Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
T essa
I spent all day yesterday shopping. My ankle is tender but feels much better.
I couldn’t sit in my house a minute longer.
Not when it’s surrounded by Landon. I can still smell him.
Is that normal? I think not. I Febreezed my couch, but it didn’t work.
Maybe it’s not in the fabric, and it’s just me.
I remember his scent. I remember him. All of him.
He was obviously turned on, and I get it—he’s a man, he had a woman lying on him.
I don’t blame him. Well, in a way, I do.
He wasn’t the only one worked up. However, neither one of us acted on that attraction that pulsed between us.
I ruined that.
It had to be that way. We’re better off not crossing that bridge. Hell, I don’t want to go near it. After all, I am afraid of heights.
“Good morning.” Autumn’s chipper voice greets me. “How was your weekend?”
“Good. Nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Oh, really? How about we try that again, little miss too quick to blow me off? How was your weekend?”
I exhale loudly and then blurt it out. “Landon came over for dinner.”
“Landon, huh?” She grins. “What prompted the lucky player to come over for a visit?”
“He asked me to dinner, I told him I already had dinner made, and he said he would be over in an hour. He showed up. We ate.”
“Uh-huh. What else did you do?”
“Nothing. Watched a couple of movies and then he went home.”
“Tess,” she says, her tone warning.
“Autumn,” I fire back.
“Spill it.”
“Fine. We might have cuddled a little on the couch before falling asleep. Nothing happened. I told him I want more. I’m not looking for any kind of benefits that don’t come with a relationship.
That’s just not me. He didn’t confirm or deny that he’s not willing to give it to me.
We watched another movie on separate ends of the couch and then he went home. ”
“Goodnight kiss?”
“Does a hug and a kiss to my temple count?”
She nods vigorously. “That definitely counts.”
Yeah, I agree with her. They both count, but I don’t know how I feel about that. I’m already missing him, and that’s bad, so terribly bad. Landon Barker is a heartbreaker, and I need to remember that. He’s never been serious with anyone. Why would that change with me?
“Enough about me. What’s on the agenda for today?” I ask, getting back into work mode. I need to push my impromptu weekend with the sexy quarterback out of my mind.
“We have a full line-up of volunteers today, so I’m thinking a deep scrub of the cages and kennels while we have the help.”
“Sounds good to me. I’m going to go out and start working on Buckwheat’s stall.”
“I’ll send help when it arrives.” She waves as I push open the door and walk outside into the warm California sun.
I’m just getting Buckwheat turned loose in the round pen so that I can muck his stall, when my phone vibrates in my pocket. Pulling it out, I see Number 18 and don’t even read the message before swiping the screen. I’m that eager to hear from him. I refuse to think about what that means.
Number 18: Morning, Freckles. Need my help today?
Me: Nope. We have a full roster of volunteers today.
Number 18: Maybe I should stop by just to make sure.
Me: Why? You don’t trust me now?
Number 18: What? I can’t stop to check on you?
Me: You don’t need to check on me.
Number 18: Practice is getting ready to start. I’ll text you later, if I don’t stop by.
His message is followed by another with a winking emoji.
It fits him perfectly. Sliding my phone back into my pocket, I get to work on Buckwheat’s stall.
Instead of clearing my mind, his messages bring him to the surface, and all I can think about is Saturday and what it all means.
Does he really want me to give in to him so bad that he’s willing to play nice and hang out at my place on Saturday night?
He’s the freaking starting quarterback for the Los Angeles Cougars.
He could have had his pick of women for the night and a guaranteed happy ending to the evening. What’s his game?
“Tessa,” Autumn calls out to me. I stop and turn to face her. There’s a man with her, a very handsome man. “This is Tony. He’s volunteering today. I’m putting him with you.”
“Hi.” I hold my hand out to him. “I’m Tessa.”
“Tony.” He nods toward Autumn. “But you already know that.” He laughs and claps his hands together. His very large hands.
I take a minute to take him in. He’s tall.
If I had to guess, about six feet, so shorter than Landon.
He has blond hair and dark brown eyes. He’s Landon’s complete opposite, but still sexy in his own surfer kind of way.
Gah! I need to stop comparing him to Landon.
Maybe Tony is the exact distraction I need today.
“Where do you want me?” He smiles and runs his fingers through his curly blond locks.
“Grab a pitchfork. You can help me with the stall.” I point to the wall where two more pitchforks are hanging.
“How about I take this one?” He tugs the pitchfork from my hand. “You can start on what you need to do next.”
“All right, I’ll be outside if you need me. Once this is done, we need to spray it out, and then I can bring him back in.”
“Him?” He raises his eyebrows.
“Oh.” I laugh. “Buckwheat the horse.” I point over my shoulder toward the outside round pen.
“Got ya. I’ll come find you when I’m ready.”
“Thanks, Tony.”
“Anytime.” He winks.
I make my way outside and busy myself with brushing Buckwheat. It’s not really a necessity, but it’s a luxury he doesn’t get often, as we’re usually short on staff. I’m going to take some time today to pamper him, just like his previous owner would if she were able to still care for him.
About fifteen minutes later, Tony appears beside me. His shirt is off and tucked into his back pocket, and his chest is glistening with sweat. I make a mental note to thank Autumn for giving me the hottie for the day. “What’s next, boss?” he asks.
I can’t hide my amusement. “Well, we can leave this guy outside a little longer and let him enjoy the sunshine. Let’s go see what the others are working on.”
“Sounds good,” he says, falling in step beside me. “You worked here long?” he asks.
“A little over two years.”
“Cool.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, what brings you in to volunteer today?”
“Do you want the honest answer or the one I practiced?” He grins.
“Honest. Always honest.”
He shrugs. “I was hoping to get to meet Jeremy Baldwin. I’m a huge soccer fan.”
“You do know Jeremy is a coach for the Cougars now, right?”
“Yeah, but I also know his wife runs the place, so I was hoping to run into him.”
“Huh. Well, he’s at practice today. Sometimes he drops in after. I guess you’re just going to have to stick around to find out.”
“Now that I’m here, I might have another motive.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?” I ask, not bothering to turn to look at him.
“A date.”
I stop and turn to face him. “A date?”
He nods. “I didn’t expect my boss or mentor or advisor or whatever I’m supposed to call you, would be hot. Maybe I can get a date and an autograph.”
I throw my head back and laugh. “Come on, Casanova, let’s see what’s next.
” I don’t bother to reply. He’s not my type, and I’m hoping he drops it.
That’s all I need is to add another man into my life to drive me insane.
How is it that my dating life has been null and void the last few months and now, all of a sudden, I’m the popular girl?
I tell Tony to wait for me in the lobby while I go in search of Autumn. I find her in our office. “Hey, we’re done with the barn. Where should we go next? Cats or dogs?”
“Dogs. I have the two teenage girls in with the cats. Not to mention, the dogs are more work. You can use his muscles.”
“He told me he was volunteering with the hopes of meeting Jeremy.” I leave out the part about the date. No need to get that seed planted in her head.
“Aw, I’ll text him and have him stop by after practice.” Her fingers are already flying across her screen. “They have an early day today, so it should be around lunchtime.”
“Great. We’re going to get started.” My stomach does a little flip at the thought that I could see Landon soon, but then I remember I told him I didn’t need any help. Damn man has got me all over the place with my emotions.
“Okay, looks like you and I are going to tackle the dog room, as we call it. We have kennels to clean, so we’ll start taking the dogs to the outdoor kennel so we can hose it all down.”
“I’m your man.” He winks.
He reminds me a little of Landon, but he’s most definitely not him. He’s too short, his hair way too light, and his eyes aren’t the ocean blue I’ve become accustomed to. He’s confident, though; I’ll give him that.
Two by two, we move the dogs to the outdoor kennel.
I don’t rush the process as we play with them and give them treats.
This is yet another luxury we don’t always have.
An hour later, we’re in the dog room, and Tony is spraying everything down with the water hose while I start behind him with a brush on a long stick and a bucket of soapy water.
“Let me do that,” he says, trying to hand me the hose.
“I’m good. This is something I do on a regular basis.”
“Exactly why you should let me do it.” He tries to take the broom, and I move quickly out of his reach, but lose my footing.
He reaches out to catch me, and we both end up falling to the floor.
He lands on top of me, but is quick to lift himself, holding his weight on his arms as he stares down at me as the soapy water seeps into my clothes.
“Oops.” He grins, and I can’t help but smile back at him.
“What’s going on here?” a deep, booming voice asks.
I know that voice.
I push up, and Tony takes his sweet time, removing his body from where he was suspended over the top of me. I start to climb to my feet only to slip again on the wet floor. Tony is there to catch me this time, and his strong arms lift me to my feet and make sure I’m steady before he lets go.
“Tessa?” Landon asks.
“Hey, we were just cleaning, and the buckets spilled, and well… you see the outcome.” I laugh nervously.
Why am I nervous? Oh, yeah, because Landon and his baby blues are assessing me, and I know this looks bad.
Even though I’ve done nothing wrong and he has no claim to me, I still feel a little guilty.
Landon’s eyes go to Tony’s hand that’s still holding on to my arm. “You can let go,” he tells him.
“Holy shit. You’re… you’re Landon Barker,” Tony says, his hand still holding my arm.
Landon nods. “I am.” His voice is not his friendly banter that I’m used to.
“Dude, I was hoping to meet Jeremy. I never dreamed I’d get to meet a Cougar, let alone Landon Barker. Can I have your autograph?” he asks, sounding like an excited little boy that I think lives inside all men.
“Sure, as soon as you get your hand off my girl.” Landon’s eyes are laser-focused as he stares Tony down.
“Landon,” I start, but he ignores me.
“Shit,” Tony mumbles. “I didn’t know she was yours.” He turns his accusing eyes to mine. “You didn’t tell me when I mentioned a date that you were with Landon freaking Barker.” He drops his hand as if he’s been burned.
“I’m not with him.”
Landon nods now that Tony’s no longer touching me. “Let’s go find something I can write on.” He turns on his heel and disappears from the room.
He’s pissed, but now, so am I. How dare he come in here, telling the volunteers I’m his girl?
I’m not his girl. I’m not his anything. We’re acquaintances at best. Okay, maybe a little more than that, but I’m not his.
I’m mine, and he has no right to come in here demanding things of anyone.
I’m fuming mad. I want to march out there and tell him to leave, but I don’t.
Instead, I put my anger into cleaning up the mess Tony and I made, wet clothes and all.
I’m on a mission, and it takes me no time to get the cages cleaned and the room sparkling.
I put away the cleaning supplies and head to my office to grab a change of clothes.
Autumn and I both keep spare clothes here because things like this happen when you work at an animal shelter.
It’s not the first time. Although usually, it’s a rambunctious animal, not two grown men acting like toddlers.
Closing the office door, I strip out of my wet clothes. I slide into my clean, dry shorts and am just getting ready to pull my new shirt over my head when the door opens. I glance up, expecting to see Autumn, but it’s not her. It’s Landon.
“Shit.” I rush to hold the shirt to my chest.
His eyes are heated as they rake over my body. “Tess.”
“Turn around, Landon!” I screech. He does as I ask, and I pull my shirt over my head as fast as I can.