Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
IVY
Ipark in front of Xander’s house and gather my things to head inside. I’m here early, like he suggested, but only by about thirty minutes. I didn’t know for sure when I should get here, so I guessed, after overthinking it for about three hours.
I don’t even make it to the door before it opens, and the man himself stands there, a smile quirking his perfect lips, as I climb the steps to the porch.
“Good morning,” he says, taking my bag from me the way he does every day when I arrive. “You’re late.”
“No, I’m early.”
“I told you to come for breakfast.” He passes me the water tumbler that he’s deemed as mine, and it rattles with fresh ice, making my heart soften.
“It doesn’t take me longer than thirty minutes to eat,” I tell him, and he leans in to me, so close that I can smell him, and it sends electricity down my spine.
“I wanted you here earlier.”
“You weren’t specific.”
“I won’t make that mistake again.”
He winks at me and then leads me to the kitchen, where Cooper and Britney are enjoying their own meals.
“Good morning, honey,” Britney says with a smile. “I love those scrubs.”
They’re just plain green scrubs, but this woman is the queen of compliments.
“Thanks.” I slide onto a stool, and Xander takes my plate out of the oven and sets it in front of me. “You kept it warm?”
“Of course. Who wants a cold burrito?” Xander smirks and takes his own plate out of the oven too.
He waited for me.
Holy shit, this man. But he’s just a nice guy. He would do that for anyone.
Right?
“This is different from the other day,” I say after I take a bite.
“Harper’s been slacking,” Xander says, and then smirks. “Yeah, she has a new baby. Whatever, she has time to feed me.”
I bark out a laugh, and he winks at me.
“Cassie made these.”
“They’re really good, just a little different.”
“No sisterly love added in,” Britney says with a wink. “Ivy, do you mind if Mark and I work out with y’all? The gym is so big, you won’t even know we’re there.”
“I don’t mind if Xander doesn’t.”
Xander shakes his head. “Don’t mind.”
He shoves the last bite in his mouth, and once I’m finished, he clears our plates away and we move down the hall to the gym.
Xander sets my bag on the desk, and I follow to add my water.
“Oh, I forgot your hoodie,” I say with a frown.
“I told you to keep it.”
“Listen, Xander.” I blow out a breath and cross my arms over my chest. “I’m a woman.”
“Trust me, I’ve noticed, Red.”
My cheeks heat, but I keep going.
“I will never turn down the opportunity to steal a man’s hoodie. It’s in my DNA as a female. But it’s a team sweatshirt, and I don’t want you to get into trouble.”
He grins and leans against the desk, crosses his arms, and I want to lean against him.
I don’t. But I want to.
“Who am I going to get into trouble with, exactly?”
“Whoever the boss is. The one that’s in charge of your clothes.”
He reaches up and brushes the pad of his finger over my cheek, across the bridge of my nose, to the other cheek, and I can’t help but squirm from that simple contact.
“You have the most beautiful freckles I’ve ever seen.”
My brows pull together, and he drops his hand.
Wait. Don’t stop!
“I’m not going to get in trouble with anyone for much of anything, Ivy. I’m the captain of the team, and I get away with a lot. I’m not a rookie. Not to mention, I can do whatever I want with that gear. You keep it.”
“It’s a really nice one,” I reply softly. I can hear Cooper and Britney doing their thing somewhere in the gym. “Thanks. We should get started.”
He nods, and I lead him through to where the jumping boxes are.
“Double leg jumps,” I tell him. “Start with ten.”
“This is not tall enough.”
“It’s plenty tall.”
He shakes his head, and I know he’s frustrated that he’s starting with exercises that seem so easy, but I can’t let him hurt himself.
We work through our normal routine, and after about an hour, Cooper joins us and participates in the same exercises.
“Should you be going this hard?” he asks.
“That’s what she said,” I blurt out, and then I go very still because I’ve never uttered something so unprofessional at work before.
But the guys start to laugh around me, and I can’t help but join them even as my face flames with embarrassment.
“I like you,” Cooper says when he’s caught his breath. “You fit in just fine.”
“What did I miss?” Britney asks as she comes running our way. “There’s laughter. I need to know why.”
“I made a ‘That’s what she said’ joke that was not terribly appropriate.”
“Oh good, those are the best kind,” she replies with a wink.
“Okay, Xander, it’s time for wall sits.”
He’s watching me, a half smile on his face, hands on his hips. Without a word, he walks to the wall and assumes the position, sitting against it as if he’s in a chair.
This exercise sucks.
I hate it.
But Cooper walks over and joins Xander with a smile.
“This’ll make the quads burn,” he says, then catches Britney around the waist and pulls her into his lap. “Hey, sugar.”
She grins and loops her arms around his neck and kisses his cheek.
I gasp when Xander grabs my hand and tugs me into his lap, and I push against his chest.
“No way, I’m too heavy.”
“Psh, as if.”
“I’m serious, Xander, I don’t want to hurt your knee.”
He shifts my butt onto the uninjured side, pulls me close to his pelvis, and buries his face in my neck.
“Stop squirming, wildcat. I finally got my hands on you.”
My heart is hammering. I feel like a hummingbird about to have a freaking heart attack.
Do hummingbirds have heart attacks?
I don’t know, but if they do, this is what it must feel like.
“I can’t have you getting hurt.”
He has the audacity to wink at me, and I swear to God and all the apostles that I feel his cock against my hip.
His very big, very hard cock.
And from the look on his too-handsome face, he knows that I know.
Finally, I call time on the exercise, and we all climb to our feet.
My core pulses, and I’m quite sure my panties are wet, and thank God I wore the scrubs and not leggings today. My nipples are painfully hard, and I have to walk right over to the desk for my water because it’s hot in here.
Is it hot in here?
I don’t think this is Xander simply being flirty or a nice guy anymore.
And I have no idea what to do about it. Or if there’s anything to do. Because maybe I’m totally off base, and then I’ll be humiliated all over again, and just the thought of that gives me hives.
“Ivy, let’s go to that bookstore you were telling me about,” Britney says as she walks toward the door. “You and me. I need some girl time. We can get lunch, too, unless you’re busy, of course.”
I shake my head and pull my computer out of my bag to make notes.
“I’m not busy. I decided to not go to the bar this afternoon and told Ben, the daytime manager, to simply lock up if my mom doesn’t show up on time.”
“Attagirl,” Britney says, clapping her hands. “Now, you’re all mine for the rest of the day.”
“Well, I need thirty,” I tell her with a grin. “I have to write up notes and send them to the team doctor. But it won’t take me long.”
“Perf, I’ll go change.”
Britney winks, and then she’s off, and I open the laptop so I can get to work. Xander takes my water bottle, but I don’t really pay attention until he comes back with it refilled.
“Thanks. Where’s your water?”
He lifts an eyebrow. “On the kitchen counter. Don’t worry, I’m drinking plenty, wildcat.”
I smirk and dive back into work, and when I’m finished, I close the computer and put it away.
“You did well today,” I tell him as I stand. “Tomorrow, I want to test your range of motion, and depending on how that goes, we’ll add other things in.”
He shoves his hands in his pockets.
“Go to dinner with us tonight.”
I bite my lip. I want to. I really want to, so that means that I probably shouldn’t.
“I can’t. Thank you for inviting me, but I have a bunch to do at the house, and I haven’t seen Cally much in days. The poor thing is lonely. But I’ll be back here tomorrow morning.”
He blows out a breath and simply nods, and when I reach the kitchen, Britney’s already waiting for me.
“Do you wanna swing by your place to change?” Britney asks me.
“Nah, I’m used to the scrubs. Unless you don’t want to be seen with a literal scrub.”
She laughs and shakes her head. “Honey, you’re cute as can be. Besides, I’m just in leggings. We’re not doing anything fancy.”
She looks fancy, but I suspect that she would in anything she wears.
“Let’s go buy some books.”
I’m just getting out of the shower when I hear my phone ringing on the vanity. By the time I slosh my way over the bathmat and wrap a towel around me, the call goes to voicemail, but then it starts to ring again.
Xander.
With a frown, I answer.
“Are you okay?” I ask. “What’s wrong? What do you need?”
“I’m fine. Why didn’t you answer the first time?”
I frown at myself in the mirror. “I was in the shower.”
He pauses, and I swear I hear him growl before he says, “How indecent are you right now?”
“I mean, I’m in a towel, Xander. Dripping wet. I haven’t—”
“Jesus, I get it.” He takes a deep breath.
“You’re killing me. Okay, so here’s the thing.
I told Coop and Brit that you were busy, but apparently I bore the fuck out of them because they insist that you should join us tonight.
And I agree. You should. But I know you don’t want to leave Cally, so we’re bringing pizza to you. ”
My jaw drops and my eyebrows climb.
“When?” I finally manage to say.
“We’re on the porch.”
I huff out a laugh. “Okay, if you’ll give me five minutes to dry off and get dressed—”
“Really killing me here, Red. I don’t need a sexy play-by-play.”
“Give me five,” I repeat and hang up, and then I can’t help but smile to myself.
Because I think I’m making friends. And they want to hang out with me.
I don’t remember the last time that happened.
So, I rush through drying off and pull on a Flurry T-shirt and jeans. I let my hair down out of the clip, grateful that today was not hair-wash day, and shake it out. Then I move fast through my small house and open the front door.
“Hi, guys.”
“Your house is the cutest,” Britney says with a grin. “Don’t make us leave. I’m totally clingy and want to hang out with you before we have to go back to Denver.”
With a laugh, I wave them into the house. “Please don’t leave. The pizza smells good.”
Xander’s carrying the boxes, and Cooper has two bags full of other things, and they head straight for the kitchen.
Britney, however, is standing in my living room, already holding my cat and staring at my art.
Shit.
I really need to start putting those away if I’m going to have unexpected guests.
“So, you’re a genius.” She turns to pin me in a stare. “And you didn’t tell me.”
I snort and reach out to scratch Cally behind the ears. She’s eating up all this attention.
“No, I have a hobby. That’s all. I have water and Diet Coke and—”
“We brought drinks,” Brit says, waving me off. “Honey, you’re a savant. This is better than some of the art hanging in galleries in Denver.”
I shake my head. “I already like you. No need to butter me up.”
She snorts, and I smile at her.
“What the fuck are you wearing?”
Xander’s voice is hard and angry, and I turn with a frown to see his gaze pinned on me. His green eyes are narrowed, and his hands are fisted at his sides.
“Who are you talking to?”
“You, Red.” Cooper smirks next to him, but Xander ignores him. “Who’s name is on your back?”
I blink, thinking.
“Mullins. He’s been retired for twenty years. This is vintage.”
“Uh-oh,” Britney breathes, but I can’t take my eyes off the angry man in front of me.
His handsome face is mutinous. He’s good and pissed off.
“I don’t give a rat’s ass if it’s gold plated, I don’t want you wearing another man’s name on your back.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Do I look like I’m kidding, Ivy?”
I look around the room, at our friends. Britney’s hiding a smile behind Cally. Cooper isn’t hiding his smile at all.
“Um, Xander, this is just a T-shirt.”
To my utter shock, the man before me whips his own shirt over his head and holds it out to me, and I take a step back.
“What are you doing?”
“Wear mine.”
“N-no.” I laugh because this is ridiculous. “If you have a personal issue with Mullins, I’ll change my shirt—”
“I fucking hate his guts now that I know you have his shirt in your possession.”
I lift an eyebrow. “I need you to take a deep breath.”
Unable to stay away, I step closer to him and slide my hand in his, and holy goose bumps. This is the first time I’ve ever held Xander’s hand, and it feels damn good. His fingers dwarf mine, and his thumb instinctively starts to rub circles over my knuckles.
I crook my finger so he’ll dip his head down, and then I whisper-shout, “It’s just a T-shirt, you blockhead.”
Britney and Cooper both snort, and Xander’s eyes narrow. I can’t look away from those green orbs because if I do, I’ll drop my gaze to his bare torso, and then I’ll make an absolute fool of myself.
And lick him.
Or worse.
“Excuse us,” Xander says, and with my hand still firmly held in his, he leads me from the living room to my bedroom and shuts the door.
“You do know that you sound certifiable, right?”
“I don’t know why I’m being a complete idiot, I just am. I don’t want to see anyone else’s name on you. Please change.”
“You’re serious.”
His jaw firms and a muscle tics, and with a shrug, I walk over to my drawer and pull out a Hendrix T-shirt, then cross to the bathroom so I can change.
When I walk back out, he’s wearing his own shirt once again, and his whole body relaxes.
I turn around so he can see the back. “Does this work for you?”
“So, I am your favorite player.”
I bark out a laugh and reach out to take his hand again. “We need to talk about your psychotic tendencies.”
“Never had them before you started coming to my house every day, Red. Come on, let’s go eat some pizza.”