Sidelined: A Sports Romance (28 page)

He took his opportunity and wrapped an arm around Skye to steer her away from the table. “Bye, Kari. You too.” He winked as they rounded the shark tank.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where in the hell do you think you’re going?” Hollywood stood in front of them. “Hi, Skye.”

She waved lightly. “Hi, Hollywood.”

“We’re headed out. The guy’s got my vote.” Bolt slapped Hollywood on the back. “I don’t need to have any other conversations with him. I’m fine with him.”

“But we’re getting ready to take shots.” Hollywood whined.

“Take one for me, man.” Bolt smiled and headed for the exit.

Outside, the line for Splash hadn’t shrunk. The new club had drawn a bigger crowd by the minute. Bolt threaded his fingers through Skye’s.

“And just like that you think you can sweep me off my feet?” Skye turned and studied his face.

He smiled. “Just like that.”

H
e had appeared
out of nowhere. For two weeks she had tried not to think about him. Tried to forget him. Tried not to dream about waking up in his arms. All of that was shot to hell the minute she agreed to leave the club with him. Time had a way of making the sharpness of their angry words seem fuzzy and faded. Time also made her miss him.

She looked at the chocolate cake the waiter placed in front of her, and resisted the urge to shovel forkfuls into her mouth. It took the same kind of restraint she had employed to keep from kissing Ben in the bar the second she saw him. The bits of guilt she had for ditching her date with Dave seemed to vanish the minute she looked into those blue eyes.

“Did you work on the Splash campaign?” Ben asked with a mouthful of apple pie.

She shook her head. “No, that was Kari’s. She does almost all the restaurant, bar, and club campaigns. That’s her thing.”

“I guess I’m lucky your friend had a club opening tonight.” He flashed a killer grin, and for a minute Skye couldn’t remember a single thing he said that had made her mad.

She didn’t know how to respond. One minute she was talking to a nice guy named Wes who said he was in town for a job interview, waiting for Dave to show up, and the next she was eating chocolate cake with Ben. Ben, whom she hadn’t seen or spoken to in almost two weeks.

“What was the interview?” She savored the chocolate flavor as it melted in her mouth.

“We have two pilot slots open right now in the squadron. We’ve been interviewing candidates for the past month trying to find the right guys to fit. Tonight was number seven.”

“Seven?”

He nodded. “After awhile they all start to blend together. But it’s important we find guys who get along with everyone. You can’t have an oddball who nobody likes. We don’t want to fly with a guy like that, and when you have to count on somebody, you don’t want to count on an ass.” He placed his fork on the table. “Speaking of asses—”

“No, you don’t have to say anything.”

“But I promised you a full apology and you deserve it. I was a complete and total ass the last time I saw you. I should never have pushed things that far.”

Skye blushed. “I probably made things confusing.”

“No, you didn’t. You told me from the beginning what your rule was, and I tried to bulldoze over it. It was stupid, and I know it was wrong. Forgive me?”

As far as apologies went, Skye didn’t think she could have crafted a better one herself. But she still wasn’t sure what it meant.

She nodded. “Thank you.”

“Can I walk you home?” Ben had finished his apple pie.

Skye wanted to believe that everything he said was true. That he was sorry, that he did respect her rules, that he was happy to see her again. “Ok.”

She stood from the table and his hand met the small of her back. She inhaled, knowing this guy was breaking down all her resistance, and she was letting him one sexy smile at a time.

They walked along the sidewalk not saying much. It was a comfortable silence. The kind that grows between two people who know each other’s space, who can feel each other’s energy.

As they approached the building, Ben turned toward her. “I’m glad I ran into you again tonight.”

She smiled. “Me too.”

“Can I call you tomorrow?”

Skye had to stop herself from stepping backward. “Are you leaving?” She had assumed he was coming upstairs with her.

“I didn’t want to rush anything.” He brushed a flyaway strand of hair from her cheek. “Not after last time.”

The contact of his fingers along her face sent a thrill through her body. It was the kind of tingling sensation she longed for when he wasn’t around. The feeling she had missed since he walked out the door. It wasn’t until that moment that she realized she would do almost anything to have him touch her again.

“It’s not rushing. I mean. If you want to come up for a bit that would be fine.”

It looked like he was debating whether to accept her offer. Maybe he wasn’t the only one who needed forgiveness. She had kicked him out of her room in the middle of the fight.

“I took the trolley and the last one leaves at 12:30. So if I miss it, I don’t have a way back home.”

Skye chewed on her bottom lip. “Hmm…that is a problem.”

“Yep.” He put his hands in his pockets.

“Come upstairs with me. Maybe
Top Gun
’s on.” She turned toward the entrance and tugged on his wrist.

“Are you sure?” He sounded skeptical.

She reached for his face, bringing his mouth to hers. As soon as her tongue ran along his, his arms circled her waist and he pressed her against the stone wall in front of the door. She had never kissed anyone like this in public. Her neighbors could see her, the whole world could see her, but she didn’t care. Ben was kissing her again, and all she could do was breathe in each breath with him.

She nipped at his bottom lip. “I’m sure.”

“Ok. Let’s go.”

She led him through the door. As they rode the elevator, standing side by side, she wondered how much longer she’d be able to adhere to the rule she had created so many years ago.

She stopped in front of the door. If he knew she was committed maybe things would be different. “I don’t want to break the rule. I just don’t want you to think I’m leading you on this time.”

He moved the hair from the side of her neck and swept it to the other side. His lips found the curved spot above her shoulder. She didn’t think she could open the door with him kissing her like that. The fire spread through her veins and she held a moan in the back of her throat.

“I know. I promise I won’t do it again. Not until you ask me.”

“What do you mean?” The key finally slid in the lock.

He sounded serious. “When you ask me and you’re ready, whether it’s in thirty days or a hundred days, that’s when it will happen.” He laughed. “Doesn’t mean I’m not hoping it’s sooner.”

She swatted him on the chest. “Hey.”

“I’m a guy. Don’t forget that.” He closed the door behind her and walked toward the couch.

She watched as he flipped on the TV and started channel surfing.

“I’m going to change out of my suit.” This was the second time he had seen her in work attire, and she wished she were wearing a cute cocktail dress or something sexier than this.

“Ok. I’ll look for a movie.”

She left him on the couch and retreated to her bedroom. She thought through her wardrobe options. Lingerie was out—too much too fast. She didn’t want to wear jeans. She held up a pair of pajama pants and a spaghetti strap tank top. Perfect combination of sexy up top, but cute on the bottom. She marched to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Fifteen minutes later she emerged in the living room, ready to pick things up with Ben where they left off. Well, close to where they left off. The only light was from the movie on the TV. It looked like he had settled on an action film. The room flashed from high-tech explosions. She walked to the front of the couch.

“Hey.” She stared in disbelief. Ben was asleep.

She settled into the open spot on the couch. It must have been instinct, because the instant she laid next to him, he wrapped his arm around her. She smiled. All the nagging doubts she had about letting Ben back in evaporated. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of his breathing mixed with the occasional background explosion.

B
olt glanced around the room
, stretching his arms in the process. It had been awhile since he had awakened on this couch. He looked down. Skye was curled along his side, her chest rising with each breath. Looking at her, he kicked himself for falling asleep before she came back to the living room last night. He was more tired than he realized. He had been keeping busier than usual, trying to add extra flights all week and marking things off Faith’s list. Now that it was Saturday maybe he could catch up on rest.

Skye began to stir under his arm. “Hey.” She lifted her head.

“Hey, you. Sorry I fell asleep.” He moved so they could both sit up.

“I realized if those explosions couldn’t hold your attention, I didn’t have a chance. You must have been tired.”

He nodded. “Long week.”

“I’ll be right back.” Skye hopped up from the couch and padded off down the hall.

He stood to fully extend his back and legs. It was nice to sleep with Skye, but the cramped style wasn’t good for his neck. Maybe a run would help. He remembered his truck was at his condo and he’d have to walk back to the downtown trolley stop and then walk home from the mall.

Skye reappeared. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she had wrapped a sweater around her bare arms. He chuckled to himself remembering how she always bottled up in the morning.

He knew he was lucky she had accepted his apology. The way he left things with her was shitty. She didn’t deserve to be treated like the other girls he had been with. She wasn’t like them. He knew her name, he knew how she drank her coffee, he knew where she worked. It was involuntary, but everything she told him he committed to memory.

“Coffee?” She walked to the kitchen and began shuffling in the cabinets.

“Sounds good. Mind if I jump in the shower?” It was probably too soon to ask if she would join him. He wanted to slow everything down this time.

“Um…sure. There are towels under the sink.”

“Thanks.” He walked to her bedroom and took a right into the bathroom.

He turned the shower nozzle and let the water run for a minute. He knew he had changed his approach with her and none of it had been thought out. The second he saw her talking to someone else at the bar it was as if his relationship life flashed in front of him. Some other guy was going to have a chance to make her laugh, to hear her smartass answers, to watch her fidget in the morning, to make her moan at night. No, he thought. It was all wrong. He couldn’t walk away and let someone else have that chance with her when he knew it was his chance he had screwed up.

Maybe it was spending time with Faith that had changed everything. She was a sweet girl, and if anyone treated her like he had treated Skye, he would slug the guy. It was the wake-up call he needed. Riggs and Faith had been happy. They took trips together, scavenged art shops together, had brunch on Sundays, and did all those married couple things Bolt thought he would steer clear from. But after spending a week in Riggs’s house, it didn’t seem so bad. Actually, it seemed like the perfect way to live.

He turned the water to the left, making the steam rise from the nozzle. He let his head hang in the water. If he wanted something like Riggs had, he was going to have to do things the right way. That meant dating, no more sleeping around with other girls, and cooling it on the physical side of things with Skye. Well, he knew there was no way he could completely pull back on the physical relationship with her, she was hot, but he could stick to the thirty-day rule. He wondered if it would be pushing it too much to ask her if they were starting over on the thirty days or if the clock was still ticking, because by his calculations they only had one more week until they had known each other a month. It was something he had been looking forward to.

No, he’d let her steer the ship. He told her last night he would wait until she asked him, and that’s what he was going to do. Wait.

B
en had been
in the shower awhile. Skye was almost at the bottom of her cup of coffee. Last night was nice. It wasn’t what she thought would happen, but it still felt good to snuggle with him on the couch. He looked cute when he slept.

It was hard to ignore that his attitude seemed different. She was used to him jumping her the minute they passed the threshold. She tried to push back the thought that he wasn’t as attracted to her as he was before. He seemed calmer and somehow resolved. Even if she didn’t know him well, she could see the change in how he acted toward her. He was almost hesitant.

“Hey.” He walked in the kitchen, his hair still wet from the shower.

“Hey. How was the shower?” She twisted her bottom lip, wishing she were brazen enough to invite herself in. She could imagine what taking a shower with him would be like.

“Good. Hot. Thanks for letting me.” He reached behind her for a coffee mug.

“Sure. Of Course.” She took a sip and watched as he poured a cup.

“What do you think about hanging out today?” His eyebrows waggled over the mug.

Skye didn’t need to think about it. “Yes. What did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. We’re in San Diego. I’m sure we could think of something fun to do.”

“Something touristy?” She didn’t have a plan, but spending a day with Ben sounded like a good time.

“Definitely touristy. You know, I’ve never been to the zoo.”

Skye’s mouth dropped. “How is that possible?”

“Because I’m gone all the time on the weekends flying. I don’t have kids. The zoo seems like a family thing, but I’ve always wanted to see what it looks like.”

“If you haven’t been, we are absolutely going. I have a zoo pass.”

Ben laughed. “A zoo pass?”

“Yes, and I can bring a guest.” She beamed. “This is going to be awesome.”

“Alright, the zoo it is.” He sipped from his mug. “But first, can we swing by my place so I can change?” He was wearing his Friday night shirt and pants.

Skye giggled. “I think you should go just like that.”

“Funny. Do you mind giving me a ride?”

“Sure. I’ll shower and then we can go. The morning is the best time to go. We can get there before it gets too crowded.” She watched as he wandered to the window.

She wanted to shower before their day date. This could be her chance to show him she was bold. She was a take-charge kind of woman.

He looked into the courtyard. “Ok, I’ll be out here.”

Skye inhaled sharply. “Any chance you want to join me?” She forced her eyes to stare into his and not drop to the floor. Confidence was in the eyes.

Ben looked surprised. His eyes widened and for a second he didn’t make a sound. “I—uh—I just showered.”

“Right.” Skye shook her head and retreated backward. “Never mind. I’ll just be a few minutes.” She darted to her room.

She heard Ben call over her shoulder, “Skye, that’s not what I meant.”

She closed the door and threw herself on the bed. It was going to take a few minutes to regroup and muster the confidence to face him.

* * *

T
here was
a quiet hush that settled over the zoo in the morning. The animals were stirring as they were fed breakfast. The sprinklers watered flowerbeds. Skye thought it was the most beautiful time of the day at the park.

“So this is the famous San Diego Zoo?” Ben seemed to be enjoying their stroll through the lush foliage.

Skye had managed to shed most of the embarrassment from the shower incident. It was humiliating that she asked him to join her, and he turned her down flat. He didn’t seem uncomfortable though, so she tried to keep smiling and enjoying the day with him.

“This is it. What do you think?” They were near the giraffe exhibit.

“It’s pretty incredible. I can see why it’s so famous. But you know I don’t think the animals are really the focus.”

Skye turned toward him. “Really, what is it?”

“I feel like we’re walking around a garden or something and look, there happens to be a lion over there or oh hey, it’s a polar bear.”

She laughed. He was acting out the animals with his hands and mouth. His polar bear imitation was fierce.

She stopped long enough to answer. “Yes, that’s what I feel every time I come here.”

“How often are you at the zoo?”

“Honestly, I had never been here until I started working on the tourism account at work. The zoo is one of the many parts to that campaign, and it was my favorite. I started coming to do research, and it turned into almost a daily trip.”

“Wow, you really like the zoo.”

Skye blushed. She realized that might sound a little strange, but she wasn’t sure about telling him why it had become such a sanctuary for her.

“I do. I love it here. It’s peaceful.” She watched the giraffe take a mouthful of straw.

“Thanks for bringing me.” He adjusted his sunglasses on his nose.

“You’re welcome.” She smiled as he hand moved until his fingers interlaced with hers.

“Show me the pandas. I hear they are the big attraction.”

“Right this way.”

* * *

B
en pulled forward
and punched in the access code to the parking garage for his condo complex. After she took him home this morning to change, he offered to drive. They left her car in guest parking.

They had lunch at the park. Walked along the Mission Bay trails and got smoothies at a boardwalk stand. They tried to fulfill every tourist wish in an afternoon. They posed in front of the historic Balboa Park building with its famous domed roof. Ben made funny faces in the selfies, but he still looked sexy. You couldn’t hide eyes and a smile like that. Skye knew the day was winding down, but she wasn’t quite prepared for it to be over. The sun set over the city, and the temperature had dropped ten degrees. After this morning, she wasn’t about to stick her neck out again. Ben could ask her to dinner if he wanted it to keep going.

He turned the ignition off and sat staring through the windshield.

“I had fun. Thanks for thinking of the touristy day.” She reached for her purse.

“Wait.” He turned toward her, his light blue eyes dancing with questions. Maybe he was as confused as she was. “It was a good day.”

She fidgeted with her keys, knowing all along she was stalling. She wished his truck didn’t have a console. It felt like a mountain dividing them in the cab. “Yeah, it was a good day.” She reached for the handle on the door and stepped out of the truck.

Ben followed her to her parking space. “Do you want to do something later this week?”

“Sure.” Skye was ready to peel out of the parking lot. They had an amazing day from waking up together on the couch, to laughing at the penguins, to trading San Diego stories. Why was he ready for it all to end before the sun had sunk behind the ocean?

She inserted the key in the lock and opened the car door.

“Skye, before you go….”

She spun on her heels, meeting a pair of hot and urgent lips. His hands moved over her pulling and tugging her toward him. She dropped the keys and her purse, her hands wanted to touch him. Her mouth parted as his tongue danced against hers. He tasted like strawberries and she worried they might devour each other in the parking garage as he started to growl against her neck. He dotted her throat with her kisses. Her head rolled to the side. This is what she had waited for all day. His mouth, his breath, his hands. But before she could coax him into the back of her car or into the elevator he stopped.

“Whoa.” He breathed into her ear.

“What’s wrong?” She didn’t see anything in his eyes but what she was feeling, total lust.

“Nothing is wrong.” He played with her hair. “I just think we should take it slow this time.” He backed away from the car and retrieved her keys from the ground.

“Slow. Right.” She accepted the keys in her palm, but wasn’t quite sure she could do the same with his answer.

Had she somehow conveyed to him that she wasn’t interested in all the other things they did before the fight? She loved doing those things to him and with him.

“I’ll call you later.” He kissed her forehead and walked backward toward the elevator bay.

She slid into the driver’s seat. Her heart was still beating faster than normal, and her hair was tussled on all sides. She took a minute to steady herself before starting the car. Ben Hardcastle had totally turned everything upside down.

She steered onto Friars Road when an incoming call beeped through the speakers.

“Hello?” She pressed the button on the steering wheel.

“Hey, how was last night?” Kari was practically squealing. “Dave was disappointed but I took care of him. You were not kidding about Ben. Wow. I want to hear details!”

Skye thought how to answer. “Want to come over?”

“Sure! I just bought a new moscato. I can be at your place in fifteen minutes.”

“On my way. See you there.” She exited toward the Gaslamp district. If there was one thing she needed more than Ben, it was a girl’s night.