Page 62 of Tempting the Player
Putting her hands on his shoulders, she pushed. It wasn’t a hard push, but he stilled and stared down at her with eyes the color of the deepest, clearest oceans. “What?”
She took a stuttered breath. “I think…I think we should stop here.”
His eyes searched hers intently, seeking answers she was unwilling to give up easily. “I know you want this.”
“I do.” Oh God, did she ever. It took all of her effort to keep her body still. “But this is going to just make things complicated, right?” She pulled her hands back and closed them into loose fists in the air between them. “And at the end of December you’re going to go your own way and…and I’m going to go mine.”
Chad stared down at her. For a moment, she thought he might say something about not denying what they both wanted, and oddly she almost wanted him to try to convince her otherwise, to change her mind and…and what? Work for this? This was nothing.
He slid off her and quickly pulled up his jeans. “Yeah, you’re right. We wouldn’t want to complicate things.”
Chapter Sixteen
Over the next two weeks, things progressed as planned. To the public and the Nationals, their relationship was a blossoming love affair of epic proportions. Even Miss Gore was starting to think that something real was going on between them.
“Are you taking her to buy a gown for the Christmas event?” she asked, eyeing him above the rim of her glasses.
Chad pressed the up arrow on the treadmill, hoping to drown out Miss Gore’s voice and his own internal annoying-as-hell voice. They’d done the required three dates a week and the stay-over on the weekend, but since the night on the couch, things had been tense. It wasn’t that they weren’t getting along, because they were. They were getting along “famously,” as Miss Gore had put it. Yesterday, he’d taken Bridget to the clubhouse and taught her how to hold a curveball, a change-up, and a fastball. She was ridiculously horrible at positioning her fingers, to the point it was entertaining.
Afterward, they’d had lunch at Hooters down the road with Tony.
Tony liked Bridget, more than Chad appreciated, which was stupid, because God knew they didn’t want to “complicate” things.
Things were already fucking complicated.
Not to mention he was jerking off like he was in damn high school again. Thirty years old, a pro athlete, and richer than sin, and he was jerking off every day instead of getting off in a woman. That’s what his life had come down to.
But the even more fucked up thing was that he still could get a piece if he wanted to. Hell, he knew how to be discreet when he chose, but he didn’t. He didn’t want anyone except the redheaded vixen.
Bridget consumed his thoughts when she was with him or away. For two weeks, he’d been in a constant state of arousal that had only been whetted by what had taken place between them.
“Chad!” snapped Miss Gore. She leaned over the arm of the treadmill and hit the emergency stop button.
At the last minute, he caught himself before he ate the tread. “Jesus!”
“Not quite.” She folded her arms. “Have you been listening to me at all?”
“Yes.” He grabbed the towel off the front and stepped off the treadmill, mopping up his sweat. “I’m taking her out later today, before dinner, to one of those damn places you picked out that’s going to cost me a month’s salary.”
Miss Gore nodded her approval. “Bridget will like the place.”
“How do you know what she likes?” He tore off his shirt and tossed it into a laundry basket. Miss Gore was so not affected by any partial nudity on his end.
She followed him out into the kitchen. “I like her, you know.”
Grabbing a bottle of water, he raised a brow at her.
“Your friends seem to like her, too. You seem to like her.”
Chad downed half of the bottle. “What are you getting at?”
Miss Gore shrugged her bony shoulders. “All I’m saying is that you two are really convincing.”
Whatever. He said that out loud, too.
“Well, the good news is that the Nationals are beyond pleased with you.” A proud smile tilted the corners of her lips, and she looked almost human for a moment. “The Christmas event they plan should seal the deal. You should be happy about this. There’s only a week and some odd days left.”
Chad wasn’t happy about this.
