Chapter 12
twelve
. . .
Lincoln
When we arrived in New York, we made our way to the hotel. We dropped our bags off in our rooms and headed downstairs to the bar area to meet with Drew. I allowed Brinkley to sit in on this meeting.
I trusted her.
I’d always been a man who trusted my gut, and I didn’t have any concerns about her.
Aside from the fact that I couldn’t stop staring at her mouth. At her pillowy, pink lips. The way they were perfectly heart-shaped.
Nor the way her dark eyes always met mine head-on.
I tried to put some distance between us after our night at the cove. I’d allowed things to get too personal. The last thing I needed was to fall for the woman writing a story about me. Hell, if things went wrong, she could cause me a lot of grief.
I’d been down that road before.
Right now, I needed to focus on my career. Where I was going to play. Making sure I was in top shape and ready for the season to start.
A fling with Brinkley Reynolds would be a distraction I didn’t have time for. She wasn’t the type of woman that would go along with something casual, and I wasn’t the type of man who could afford to do anything more than that at the moment.
A football player’s career wasn’t the same as a traditional career. You didn’t play until you were sixty-five years old, after which you’d ride off into the sunset and retire. I’d play hard for the years that my body and mind allowed me to.
And I would not fuck that up.
Staying at the top was a lot of work. There were younger, stronger people coming up every single day. I needed to strike while the iron was hot.
Focus.
I glanced over at Brinkley as we rode down in the elevator, and my eyes traveled over her blouse before I could stop them. Her tits were fucking perfect.
I’d seen them several times in sports bras, tank tops, and in her bikini top.
Hell, I’d memorized them when I’d fucked my hand in the shower to thoughts of this woman.
I cleared my throat and forced myself to look away when the doors opened.
“Drew is your agent, and you guys are close, right?” she whispered as my hand found the small of her back.
“Yes. He’s one of my best friends. It’s his house I’m staying at in Cottonwood Cove.”
“Yes. I knew that.” She nodded as if she were taking mental notes.
“There he is. Looking strong, my man,” Drew said, pulling me into a hug and slapping me on the back. He was a few inches shorter than me, fit and lean.
“Thanks. Good to see you, brother.” I turned my attention to the woman beside me and held out a hand. “This is Brinkley Reynolds, the reporter I told you about.”
“Yes,” he said, glancing over at me with a smirk. “Nice to meet you. I’m glad he brought you with him.”
The dickhead.
“Me, too.” She smiled and extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, as well.”
“It’s slightly out of character, as he normally despises journalists.”
“You don’t say?” She oozed sarcasm. “I wish I could say that I was surprised to hear that, but seeing as he got me fired for doing my job… I think that’s a fair statement.”
Drew laughed. “He’s just a big grump sometimes when he gets hounded.
So, I’ll give you a heads-up. We have a little situation that happened in the last few hours.
Jaqueline was asked about you in an interview this morning, as her five minutes of fame have clearly dwindled.
But with your name being everywhere right now, I think she’s looking to get herself back in the spotlight.
She has that new TV series coming out, so she’s obviously out there trying to get any attention that she can. ”
My chest tightened. I could tell this wasn’t going to be good news.
“What did she say?” I asked.
“Well, she was asked by a reporter if she has any idea where you’re going to play and if you still speak to one another.”
“We don’t.” My shoulders stiffened. This was the side of this business that I despised.
“I’m aware, Linc. But she said she’s been with you while you’ve been,” he paused and held up his pointer and middle finger to make air quotes, “‘in hiding’. She acted like she knew the inside scoop and that you two had rekindled your relationship.”
“What the fuck? Why would she do that?”
“This is ridiculous,” Brinkley hissed as she crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head.
“We won’t respond, but I just wanted you to be prepared if you get hounded. You’re not in Cottonwood Cove anymore. The bloodhounds are out and rampant in this city,” Drew said before turning to Brinkley and wincing. “No offense meant.”
She chuckled. “Listen, there are two types of reporters. I don’t get offended because I don’t make up stories. I may be pushy about getting the truth out of people, but I’d never report on someone’s personal life based on gossip.”
I nodded as my eyes locked with hers.
She really was a friend of mine, wasn’t she?
She was getting all worked up about this instead of trying to spin a story for her own article.
She didn’t ask me if any of it was true. She already knew it wasn’t.
“I figured as much. This guy doesn’t trust easily, and you’re here. So that says a lot.”
She shrugged, but her lips turned up in the corners just the tiniest bit. Most people wouldn’t notice, but I noticed these things about her. Hell, I noticed a lot more than I wanted to admit.
She didn’t need to be here with me on this trip.
The truth was—I didn’t want to be away from her for the next few days.
I normally craved alone time, but since I’d started working with her, I couldn’t get enough of her.
We made our way outside to the car that Drew had waiting for us.
My agent led the way, and I had Brinkley move in front of me, my hand on her lower back once I saw the guys with cameras lined up right outside the door.
It meant that someone at the hotel had most likely made a call and tipped them off.
It was shocking what people would do for money these days.
Sell a person out without so much as a thought.
“Lincoln, are you in town to meet with Coach Balboa?” one of them shouted, and I put my head down, urging her forward.
“No comment,” I said.
“Jaqueline Barrett said you two are back together. Is she helping you decide where you’re going to play?”
“No comment,” I said again.
“Jaqueline alluded that the two of you might be moving in together.” This time, the dude shoved his camera right in my face, nearly hitting me in the forehead.
Before I could do anything, Brinkley turned and stepped in front of me.
“Back the fuck off. He said no comment,” Brinkley hissed, her teeth grinding together.
Drew chuckled, and I stared with disbelief as the driver of our SUV opened the back door for us to slip inside.
“And who do we have here?” The man aimed his camera directly at her as I blocked his view and hurried her inside the car.
“Your worst fucking nightmare,” I said with a wink. “She’s the only one I’m giving my story to. Don’t waste your time hounding me anymore. You won’t get a goddamn thing out of me.”
I slipped into the car and pulled the door closed.
“Look at you, girl,” Drew said as he turned around to look at us from the front seat.
Brinkley buckled herself in as Drew told the driver where to go.
“That was rude,” she said. “He nearly hit you in the face with the camera.”
“You didn’t need to do that.” I glanced over at her, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I liked it.
Liked seeing that side of her.
“I guess you’re right. There are a lot of bloodsuckers out there.” She shook her head, and I chuckled.
My hand grazed hers between the seat, and I didn’t pull it away.
And neither did she.
My meeting with Coach Balboa and Jeff Robles had gone exactly as planned. They’d offered me what we’d discussed, and I’d told them I was ready to make the move.
It was time.
My time playing in San Francisco had come to an end.
I couldn’t play for a man that I didn’t respect.
This felt right.
This was the coach who’d given me my first break. A man who believed in me and did whatever he needed to do to protect me.
Protect his players.
And play good football at the same time.
Plus, I’d be playing with my brothers again.
Brinkley had gone to a coffee shop near the stadium, and we’d just picked her up.
She hadn’t asked me anything about the meeting. She knew I’d share it with her when I was ready.
I’d asked them to hold off on any announcements, as I’d promised the story to a reporter, and I was a man of my word.
She’d break the story soon.
I would continue training in Cottonwood Cove until preseason started and we were expected to report for training camp.
I was grateful for this quiet time away from it all.
“Good meeting, brother. I’m happy for you,” Drew said as we pulled up at the hangar to drop him off. He was flying home because his son had a tennis match in the morning that he didn’t want to miss.
Brinkley and I would be staying in New York and meeting up with Brett and Lenny and a few other guys from the team.
I jumped out of the car and clapped him on the shoulder, just as Brinkley stepped out of the car, surprising us both.
“It was great to meet you, Drew.” She smiled and extended her hand. “I’m glad he has you looking out for him.”
“I feel the same way, boss lady. That was badass what you did earlier. Keep looking out for my boy, okay?” Drew shook her hand and wrapped his other hand around the outside of hers and nodded. “Can’t wait to read your story. It’s about time someone did this man justice.”
“Don’t get all sappy. Get home to your family. Thanks for being here,” I said, as he held his hand up and waved and walked toward the plane.
“I like him,” she said, bumping me with her shoulder.
“Yeah. He’s a good guy.” I opened the back door and guided her inside.
“We’re meeting with your friends tonight? Are you sure you’re okay with me going? I can stay at the hotel and order room service if you want some time alone,” she said.
But I didn’t. I wanted her there.
“No. It’ll be fun. You’ll love them. If they hit on you, just tell them to fuck off.” I chuckled.
She rolled her eyes and then groaned when we pulled up to the hotel and she noticed the cameramen lined up out front.
“Fuck,” I hissed as I called the hotel from my phone.
I let them know that there was an issue, and they said that they’d phoned the police and were trying to get them removed. They told me to head around the back of the hotel, so the car pulled away from the curb and made its way around the block to the door at the back of the building.
Security was there to greet us, and they hurried us inside and onto the staff elevator.
Brinkley was quiet the entire time, and I thanked the two men for the escort once we arrived at our floor and stepped off the elevator.
“You okay?” I asked as we made our way down the hallway to the two suites at the end.
“Yeah. I’m fine.” She turned around and leaned against her door. “I didn’t know how bad it was, Lincoln. I’m sorry for following you into the bathroom that day.”
Her dark eyes looked so empathetic it nearly brought me to my knees.
But now, I had thoughts of dropping to my knees and burying my face between her thighs.
Touching her.
Tasting her.
My cock swelled, straining against my zipper.
What the fuck was happening to me?
I was a man who prided himself on control.
It was time to rein it in.
“Don’t worry about it. I know you didn’t mean anything by it.” I backed away from her and slipped the key into my door. “I’ll see you in an hour.”
She held her hand up and nodded. “I’ll be ready.”
And fuck me if I didn’t want to pull her into my room.
Have my way with her.
Make her feel good.
But instead, I made my way to the bathroom and turned on the coldest shower possible.
This was step one of reining it in.
But I’d allow myself one more time to fantasize about her before I shut off all those feelings.
I’d just made a huge decision for my career.
I should be thinking about my future with the Thunderbirds, not the sexy reporter next door.