this is my house,
too. I refuse to allow this,” he said as he tromped up the stairs.
“I’ll take care of this.”

My heart sank as panic began to rise up my
throat. I ran after him. He slammed his bedroom door in my face,
stopping me in the hall. Their voices started soft but grew in
volume. Backing into the wall, I cringed as their argument roared
behind the door. Guilt ate at my heart and I couldn’t stand that I
was the reason. I knew it hurt my mother and I hated that, but I
couldn’t be her puppet forever.

I blew out a frustrated breath and made a
decision. Knocking on the bedroom door, I stormed into the room.
“Stop! Stop fighting right now!”

They froze and gaped at me. Mom turned her
head, studying her nails while Dad wrapped an arm around my
shoulders.

“
Come on, Aubrey. Let’s
give your mother some space.” He growled out the words as he
steered me from the room. Shutting the door, he started heading for
the stairs but I stopped him.

“
I’m going to leave for a
few days, Dad,” I said. Waltzing through my bedroom door, I pulled
a large bag from my closet.

“
No you’re not, Aubrey,”
Dad said, following me. He took the bag from my hands and tossed it
in my closet. “This is your home, too, and I’ll not have you tossed
out because of your mother’s unfair prejudices. “

I hugged him, tears welling in my eyes.
“I’ll go stay with Gwen or something for a few days and give Mom a
chance to cool down. Once she does, I’ll come home and we’ll talk.”
I stood on my toes to kiss my father’s cheek. “It’s easier. And
don’t you fight with her, either.”

“
Aubrey, she’s being
unreasonable.”

“
She’s hurt, Dad,” I said.
“I said some things I probably shouldn’t have.”

“
No matter. She’s been
forcing music down your throat your whole life.”

I shook my head and snatched the bag he’d
just tossed out of my closet. “Let me go for a few days. She’ll
calm down. Then I’ll talk to her.”

“
Aubrey…” he
begged.

I kissed his cheek again as tears filled my
eyes.

“
It’ll be fine, Daddy,” I
said but I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince.

***

I backed out of the drive, tears still
clouding my eyes, and hit the road. I briefly entertained the idea
of going to Gwen’s – I knew I could crash on her couch. Dane
already had the spare room torn apart to remodel into the ultimate
nursery.

I rejected the idea, though. I knew where I
wanted to be. I called him and only said I’d be there shortly. He
met me at the door.

“
I take it the talk didn’t
go so well,” he said as he slipped the bag off my shoulder. He held
the door, allowing me to pass.

“
Not in the least,” I said
as I wiped my tears on my bare arm.

He dropped the bag in the living room and
embraced me. He held me for a few minutes as I tried very hard to
contain my sobs. I did a pretty good job.

He let me go to take my hand and drag me to
the kitchen. He sat me at the breakfast bar while he opened his
refrigerator. “Did you eat?”

“
No,” I frowned. I glanced
at the microwave clock. It was close to midnight. It was hard to
believe the finals happened just a few hours ago. It seemed like
days had passed. “I’m not hungry, Jess. I’m just tired.”

Ignoring me, he pulled out cold cuts,
lettuce, and condiments. He removed a plate from a cabinet and
threw together a ham and cheese sandwich which he slid across the
breakfast bar. He found a bottle of water in the fridge and opened
it before setting it down near my plate.

“
Eat,” he ordered as he
sat next to me. “Then we’ll get some sleep. We can talk in the
morning.”

He spun the water bottle cap on the table
with his pinkie, watching it twirl on the smooth surface.

Picking up the sandwich, I nibbled on the
crust, conscious of Jess’s eyes on me. But I couldn’t wait until
morning to talk. I wanted him to know how much I hurt.

“
She wants me out of the
house, Jess.”

He froze, the cap shooting out from under
his hand and clattering to the floor.

“
She kicked you out
because you lost?” he asked, fire blazing in his eyes. “Are you
kidding me?”

I ducked my head over my plate. “Not
exactly. I mean, we argued a little bit about the show but mostly
it was about…” I bit my lip.

“
Me, huh? She’s pissed
because you’re with me now.”

“
Sort of. But I said some
things to her I shouldn’t have. That’s why she wanted me out, I
think,” I said softly.

“
What did you say?” he
asked, arms folded angrily in front of his chest. “What could you
have possibly said to make your mother want to kick out her
star?”

I took a deep breath and found his eyes.
“That’s between me and her, Jess.” He opened his mouth but I held
up my hand. “My dad is already fighting with her and I don’t want
more trouble. I’m not totally innocent, here. And what I said might
have been true, but it wasn’t necessary for me to throw it in her
face.”

I sighed. “I’ll let her cool down and then
talk to her again. I can stay with Gwen, if you want, but I prefer
to be with you.”

The tension in his body hadn’t budged. “Of
course you can stay here, Aubrey. You can stay as long as you need.
Hell, move in if you want.”

My eyes grew. “What?” I stood before him
totally astonished. “Did I hear that right? Jess Rivers just asked
me to move in with him?”

His shoulders relaxed slightly as a light
blush graced his cheeks. With a sheepish smile, he chucked me under
the chin. I delighted in seeing him this way. “I love you, Aubrey.
I want you here with me. Why the hell would I beat around the
bush?”

I ran my hands up his chest and linked them
behind his neck. His arms snaked around my waist. “I love you, too,
Jess. And I want to be with you.” I brushed my lips across his.
“But I don’t think I’m ready to live with you. Remember how you
said it was time I lived my life? I need to figure out what to do
with my life.”

He smirked, eyes glowing. “Little Aubrey
Rose is growing up.”

I tried to smile, wanting to keep the mood
light, but my lips fell. “It’s hard, Jess. And scary.”

He kissed my forehead and embraced me,
rubbing my back lightly. “I know, sweetheart.” He sighed and edged
back. “You’ll make it, Aubrey. You’re stronger than you think.” He
kissed me again and pointed at my uneaten sandwich. “Are you going
to eat?”

“
I’m really not hungry.” I
picked up the plate and set it in the fridge. “I just want to go to
bed.”

“
Okay,” he shrugged. He
waited until I was beside him then took my hand and led me down the
hall to his bedroom.

He held me that night, his soft breath
brushing my skin, as I thought about my future. I knew what I
wanted to do but I wasn’t sure how to go about it. No, that was a
lie. I knew how to go about it – but was I brave enough to do
it?

Chapter Sixteen

I woke slowly. The early morning sun
penetrated the blinds, touching my cheeks gently, and for a moment,
I forgot where I was. My eyes burned when I finally managed to pry
them open, breaking through the crust that had formed in the
corners due to my late night crying jag.

I shifted my body slightly and Jess’s arm
tightened, making me smile. He’d held me as I’d sobbed into his
chest until exhaustion finally took over and forced me to sleep.
The words he’d whispered remained in my head and I held them,
clinging to them as though they were buoys on a turbulent sea. He’d
promised to take care of me – that I had nothing to worry
about.

I kissed his strong jaw with a sigh. I was
tired of being taken care of. I was ready to stand on my own two
feet. It wouldn’t happen overnight, I knew, and I’d probably
stumble a time or two, but I’d give it my best shot.

Groaning, Jess performed a half-roll to peek
at his alarm clock. He groaned again as he pulled me closer to his
body.

“
It’s early,” he mumbled
in my ear. I shivered. “Go back to sleep.”

I pressed my lips beneath his jaw. “I’m
awake now. You go back to sleep for awhile. I’ll make some
breakfast.”

He grinned, eyes still firmly closed.
“You’re a good woman, Aubrey Rose.”

My heart fell at the use of my full name but
I ignored it and kissed him lightly before slipping out of his
grasp, his shirt that I’d donned the night before falling past my
knees. I padded to the kitchen, several emotions fighting to be
number one in my brain.

I fumbled around the cupboards, pulling pans
out, slamming them on the stove. I found plenty of eggs and other
breakfast foods in his refrigerator and lined them carefully on the
counter. I decided to keep it simple - just scramble some eggs,
bacon, and sausage.

The sausage was sizzling in a pan as I
buttered some toast when Jess wandered into the kitchen and wrapped
his arms around my waist. He rested his chin on my shoulder and it
took all the strength I had to control the urge to touch him as my
body smoldered at his nearness.

“
Smells good,” he said,
his breath tickling my ear. I shuddered. “You should just move in
here and cook breakfast for me every morning.”

My heart flipped at his words as an image of
me standing before his stove, serving his breakfast flashed in my
mind. It excited me more than degraded me and I turned in his arms
to smile.

“
Are you offering me a job
as your maid?”

He captured my mouth with his and I couldn’t
stop my body from molding to his. His moved his lips to my chin and
my throat.

“
Nah. I just want you in
my bed at night and cooking breakfast in my shirt in the
morning.”

With a snort, I moved reluctantly out of his
arms. “If you’d like your breakfast to be edible, you better stop
kissing me or I’ll burn everything.”

When he moved away from me, I immediately
felt his absence. Pouring us each a mug of coffee, he leaned
against the counter to watch me work. I piled his plate high with
eggs and added sausage and bacon before sliding it on the breakfast
bar. He snagged a couple pieces of toast before he sat down to dig
into his food. I watched him for a few minutes, my heart swelling
at how beautiful he was.

“
Quit watching me eat, you
freak,” he grinned around his fork. “Sit down and join
me.”

I fixed a plate and sat next to him,
nibbling on a piece of bacon. “Do you have batting practice
today?”

“
Yep,” he said. “You
going?”

“
Can I?” I asked,
stupidly.

He rolled his eyes. “Of course. Kendra will
be there.” He shoved a forkful of eggs in his mouth. “You can come
with me if you don’t mind going early.”

“
I don’t mind,” I
whispered.

He finished his breakfast in silence as I
tried to force mine down. When I had my fill, I scooted my plate to
him but he only shook his head.

“
You didn’t eat last night
and you’ve hardly touched your breakfast. Don’t starve yourself
because of your mother.”

My heart plummeted. I’d hoped he wouldn’t
bring her up today. I’d be perfectly happy to not even think about
my mother for the entire weekend. And I definitely didn’t want to
talk about her.

“
I’m not,” I muttered,
sullen.

“
What did she say last
night, Aubrey?” he asked in a firm tone that left no room for
excuses.

I sighed before reluctantly repeating the
conversation I’d had with my mother the previous night. I expected
him to explode in anger but he only nodded his head.

“
I did hurt you
before.”

I jumped out of my seat and began gathering
dirty dishes in my arms. “I understand why.”

“
No you don’t,” he argued.
“If you did, you wouldn’t be here now.”

I dumped the dishes in the sink and then
whirled around to face him. “What do you mean? Do you not want me
here? Just a few minutes ago you were asking me to be here every
night. In your bed.” Tears I thought weren’t possible after last
night returned to my eyes. “Or is that all you want? A warm body in
your bed and a big breakfast in the morning?”

“
Of course not,” he
barked. He grabbed my shoulders, forcing me to look in his eyes. “I
told you I love you, Aubrey, and I meant it. But I still could hurt
you. I don’t want to do it and I don’t intend on doing it but it
could happen all the same. It killed me when I hurt you before and
I’ll do everything in my power to prevent it from happening again.
But I explained to you how hard it will be with me on the
road.”

“
I’m not signing a
contract, Jess,” I injected. “I don’t want to.”

“
Why?” he demanded,
running a hand through his hair. “Because of us?”

“
Don’t be so arrogant,” I
snapped. “Maybe I’m thinking of myself this time. Did you know that
I haven’t a clue what I like to do? What if I like to paint? What
if I like to play basketball? What if I like to write poetry? I’ve
never tried any of those things.”

He relaxed his grip and massaged my
shoulders. “I never realized that.”