Chapter 10
It was a damn miracle I didn’t drive off the road. Why? Why did he need to be so beautiful? Seriously, what had I done in my life that put me in his path? Granted, most women would be thrilled to be there. Ironically, that had been the reason he was my number-one priority at work.
Warm summer evenings were my favorite. But for once, I ignored the landscape lit by the low-hanging sun, thanks to my thoughts being consumed by him. The image of him in that towel didn’t just linger in my brain; it was tattooed there. No way would I ever forget how the white terry cloth molded over his manhood ... his very large manhood.
When he teased me with those chaste kisses that never landed on my lips, I thought I’d melt right into the floor. The way his pretty blue eyes held mine sent shivers down my spine. And I knew that he could sense it. Just how he paused when I felt my skin prickle with tiny bumps. Even though I hated to admit it, even to myself, Jimmy Hall affected me.
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, trying to shake off whatever spell he’d cast over me. But it was futile. Nothing had prepared me for him. No man had prepared me for him. All I knew was I couldn’t go there. Not with Jimmy—or any player, for that matter. We worked together. It didn’t matter that our jobs were vastly different. The fact remained: we were both part of the Hawks’ organization. No way would I compromise my reputation and sleep with a player—then why did I want him to kiss me?
It’s because you haven’t had sex in months.
How pathetic ... months. Although I knew that thanks to the image of Jimmy in that towel running on a continual loop in my brain, I’d most likely be taking care of business on my own with the trusty purple friend I kept in my nightstand.
Maybe if I talked it over with someone, my head would clear. Annie would be the obvious choice, but I hated bothering her, knowing she finally had quiet time with Rick since his parents left town. Sarah would first yell at me for not ripping the towel off and jumping his bones right there in his doorway. Lila. She’d be rational. Well ... maybe. Who really knew? Jimmy had her acting a bit unlike herself too.
Regardless, I needed advice. Tapping the Bluetooth button, I waited for the tone and then spoke. “Send a text to Lila Ford.” When prompted, I said, “Code Red.” The telltale whoosh of the text being sent sounded through my speakers.
It didn’t take long for her to reply, and when I tapped the screen and heard her text, I knew I was in for a long night. “Hey, sugar. It’s Sarah. Lila is driving. We’re not far from your house. We’ll come over.”
I let out a breath and sent another text telling them I’d be home in five minutes. A ding rang through my speakers, and the automated woman said, “See you soon. Do you need more wine?”
Pushing the button, I waited for the tone before saying, “Yes, lots of it.”
“On it. Be there soon,” came through my speakers.
A few minutes later, I was home. I changed out of my work clothes and set three wineglasses on the counter, just in time for my door to swing open.
Sarah and Lila walked in with a flourish.
“Tell us everything. What happened? Is it Jimmy? Did you finally come to your senses and let that man have his way with you? Talk about eye candy. Don’t get mad, but I may have blown up that picture on my laptop. Girl?—”
“We almost kissed,” I announced, bringing Sarah’s rambling to a halt. My best friends stared at me with eyes as wide as I’d ever seen them.
Lila blinked first, then robotically stated, “I’ll open the wine.”
She walked past me and into the kitchen. A mischievous smile spread across Sarah’s face. I playfully scolded her: “Don’t look at me that way.”
“What way? Like you’ve lost your mind? How? Just tell me how—” She paused and picked up an old birthday card I had sitting on the table and began fanning herself. “I need this to make sense, but I have a feeling it isn’t going to. Please tell me how in the world you almost kiss someone? Especially that god of a man. I’m sorry, I don’t give a rat’s ass that he’s a ballplayer. Sommer, I know your rule about dipping pens in company ink, but what is the rule about rules? They’re made to be broken, and if anyone is worthy of you doing that, it’s Jimmy Hall. Ever since I saw that damn picture, I’ve been wondering what treasure lay beneath that mitt. You could have carnal knowledge and put my curiosity to rest, but no. Good Lord, have I not taught you anything?”
Lila walked in with three glasses of wine. “Sarah, let’s hear what she has to say before we tell her that we both think that she needs to jump that man.”
“Not you too.”
She shrugged. Both of my friends were a bit more outgoing than I was. But neither of them came from a famous-ish family who some people thought could accelerate their career if they were with them. Like Jimmy, I too, had been used in the past, and they both knew that. Yet it had been clear they didn’t think about that. “Tell us what happened.”
Sarah shimmied in her seat. “Yes, tell us everything.”
They listened about the flowers like lovesick, hopeless romantics. However, I didn’t mention the line about the mitt. Sarah would be foaming at the mouth. Something told me that if I gave her the green light—not that I needed to since I had no claim on him—she’d be first in line to go after him. Well, maybe not first. I knew firsthand how long that line was.
“I’m not sure how he did it, but he managed to get my libido to fire on all cylinders without even trying. I mean, he did rain soft chaste kisses on my neck, jaw, cheek. ... and the tip of my nose.” I let out an uncharacteristic sigh. “It just can’t happen. We’re not compatible. He resides at Mach speed, and I prefer a lazy stroll.” I paused, gathered my thoughts, and finally said, “It won’t look good at the office. I just can’t. He’s also younger; let’s not forget that.”
“Excuses. That’s all I hear,” Sarah scoffed. “Honestly. When was the last time a man ever made you feel that way? Please don’t say Dick.”
I laughed at her nickname for my ex. Since we refused to say his real name out loud, my friends resorted to Dick. Considering Linc Barnes happened to be the one who ultimately made me weary of dating anyone in the sports industry and who I let almost break me, the nickname had been more than appropriate. In all actuality, it could have been much worse.
Linc also played baseball, but he was nowhere near as good as Jimmy. We had the same communications class in college, and at first, I thought he truly cared. He’d wait for me before and after class, and he did and said all the right things. He pursued me for our entire freshman and sophomore years. He even swore on his grandmother’s grave that he loved me for me and not for my last name. That was until I gave everything only to him ... including my heart. It wasn’t until we were at a party that I heard him tell one of his buddies he was one fuck away from getting a tryout.
Lies. All lies. His grandmother hadn’t even died. Granted, I was happy about that, for her sake, but what type of asshole did that? And the way he spoke about me had me running into the bathroom and expelling the contents of my stomach. He truly was a jerk, and I was better off without him.
“Sommer? Did you hear me? You’re not comparing him, right?”
“No, because Jimmy is already on the team. But that doesn’t make it any different.”
Lila shook her head. “Sweetie, don’t get mad, but it couldn’t be more different. Correct me if I’m wrong, but he had to deal with the same things, considering who his father is, right? I can only imagine the standard everyone held him to. Picture being the son of one of the best to play in the league.”
Sarah nodded in agreement. “She’s right. Even I know about Cash Jameson ... and if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even watch baseball. But I’d watch Cash Jameson do laundry. He’s a DILF if I’ve ever seen one. If he wasn’t married, I’d totally jump your future father-in-law.”
Lila snort-giggled, and I rolled my eyes. “You’re ridiculous. And believe me, he’s not my future anything.”
“Whatever. I think you’re doing yourself a disservice.” Sarah set down her now-empty glass of wine and took my hand in hers. “Believe it or not, I do understand what you’re saying. I just know that man could rock your hoo-ha, and you deserve an earthquake full of earth-shattering sex ... orgasms that would be so fantastic, the Richter scale wouldn’t have numbers high enough.”
“Well, that will be something we’ll need to keep wondering about.”
And something my curiosity would feed off for who knows how long. The invitation to the gala after next Saturday’s game caught my eye. “Hey, do you two want to go? I’ll get the tickets.”
“No can do. Thanks to Sarah, I have a date with a guy I met on Mingle Room.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that. What about you, Sarah?”
“Sorry, but she’s on standby in case my date turns into a disaster,” Lila plainly stated.
“Or if Lila gets serial killer vibes,” Sarah added.
We all laughed, but the thought of her with someone creepy didn’t sit well with me. “I can skip the gala and go with Sarah as backup.”
Lila waved me off. “Thanks anyway, but you need to be there. Sarah will kick his ass if need be.”
Sarah got up to pour herself another glass of wine, and from the kitchen, she called out, “Damn straight I will.”
The girls left about an hour later. After all the talk of Jimmy, my thoughts were even more plagued by him—his smile, the way his eyes lit up when he talked about baseball or his family. Naturally, Sarah and Lila pressed the issue of me giving Jimmy a shot. They were convinced that something was brewing between us ... something worth exploring.
Part of me wanted to take the leap, especially after that display of what I could easily call foreplay—if there was foreplay before a kiss. But the rational part of me hesitated, with the uncertainty of it all. Yes, as Sarah said, rules were made to be broken, except that hadn’t been my style.
Another rule I had was to never lie to my friends, but I couldn’t tell them that Jimmy Hall had sneakily managed to find his way into a small piece of my heart. He had become someone I couldn’t stop thinking about. It had to be because I hadn’t been with anyone in a long time. After the gala, I’d make a profile on the Mingle Room site and find someone who didn’t care about baseball or the Bennett name. And someone who wasn’t Jimmy Hall.