Chapter 9 Cupid Cam #2
Phoenix was right. He loved them all, taking great enjoyment in her every squeal, curse, and threat to his manhood. During the course of the morning and afternoon, she lost track of both the time and how often she laughed, knowing only that her sides ached every time she did.
Armed with the last bite of her ice cream cone and the stuffed unicorn she’d won at the balloon dart game, Addie glanced up and was surprised to see the sun setting on the horizon. “I can’t believe we’ve spent all day riding rides, eating, and playing games.”
Phoenix gently pulled her into his side. “Great way to spend our first official Date Day?”
Date. Shit.
Did she seriously enjoy a first date? One that lasted an entire day without a single thought of losing Phoenix in the crowd or claiming food poisoning with the hope of cutting it short?
Addie cleared her suddenly dry throat. “I’ve definitely had worse.”
“And it’s far from over.” He glanced at his watch and cursed. “But we need to move so we don’t miss the start of Wave Two.”
“What’s Wave Two?”
He wagged his eyebrows teasingly. “If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise. But there’s one thing we need to do before we head out.”
“Get more deep-fried Oreos?” Addie hoped.
He guided her to a gentle stop in front of the carousel. “It doesn’t feel right not to jump on your favorite ride.”
Her eyes widened and she shook her head. “No, no. I told you. It’s fine. It’s not like I can’t come back anytime and ride it.”
“Which pony is your favorite?” Phoenix was already heading to the entrance.
Addie hustled, hot on his heels as he greeted the attendant and circled the platform. “Phoenix, seriously. I’m fine without riding the carousel. Let’s move on to Wave Two. Didn’t you say something about being late?”
“A few rotations won’t make a difference.” He jumped on the platform and scanned the ponies, his gaze landing on one that looked a lot like the stuffed unicorn in her arms … and her slippers at home.
Its mane flowed with shades of pinks, purples, and blues, both its harness and saddle sparkling with faux diamonds.
He turned toward her knowingly, a grin plastered on his face. “It’s this one, isn’t it?”
“How did you—”
“Just an educated guess.” He tugged her closer. “Are you climbing up into that seat on your own or do you need a boost?”
“I get on the back of your bike just fine.” Short all her life, she’d learned to improvise.
“Yeah. With the help of the curb. This baby is in the up position.”
Shit. It was.
She eyed the height suspiciously. “Maybe we can sit in one of those stationary seats.”
“If my girl wants to ride the unicorn, she’ll ride the unicorn.
” He eased her in front of him, his broad chest brushing her back as his hands settled low on her hips.
Addie’s breath stalled as his lips faintly touched the outer shell of her ear.
“But this will probably go smoother if you stick that gorgeous foot of yours in the stirrup.”
“Right. Yeah. Sorry.” Thankful to be facing away from him so he didn’t see her reddened face—or sense her inappropriate thoughts—she used his body for leverage as she slid her foot in the hold and grabbed the pole.
Phoenix’s hands slid from her hips to her ass, his wide palms bracing both cheeks as she hoisted herself up.
Embarrassment and something else she couldn’t pin down flushed her cheeks more than they already were. “Sorry for sticking my ass in your face.”
“That’s definitely not something you need to apologize about, babe.” Phoenix waited until she was safely situated in her saddle before he easily climbed onto the horse next to her.
The ride lurched forward, and Addie smiled, tilting her face into the cool breeze. Two revolutions later, a soft groan turned her attention to Phoenix.
Face devoid of all color, he held the glittery gold pole in a white-knuckled grip.
“Are you okay?” Addie watched, concerned.
He nodded faintly, eyes tightly closed. With each rotation, his face lost more color, sweat dotting his forehead. The second the ride stopped, he was off the horse and through the exit, a man on a mission as he veered to the bushes.
Addie caught up to him moments after he’d purged everything he’d consumed throughout the day. She laid her hand on his damp back and rubbed small, soothing circles. “Take deep breaths when you can. In for three, out for four.”
He followed her directions with an occasional gag but eventually worked some color back into his cheeks.
Addie passed him a napkin from her pocket and he took it, shooting her an embarrassed look. “How many cool points did I just lose with that little show?”
“None. We’ve all been there,” Addie said truthfully with a grin. She brushed a strand of hair by his eye that had escaped from his baseball cap. “School field trip repeat?”
He grimaced. “Except back then, there was a lot more in my stomach to purge.”
Phoenix
So fucking suave. That was Phoenix Cross. Share the finest carnival foods with a gorgeous woman, and then spew them all into a fucking bush like a drunk frat boy during pledge week.
But damn, the smile on her face when she sat atop that carousel horse? Breathtaking, and totally worth the humiliation.
An hour—and a quick bodega side trip for some travel mouthwash—later, they climbed the 161st Street subway station stairs and walked toward Yankee Stadium with thousands of other baseball fans.
“You okay with Wave Two?” Phoenix snuck a quick glance to Addie.
“I should probably give you time to change your mind.” Addie threw him a teasing smile, green eyes glimmering like jewels from the overhead stadium lights.
“It’ll be a little embarrassing standing next to you while you’re wearing all that, but I’ll manage.” He scanned her head-to-toe Yankees gear, pausing on the fucking adorable braids. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and there won’t be any picture-taking paparazzi.”
“I wasn’t talking about my love for the best New York team.”
“No? Then what were you talking about?” Phoenix held up his phone and let the attendant scan their tickets.
“After the first pitch, I don’t usually sit in my seat very much. I can get a little excited during games.”
“Then we’ll be excited together, because I don’t do much sitting, either.”
Addie had clearly understated her warning, something Phoenix realized two hours later, when she jumped to her feet in the middle of the fifth inning after the umpire called a third strike.
“What the hell was that, ump?” Addie cupped her hands around her delectable mouth and shouted, nearly dropping her slice of pizza. “Do you need me to draw you a picture of what a ball looks like?”
Addie and Phoenix’s seat neighbors chimed in, a few loudly voicing their firm agreements along with high-fives.
A nearby couple wearing Mets hats shot Phoenix a look, and he shrugged, smirking. “What can I say? She’s gorgeous and opinionated.”
The teams traded positions for the start of the sixth inning.
“Excited, huh?” Phoenix teased.
A beautiful pink flush rose high on her cheeks.
“I did warn you. It’s on you if you didn’t take it seriously.” Addie brought her pizza to her lips, and keeping it level, nibbled the corner tip. “Yum. This is good.”
Phoenix watched in unabashed horror. “What are you doing?”
Chewing, she shot him a curious look. “Eating this very overpriced pizza? Was I not supposed to? Did you just give it to me to hold?”
“Yeah, eat it the right way.” At her confusion, he folded it lengthwise, and ripped off a large piece with his teeth. “Right way.”
“You took a bite just like me.” Addie still looked confused.
“Uh, no. Definitely not like you. I ate it like a New Yorker. You took a bite like someone from upstate,” Phoenix added coyly. “How did I miss this with the Soprano’s?”
Truth was, he’d probably been too busy ogling her in the sexy bedsheet to critique her pizza-eating skills.
“I had a plate, table, and plenty of napkins. I didn’t need to be all that careful. Now, I do,” Addie admitted.
“Overlooking you rooting for the wrong team is one thing, but I’m not sure I can overlook this pizza-eating tragedy. It’s criminal … and a much more serious offense than wearing the wrong T-shirt. How have you not been run out of New York yet?”
Addie chuckled, the sound ending on a fucking adorable snort. “Is this the end of our whirlwind romance?”
“I’ll have to give it some serious thought.”
They stared at each other, both grinning like fools when the people around them hooped and hollered. The guy behind him—on his fifth or sixth beer—slammed his hand down on Phoenix’s shoulder repeatedly before whipping out an arm and pointing to the jumbo screen.
Zoomed in and dead center of a cartoon frame decorated with dancing hearts and a half-naked Cupid, was a live video- stream image of Phoenix and Addie.
The Cupid Cam.
Addie spun around as she searched for the camera angle. “Nope. No, no. Go to the next person.”
Phoenix chuckled and earned himself a hard glare.
“You can’t seriously find this funny!” She turned back toward the camera and waved her hands in a shoo gesture, groaning when the cameraman zoomed even closer. “This is archaic and not to mention, not happening.”
A low chant started somewhere in the stadium and slowly gained momentum. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss.
“Can you really deny the people what they want?” Phoenix teased.
“Yes. Yes, I absolutely can.”
Phoenix turned toward the camera with a shrug and a smile. Loud, echoing boos filled the stadium, and an older woman—somewhere in her eighties—shouted, “I’ll take her place, handsome!”
“Oh, for crying out loud.” Addie sighed, and cheers erupted.
Phoenix glanced toward the petite redhead just as someone freed him of his pizza. “What are you—?”
Addie bunched the front of his T-shirt in her hand and dragged him closer until the tips of their shoes bumped. This close, her green eyes glittered like emeralds as she peered up at him, her pink lips barely parted and less than an inch away.
He stared so long at her mouth it took him a moment to realize she’d said something. “What?”
“Sparkles?” Uncertainty shifted over his face as she waited for him to register her words.
And then they clobbered him up the back of his head. “Oh, sparkles. Uh … fuck yeah.”
“Then kiss me, rock star.” A gentle tug and their lips met to a chorus of screams and cheers.
Phoenix’s lips zinged on contact, and after restarting his heart, he looped an arm around her lower back and dragged her even closer.
He tilted her face up and playfully brushed the tip of his tongue against her lips, silently asking for permission to enter.
She gifted it immediately, the kiss instantly shifting from sweet, slow seduction to an all-consuming devouring.
Their surroundings fell away, leaving only the two of them, and Addie’s fingers gently slid into his hair. Each brush of her tongue conjured a slow, sultry scale, and as the kiss went on and every lush curve of her body melted into his, a beautiful melody echoed in the distance.
Phoenix didn’t want it to end.
But regretfully, Addie’s lips slowly retracted, and taking her cue, he anchored his arms tightly around her waist and slowly tilted her backward into a rom-com-worthy dip.
She giggled against his mouth as he trailed a series of playful kisses from her jaw, down her neck, until he brought her upright.
Eyes bright, face flushed, and lips pink and swollen, Addie’s gaze flickered to him bashfully as he mentally patted himself on the back for a kiss well done.
Satisfied with their performance, the Cupid Cam moved on to their next victims. Neither Addie nor Phoenix moved, their breathing still slightly labored.
“Do you think that kiss will be televised?” Addie’s innocent question yanked Phoenix—and his raging libido—back into the moment.
Cameras. Fauxmance.
Fuck. He tried not to mourn their first kiss happening on a massive jumbo screen and not in private, but now that he knew how it felt having Adalyn Whitlock in his arms, he was determined to experience both again.
A lot.
He mournfully dropped his hands and hoped she didn’t notice the hard bulge currently pressing against his zipper. “Probably, but if it’s not, I’m sure more than one person will post it to their social media.”
“Great. Good.” Addie straightened her hat and braids, which he’d somehow shifted askew during their embrace. “Then I guess that kiss will have been worth it.”
A serrated knife to the gut was less painful than hearing Addie play off the kiss that had just tilted his world on its axis and quite literally knocked a sweet melody into his head.