Chapter 4
AMES
“So?” Dempsey leaned his shoulder on my treadmill and watched me with a raised eyebrow.
“What?”
He rolled his eyes. “You know what, asshole. What happened last night?”
I hit the cool down button and grabbed the towel hanging on the bar to wipe my face.
“Honestly, I have no idea. I overheard Dakota talking to the host about her blind date, and I just knew I couldn’t let her have dinner with another man.
Then she mentioned the guy was tall…” I shrugged and stepped off the treadmill. “I just sort of went on instinct.”
Dempsey folded his arms over his chest and grinned at me. “I figured it was something like that.”
“Is that why you ran interference?”
He nodded. “The guy showed up right after you were seated. Skye heard him ask about your girl and pointed him out. I pretended we were there to make sure the date went well—from afar, of course. Thankfully, Skye had overheard her name. I told him Dakota was sick and asked us to pass along the message.”
“Thank you,” I said gratefully.
I grabbed my water bottle and took a long drink, then we made our way to the locker rooms to shower and change.
“The night went well, I’m assuming?” Dempsey urged as we walked.
“Very.” A wide smile split my face. “She’s perfect. Sexy, funny, sweet, adorable, incredibly smart, and so easy to talk to. We shut the place down before I finally took her home.”
Dempsey laughed and slapped me on the back. “Doesn’t seem so crazy when it happens to you,” he ribbed.
Yeah, I deserved that.
“When are you seeing her again?”
“Tonight.” I’d been counting down the hours all day.
“And you’re going to tell her that you weren’t her date, right?”
I sighed and shot him an annoyed glare. “Yes, mother.”
Dempsey snorted. “If I were your mother, I’d be telling you to get your ring on her finger before you admit the truth. Or even knock her up first.”
“I wish I could say with one hundred percent certainty that you were wrong,” I replied, only half joking. Then the last part of his comment reminded me about the purpose of the night before. “Speaking of knocked up. I’m such an ass for ruining your plans. What were we celebrating?”
“We found out that we’re having twin boys,” Dempsey murmured, smiling ear to ear.
“Damn, congratulations.” I clapped him on the back, and we hit the showers before heading out.
I’d sent Dakota a text the night before, telling her I’d be there to pick her up at noon and to dress casually. My workout with Dempsey had been the perfect distraction since I was an early riser and had been up since six.
When I got home, I put my gym bag away and tossed a load of laundry into the washing machine, then got ready to go.
The cab ride from Midtown to West Harlem would take at least thirty minutes, but I didn’t want to be late, so I left at eleven.
It was the middle of the day on a Friday, so I didn’t expect much delay.
However, I made it there with only ten minutes to spare due to the construction on Amsterdam.
Before I could even get out of the taxi, Dakota walked outside and took my breath away.
She wore a loose, sleeveless top with the front tucked into jean shorts that showed off just enough leg that I wouldn’t demand she go inside and change.
Her wedge sandals displayed cute, pink-painted toes, and though the shoes weren’t as high as her heels from last night, they would still put her above an average-sized man.
I climbed out of the car and shut the door just as she reached me. “Hey, baby,” I greeted her, brushing a soft kiss over her lips.
“Hi,” she breathed, staring up at me with a dazed expression and pink cheeks.
“Are you ready?”
She laughed and shrugged. “As ready as I can be when I have no idea what we’re doing.”
“You’ll see,” I teased. It was a beautiful day, so we walked out to 135th and Broadway to catch the D train. The train was pretty full since school was out for the summer, so kids traveled to the many activities in the city this time of year.
We stood near the doors, holding a pole, and as the train began to move, I glanced down to see Dakota watching me with a gleam of surprise in her beautiful brown eyes.
“Something on your mind?”
Her cheeks bloomed with color again, and she looked at the ground for a second before meeting my gaze. “I guess I’m a little surprised that we’re taking public transportation to wherever we’re going. I…well, honestly, I’m impressed.”
I laughed and slipped an arm around her waist as the train took a sharp turn. “Yeah, I know a lot of people with my kind of money have private drivers or take a car service. But I grew up here, so it’s just natural to get around the way I always have.”
Dakota opened her mouth to say something, but she was cut off by a skinny, teenage boy who looked nervous and a little green.
“Are you”—he gulped hard—“Dude…are you Ames Yarrow?”
I hoped the kid wasn't about to pass out. “I am,” I replied with a smile. I was a damn good ballplayer, but they wouldn’t pay me a fuck ton of money if I didn’t bring fans to the stadiums. So I was always friendly when approached; I just hoped Dakota wouldn’t be annoyed by it.
This wasn’t uncommon, although with a city of eight million people, I certainly made my way around without being recognized a good portion of the time.
When I glanced at her, though, her eyes twinkled with amusement.
“I’m…um…Kenny. I’m your biggest fan. Well”—he laughed nervously—“I guess you hear that a lot. But seriously, you’re my idol.”
“Thanks, Kenny,” I said warmly, trying to put him at ease. “Do you like to play football?”
Kenny lit up like I’d just told him Christmas was coming early this year. “Yes! I want to be an offensive lineman, but…” He looked down at his body, then up at me again. “I need to bulk up a bit.”
That was an understatement. But I loved the kid’s enthusiasm, and while it wouldn’t be easy, he could definitely build himself up to have the physique of a lineman.
“Don’t let anyone make you settle for another position, Kenny,” I advised him.
“Keep working toward your goal. You’ll get there. I did.”
“You were skinny?” he asked, his tone hopeful.
“Like a reed,” I confirmed with a chuckle. “I was tall and had strong bones, but yeah, I was gangly. It took a couple of years of dedicated training to just get the coach to put me on the team.”
“Wow,” he said with a whoosh of air. “Can I have your autograph?” He immediately frowned and glanced at his hands before he stuck them in his pockets to search for something. “Crap. I don’t have any paper.”
“Here.” Dakota handed me a note card and pen. When I raised my brow, she giggled. “I’m still in school mode. I always have index cards with me.”
So fucking adorable. I wanted to kiss her for already seeing that the kid didn’t have anything to get my signature and being ready with it when I needed it. “Thank you,” I murmured, my expression soft. She blushed and nodded, then gestured toward Kenny.
Right. Focus. I clicked the pen and wrote a quick note, then handed the card to Kenny.
He stared at it with awe before looking up at me again with another full-wattage smile. “Thanks! You’re the best!” Then he turned around and walked away with a swagger to his steps that hadn’t been there before.
Dakota giggled, and I smiled down at her. “That poor kid was so nervous, I thought he just might throw up on you. But you were so great with him.” Her eyes were soft and her plump lips were parted, making me ache to taste her again.
“Most of the time, the fans are really great. I hope you didn’t think that was rude.”
She looked taken aback by my comment and shook her head.
“Of course not. If I saw one of my heroes, I’d hope they were half as nice about me barging in on their date as you were to Kenny.
” Her expression soured just a smidge when she added, “Now, if any women come up and try to throw themselves at you, I doubt I’ll be very understanding. ”
I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t because just the thought of another man touching her made me feel almost homicidal. So I didn’t want her to think I didn’t take her comment seriously.
“You’re pretty fucking perfect, you know that?” I said softly before giving in to my desire and giving her a quick kiss.
“Far from it,” she laughed. “But you go right ahead and keep thinking that.”
Before I could respond, she glanced out the window as we pulled into another stop and inquired, “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
“Nathan’s Hot Dogs,” I hinted with a grin.
Her brow furrowed. “Why are we taking the…wait, this is the D line.” Her face flushed with excitement, and she bounced on her toes. “We’re going to Coney Island?”
I nodded, and she clapped happily. “I love Coney Island. My dad used to take me and Charmaine every Sunday during the summer.”
“You mentioned how much you love the beach last night, and there were a few other hints, so I took a shot that you’d enjoy a date with a Nathan’s Hot Dog for lunch and an afternoon at Luna Park.”
“So far, this date is kicking last night’s ass,” she quipped, making me laugh.
“The day is just starting.”
We spent the rest of the ride talking and laughing, so it felt like almost no time had passed when we pulled into our stop.
I took her hand to help her over the gap between the train and the platform, then laced our fingers together. Once we were out of the station, we moseyed over to where there was a small Nathan’s Hot Dogs, grabbed our lunch, then found an empty table in the eating area.
When Dakota spoke again, I’d just taken a bite of my lunch and nearly choked on it at her words.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I find it hard to believe that you would agree to a blind date. I mean, you’re a famous athlete, who looks”—she waved her hand up and down my body—“like that. I highly doubt you need to resort to being set up for a date. How did Charmaine talk you into it?”
I mentally sighed. My plan had been to tell her when she was high on rides and cotton candy, which she’d also mentioned loving. Hopefully, she wouldn’t be too upset with one tiny lie of omission.
“Dakota, I have to confess something.”
“Is this like, ‘I snore so I can’t get a date,’ or ‘I’m secretly married to a goat’?”
“Somewhere close to the first one, I guess?” I answered with a snicker. Then I sobered and took her hand. “Hear me out, okay?”
She nodded.
“The minute I saw you, I knew there was something special about you and that we would be amazing together. And that was just from seeing the back of you and hearing your sexy voice. I was trying to figure out how to approach you when I overheard you telling the host about your blind date.”
“And that’s when you told me you were my date,” she continued.
I winced. “Not exactly. I never actually told you I was your date.”
She thought for a second, then laughed. “I guess you didn’t. But you still haven’t answered my question about why you agreed to it in the first place.”
“I didn’t.”
Dakota’s forehead creased as she tried to comprehend my meaning.
I took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Baby, I wasn’t your date. You assumed, and I let you because I hated the thought of you spending the evening with anyone but me.”
She watched me in silence, her expression neutral, so I had no idea what she was thinking.
“I’m sorry,” I added, realizing I hadn’t apologized yet.
“You pretended to be my date, because you wanted to be? You were that sure?”
“Yes. You were beautiful, sexy, and your rambling was adorable. I have no explanation for my behavior, other than to tell you that it just felt right. I was so drawn to you that I was nearly desperate.”
She went quiet again, her brown orbs studying my face for so long that I began to worry that she would throw her hot dog in my face and storm off.
Which was why I was blown away when she said, “Other than a moment of dishonesty, I think that’s the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
A wave of relief crashed over me, and I leaned over the table, cupped her cheeks and pulled her in so I could seal my mouth over hers. The kiss almost got out of hand, but I wasn’t about to let some paparazzi snap a picture of me with my girl in a private moment.
Reluctantly, I released her and sat back down. Her kiss-swollen lips were pink, and when her tongue darted out to lick them, I groaned and refocused on my lunch.
“Eat, baby,” I growled. “We need to go before I decide to eat you for lunch instead.”
Dakota gasped, but I didn’t look at her for fear that it would break my resolve.
After a few minutes, when it was clear that we’d both lost our appetites, we threw everything in the trash and walked toward the theme park hand in hand.
For the next six hours, we laughed, played arcade games, went on rides, stuffed ourselves with junk food, and had more fun than I could ever remember in my life.
By the time we called it quits, we were both exhausted. Dakota even fell asleep on my shoulder during the train ride back. When we arrived at 135th, she tried to convince me I didn’t need to walk her all the way back to her parents’ place.
“Bullshit,” I scoffed. “I’m not ending a date by letting my woman walk home, by herself, at night. Now get your sexy ass moving, baby.”
Dakota’s face flushed, and she gave me a sweet smile. “Okay.”
With every step we took closer to saying goodbye, I felt more frustrated. I wasn’t ready for the night to end. The next time we went out, I wasn’t convinced I’d be able to let her go.