Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24
ESME
Jake and I spent most of the weekend together. There were things I still needed to learn about him, but we’d made a good start. I’d even tagged along with him to the grocery store on Sunday before finally dropping him off at home.
I’d looked around his place while I’d been there and seen nothing that reminded me of the happy little I’d seen playing with his friends on Saturday night. His place was filled with pictures and trinkets of various travels, yet there wasn’t a space like Larson had anywhere in his house.
On my way home, I’d detoured to the store and walked around for over an hour until I'd found something screaming Jake’s name. I’d needed to purchase a bag and tissue paper as well, seeing as I didn’t have anything to use as gift wrap at my place. After it was wrapped, I’d had to convince myself not to immediately go to Jake's to drop it off.
Once Monday morning dawned, I‘d been ready to go and headed to the arena as soon as the hour was decent, excited to share with Jake what I'd gotten him. Unfortunately, I'd been accosted by Easton before I'd ever made it to my office and it was nearly eleven before he left with a binder of information on college players we’d compiled throughout the morning.
All I wanted to do was go see Jake to give him a kiss and the gift I’d purchased. It hadn’t even been eighteen hours since I'd seen him, yet my body swore it had been a lifetime. I didn’t question it as I stepped out of my office and around the corner with the bag in hand to knock on the doorframe of Jake's office.
He looked up, and the crease in his brow softened when he saw me. He even managed to turn his tense frown into an easy smile. “Hey. Come on in. I was just going over these stupid reports from incidents over the weekend. Why didn’t someone tell me I was going to have to deal with this shit before I took this job?” He was smiling enough I knew he wasn’t really upset, simply venting.
Stepping closer, I couldn’t help but joke. “Better you than me.”
Jake grinned, the bruise on his cheek purple and starting to fade to a sickly yellow color around the edges. It still looked painful, but the swelling had gone down substantially over the last twenty-four hours.
He spotted the bag in my hand and curiosity sparked in his gaze. “What's that?”
“I bought you something.”
I closed the distance between us and dangled the bag in front of him. Emotions flitted across his face. Trepidation was at the surface, but there was a flash of excitement that quickly won out. He bit his lower lip and took the bag from me with a smile. “What is it?”
I lifted a shoulder. “Just a little something that screamed your name.”
He looked at the bag, then up at me a few times before he pulled the tissue paper free. His eyebrows drew together as he pulled out the wooden box the toy had come in, and he took his time studying the picture on it before a smile broke across his face. “This is so cool!” All the stress he'd been carrying when I’d walked in melted from his body when he figured out what I’d given him.
Honestly, I’d wanted to play with the magnetic dinosaurs when I’d seen them at the store, so I’d thought it would be a good bet Jake would love them. All the mix-and-match body parts meant the dinosaur combinations he could make were endless.
A head popped around his doorway and it was followed by a man close to Jake’s age with brown eyes and a big smile who nearly bounced into our space. Jake’s confusion mirrored my own as the man clapped his hands. I knew I’d never met the guy. In black jeans I wasn’t sure how he’d gotten up his legs, a pink crop top exposing the piercing in his belly button, and neon orange and yellow fingernails, he wasn’t someone I would have forgotten. He was carrying a large bag with him, and I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d just met the modern-day version of Mary Poppins meets Franck from Father of the Bride .
My mind got stuck on some weird combination of “A Spoonful of Sugar” and the party pooper song. It made zero sense, even to my brain, and I was just about to scream at the absurdity of the lyrics swimming in my head when the man spoke.
“You two must be the new guys! I’ve heard so much about you… both of you! I’m Tory. I work at the salon next door. Actually, I own it, but that doesn’t really matter, I guess. I come over to cut hair when I have time and the guys—okay, mostly the coaches, because they always forget there is life outside of work—need it. Every time I’ve been here lately, you two are gone! I was starting to think you guys didn’t exist.”
Jake’s blank expression matched my own, and my only solace at the moment was knowing we were each as confused as the other. Tory’s eyes fell on the box Jake had pulled out of the bag and they widened considerably. “Those are so damn adorable!” He did a little bounce thing as he approached Jake’s desk. I watched Jake tense slightly at the intrusion and I stepped toward him. I wanted to be close to him if… Well, I had no idea why I’d need to be close to him. He was the one with a taser and a service weapon. I was a sitting duck.
Tory didn’t notice Jake’s discomfort. “Has Trevor seen those? He’d love them! Honestly, probably half the team would love them! Where did you get them? I bet my niece would love them too. She loves anything that makes noise, though, so dinosaurs are right up there on the list.”
Easton came around the corner before either of us could figure out what to make of Tory’s ramblings, much less how to respond. I’d never been so happy to see him before. He took one look at Tory, Jake, and me and shook his head. “Tory. Whoa. How much coffee have you had today?”
“What time is it?” Tory asked, as though the time made a difference in how much coffee he’d drunk.
“About eleven twenty,” Easton answered dryly, amusement playing at the corners of his lips.
Tory looked to the ceiling, held up some fingers, then took a few away, then looked back at Easton. “Does it count if I had it before midnight?”
The fact he’d asked as seriously as he had alarmed me.
Easton groaned. “Baby still not sleeping?”
When Tory rolled his eyes, I noticed how bloodshot they were and felt bad for the man. He was sleep-deprived and on a caffeine high.
“Come on, Tory. Haircuts can wait. Let’s get some actual food in you and you can nap instead of cut hair.”
Tory looked over at Easton as though he’d just hung the moon. “Seriously?”
Easton nodded, took Tory by the shoulders, and directed him toward the hallway. He turned his head to face us as he walked. “Sorry about all this. He’s normally excitable, just not usually this hyper. He’s raising his nieces and the baby is teething. He hasn’t slept well in months.”
Both Jake and I winced as we waved them goodbye. I turned back to Jake, who looked shell-shocked. “That was a memorable meeting.”
He nodded slowly. “Poor guy. Sounds miserable. Just another reason in the list of why I’m not having kids.”
“They’ve never been high on my list of wants. That caffeine-fueled meltdown just solidifies it.” I pointed to the box, trying to get us away from the awkward few minutes with the sleep-deprived hair stylist. “Do you have those?”
Jake’s skin heated at the question and he dipped his head as he responded. “No.” He didn’t raise his chin, but he did flick his eyes upward and I saw a smile curling his lips. “They’re neat.”
His words had a smile spreading on my face. I leaned forward and pressed a kiss on his lips. Fuck . They felt amazing, like coming home after a long, hard road trip. He was too stunned to react for a moment, but then I felt him relax into my touch and his body move toward me. With a little hum and a wiggle, he was flush against me until I remembered where we were and regretfully pulled back.
“Maybe we can continue this later?”
Jake looked around, his eyes showing shock at our surroundings, and he blushed again. “Yeah. Later. Like after work?”
I lifted a shoulder. “Maybe at lunch?”
His eyebrows shot upward in surprise, but he nodded quickly. “Sounds like a plan.”
Stepping back, I gave him a wink and headed toward the door, already planning my day around our lunch.