Chapter 16 Jace #2
“How much do you trust me?” She was grinning from ear to ear.
“One hundred percent.”
“Then follow me.”
Her excitement was contagious. She’d been spot-on about New York having a wealth of options for breakfast. The problem was that everyone else seemed to know that too. The first two joints we tried were at full capacity. The third and fourth had a long waiting line.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting this,” Brooke said with frustration.
“Babe, I really don’t care what we do. All I want is to spend time with you.”
“Let’s make a deal. Just grab whatever on the street, and then we can go buy Milo’s gift.”
“Okay.”
We ended up eating hot dogs, but I honestly didn’t mind.
Brooke chatted the entire time, telling me about her life as an intern here, how it compared to her stint in Washington, and then in LA.
I liked learning about this side of her.
I admired her for having the balls to do things her way and take chances.
Midway through our stroll, she called Coach, giving me an apologetic smile.
“I promised I’d check in with him.”
Since we were walking next to each other, I heard everything she said, and couldn’t hide my smile as she gently asked him if he’d gone to his doctor’s appointment yesterday.
Coach usually didn’t like anyone getting into his business, but I suspected he was different when it came to his daughters. Then again, who could resist Brooke?
The store where she brought me was one of those I’d found on Google but then couldn’t locate on the map. It was a hole in the wall, but a gold mine. It had everything I was looking for.
I usually went alone on my shopping trips for Milo. I’d always liked keeping family things separate from everything else, but I was glad Brooke was with me today, and that she was having fun with me. I loved that she enjoyed the things in my life that I valued, instead of scoffing at them.
Lately, I’d been surrounded by people who were only interested in fame or money, but even before that, I’d never felt so complete around someone the way I did when I was with Brooke.
“What were you going to do today before I asked you out?”
“Shopping.”
“Let’s do that too.”
“We’re shopping for Milo.”
“I want to buy you something.”
She shook her head. “Trust me, you do not want to see me with shopping mode switched on. Once I start, I can’t stop.”
She wasn’t asking for anything for herself, but that just made me want to buy her everything.
The one thing I discovered about myself while we were choosing items for Milo? I was incapable of telling Brooke no. She was well on her way to convincing me to buy him the entire store.
“I’ll take the shirt and the hat,” I told the cashier.
“What do you think you’re doing? We’re not nearly done shopping.”
“Yes, we are.”
“But he’ll love this. You told me about his collection of cards. It will fit right in.”
She remembered that about Milo? How?
“I know it will, but Lori will berate me until the end of time for getting him so many things.”
Brooke held up the card deck, looking at me with puppy eyes. “No, she won’t. She just had a baby. Anyway, blame it on me. Say I talked you into it. Look, it’s even on sale.”
I bought it, of course. Somewhere between watching Brooke champion my nephew’s cause and thinking about Milo’s reaction (and ignoring Lori’s), my defenses collapsed in a pile of ash.
“Can’t believe you talked me into buying all this,” I said once we returned to the hotel. We went straight to her room.
“Can’t believe I had set out some very clear rules, and you made me stomp all over them.”
“I made you, huh? So you had nothing to do with it?”
Brooke was with her back to me, sorting through her luggage when I snuck up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist. Resting my nose in the crook of her neck, I had the strangest thought.
I didn’t want to go back. I knew I had a tough game ahead of me next week, but for the first time, I wanted to blow it off.
I moved one hand from her waist upward, cupping a breast. She wasn’t wearing a bra, and I took full advantage of it, flicking her nipple with my thumb until it turned into a hard nub.
I moved my other hand downward.
“Jace!” She gasped when I pressed two fingers over her clit. Even through all the layers of clothing, she felt enough friction to respond.
She gripped my wrist, and I stopped.
Pulling out of my arms, she turned to face me. “We should talk.”
“I know. I’d say I’m sorry for breaking my promise of waiting, but I’m really not.”
She threw her head back, laughing. “I wasn’t expecting you to be. I would lay out a new agreement, but I have a feeling that you’d just make me break that too.”
With a low groan, I snaked an arm around her waist, pulling her close.
“No matter what happens, we’re friends, Brooke. Let’s just take this one day at a time. Let’s start by being friends who are having fun. Do what feels right, when it feels right. You put too much pressure on yourself.”
“I know. You’re right.”
She nodded, melting against me as I kissed her.
My teammates were still heatedly discussing the game they’d watched when we boarded the plane. Brooke was sitting alone again, and it crossed my mind more than once to just sit next to her, but I didn’t think I could be that close to her and not give us away.
So I remained in my seat next to Andrew, trying not to be too obvious in checking out Brooke when she got up from her seat to take her laptop out of the overhead bin.
“Dude, did you score last night?” he asked.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Brooke wince.
“What are you talking about?”
“Knocked at your door this morning to go for a run, but you didn’t answer. Figured you didn’t sleep there.”
“Then I was out running already.”
“Yeah, right.”
I cocked a brow at Andrew, who immediately dropped the topic.
Brooke had already slipped into her seat, and I couldn’t see her face, couldn’t tell what was going through her mind.
I wanted to put her at ease. Did she really think that if something happened, she’d have to fend for herself?
Even if it meant I’d make life harder for myself at the club, I’d fight for her.