8. Amber #2
“Well I can’t use my social channels or an interview as a premise. That only works when it feeds the egos and?—”
“Like Brandon, hm?”
My face warmed and I gave him a stern look. “Brandon was different than I envisioned. He was humble and kind.”
Jeff made a mocking face and said, “Sure.”
“You’re the worst.” I smiled when I said it, but it didn’t make it less true. Huh, this bantering is fun.
“Okay, new plan. When you were hooking up with guys, what was your game?”
“I was drunk most of the time.” They were too. It was easier that way. Less sting if they said no.
“Still, you had to say or do something.” He smiled and tilted his head to the left a bit. “Did you have a one-liner or a routine or something?”
“No!” I scoffed and tried to remember what I did. “It was more like…buying shots for guys at the bar, or grabbing one by the hand and dragging them to the dance floor. It wasn’t talking.”
He laughed. “Okay, Amber. That’s definitely a move.”
“I guess.”
“Oh, it is for sure. You wearing that dress and not even speaking before taking someone to the dance floor is big-dick energy. Well done.” He gave me another appreciative grin and it took me a second for me to digest his words.
You wearing that dress.
He thinks I look good. Oh my god.
Concentrate. Investigation.
I cleared my throat and recapped to help refocus the purpose of why we were doing this.
“Groupie route is out, social channels is a no. What else is left? What do you suggest?” I moved to sit on the edge of my bed and he span the chair so he faced me—scooting closer in the process so he could reach out and touch my leg if he wanted. But why would he want that?
“I think you build up his ego. Mention how strong he is, how it’s a shame he wasn’t on the team, and see what he does. Feel him out.”
“What if…” An idea struck me. A brilliant one. I stood up and snapped my fingers. “Get this. I’m going to tell him I heard he knew a guy. I have a sister back home who needs to come here. I’ll say I’m from money and just need a number.”
Jeff’s forehead furrowed. “No.”
“Why the hell not?”
“You’re not putting yourself in danger. I won’t allow that.
” His entire demeanor changed. Gone was the laid-back, almost arrogant baseball player.
Instead, he looked ready to pounce and every muscle on his face tensed.
“If he suspects anything and reports back to my coach or your uncle, it could be bad, Amber. We really don’t know how deep or involved this goes. We need to stay under the radar.”
“I’ll use a fake name. Hold on—Laney has some extensions I could put in my hair to disguise myself more.” I yanked open my door and called to my roommate. She appeared from her bedroom and whistled.
“ Dayum, mama. It’s been a minute since you’ve shown off your figure. You look amazing. You help pick that out, Jeff?”
He grunted his response, but I didn’t lose my momentum just to chastise him for being a grumpy-ass. “Can I borrow your dark extensions?”
“Oh, for sure!” She shoved me into her room and said, “You can follow if you want, Jeff, or you can watch from the hallway. Your choice. But we are going to gossip while I put them in.”
“What kind of gossip?”
He followed us into the room. Laney pushed me onto her vanity chair and laughed. “Who is she going on a date with tonight?”
“He set me up with one of his teammates, Brandon.”
“Is he hot?”
“God, yes.”
“Are you wearing panties?”
“No. I can’t with the cut of the dress.”
Jeff dropped something hard onto the ground and we both jerked at the sudden noise. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
Laney grabbed the clips from her hair accessory drawer and parted my hair with a small comb. “You know, I’m not really into athletes. I think it’s a selfish thing. Like, I understand their dedication to a team and sport, but I’m a girl who likes a lot of attention.”
I snorted. “At least you admit it upfront.”
“It’s the only reason I haven’t asked Hilly to set me up with someone.”
“Well, I’m glad Jeff set up a date for me. I don’t mind the dedication, actually. I need my alone time and with him having baseball…it would give us space.”
Jeff’s gaze met mine in the mirror and he had an unreadable expression.
It wasn’t interest or anything, but it wasn’t bad.
It was like he was studying me. I made a silly face at him and enjoyed how his eyes softened.
“What do you think, Jeff? If you’re dating and a girl has a problem with baseball, what do you do? ”
“Uh, we wouldn’t be dating if she had a problem with baseball. It’s a huge part of my life.”
“Fair enough,” I said, enjoying the added length to my hair. It still looked like me but it was enough to not make me recognizable if Max was tipsy. “Do you have red lipstick, or something bold I could wear?”
“I love this confident Amber. Seriously, where has she been? Yes! I have blues and reds and oranges. What do you think, Jeff? What would make these full lips pop more?” She reached out and squeezed my cheeks to my lips came together in a highly unattractive angle, but Jeff laughed and the sound comforted me.
“Red is always good.”
“Boom. Here you go.” She handed me a green tube of lipstick and patted my head. “I cannot wait to hear about it, girl. I’m proud of you.”
And the guilt arrives full force. “Thanks.”
“Now apply this shit and go!”
I did and felt a stir of excitement when I stared at my reflection. I look happy. Jeff jutted his chin toward the hallway and we walked to the front door together. “Is your car here?”
“No, I’ll go get it.” But he made no move to leave. We stood facing each other, our bodies close enough to touch, and he reached out with his thumb and brushed it against my skin—right next to my mouth. He swiped up. “You had a little color there.”
“Oh, thank you.” I flushed with embarrassment, but he hadn’t removed his finger.
It remained on my face, the small amount of contact causing my legs to feel like clouds, weightless and fluffy.
Then, he added the rest of his fingers to my chin and lifted my face up while he studied every part of it.
My breath got stuck in the back of my throat at the way he was looking at me and it took all my effort to not fall to the floor when he said, “We have one flaw in our plan. You are not someone he’s going to forget. ”
Then he let go and walked outside.
The winter air hit me and thank god for that because that was the most intimate thing I had ever experienced. What the fuck?