Page 2 of The Best Player
I didn’t expect a response from him, and the few minutes I had to wait for the shakes were spent thinking about my future roommates. Sure, it was only two months, but these guys had the personalities of celebrities.
Aaron—my brother who’d slept with countless ladies the past two years and suffered a sex scandal. Zade Willows—the all-star pitcher who had a fan club named after him. Tanner Johnson—the giant center fielder who could make girls faint with a wink. Yeah. It was going to be an adventure living with them until their fourth roommate, Jeff, got back from playing baseball overseas.
Me, the awkward kid without an ounce of athletic ability, was living in the baseball house in the center of Jockville. Life was funny sometimes.
“Order’s up!”
I thanked the hostess and carried the drinks back to the car. Too soon, we were pulling into the chipped driveway of my new temporary digs. White house, large porch that had seen better days, overgrown trees in the front and backyard and the door wide open. I pulled my long dark-blonde hair into a high messy bun and took one final breath.
College.
Adventure.
New.
“What’s up, Hill family?” Tanner’s voice boomed from him. He leaned against the front railing, his height almost putting his head on the roof of the house. His hair was dark brown and it spilled from his head in messy curls, but his light brown eyes were killer. Yeah, I had a little bitty crush on him after having met him a couple times over the past three years, but it was hard not to. He was my kryptonite—long eyelashes, mischievous grin, the perfect dimples and real tall with broad shoulders. I gave him a little wave, hoping I didn’t blush too much. He was so far out of my league it wasn’t even funny.
Plus, I was going to be living with him, so it didn’t bode well for anyone to know about my crush. “Hey, TJ.”
“That’s right roomie, let me grab your stuff. Aaron had to head to the field, but he’ll be back. Good to see you, Mr. and Mrs. Hill.” He swaggered—it was the only way to describe it—to the car and gave both my parents a hug. It pleased me to see how good he was to my family. All of Aaron’s teammates were kind and it often surprised me.
The warmth on the back of my neck had nothing to do with Tanner’s fitted shirt and workout shorts that showcased how much time he spent in the gym. Or the thickness to him. No guy I dated was as big as he was.
“You’re too kind, Tanner. Really,” my mom gushed and I had to roll my eyes. Even she succumbed to his charm. She had to know how much he got around… I mean, he was one of two single guys who lived in the baseball house. He had plenty of options yet still chose to charm my mom. I snorted into my fist and Tanner slid me a look.
“Laying it on thick there, TJ.”
“What? I can’t hug my second-favorite set of parents?” He dared to raise one beautiful dark eyebrow, challenging me to call him out. I did.
“They brought you all beer and homemade casserole for at least a week. You don’t need to suck up anymore.”
His grin widened and, after patting my dad on the back, he walked to the trunk of the car to help get my five bags. It was sad that, moving into college, I only had five bags’ worth of stuff. That was one lesson learned after seeing my dad go through his struggle—materialistic things didn’t matter all that much. Life was more about the experience. The memories.
He walked past me, smirking, and picked up two of the bags. “Come on,Kenny. Let me show you to your room.”
He didn’t lower his voice or do anything weird, but those words coming from his mouth sent a shiver down my body. Aaron and his buddies always called me Kenny, but hearing it come from Tanner caused a very different reaction from me. I cleared my throat and picked up the final load. “After you,Johnson.”
My parents took their time bringing food into the small kitchen while I followed Tanner into the house and up the stairs. I had been there before, but only for a small amount of time where they could hide their craziness. Now, they’d let it all hang out. The mess, the unkempt bathroom, the pile of useless things stacked in the corner. Why did they have a stack of empty boxes? And empty cups? They had a kitchen…why didn’t they use it?
He led me down the upstairs hallway. There were two rooms on each side, two with their own bathrooms, but I wasn’t that lucky. While Zade and Aaron across the hall had one each, Jeff and Tanner shared theirs. And Jeff’s was the room I was using…meaning I had to share a bathroom with Tanner Johnson. A gorgeous, god-like man who would share and be naked in there…
Down, girl.
Two months was going to be a long time.
“Okay, Kenny. Here’s Jeff’s room.” He opened the door and gave me a bemused look. “He’s the neatest out of all of us. I saw you scowl on the way up. We’re not total pigs.”
“I’ll just have to do some cleaning, that’s all.”Thank God I brought supplies.Cleaning was therapeutic for me and I’d be glad to do a wipe down before touching too much stuff.
He chuckled and dropped my large duffel bags on the beige carpet. I took a hesitant step inside the room and sniffed. Nothing smelled off and there weren’t any weird stains on the carpet. Score.
“Did you justsmellthe room?”
“Yes, I did.” I jutted my chin out at him. “I’ve lived with Aaron. I know how smelly boys can be. It seems fine so far.”
“God, this is going to be fun.”
“I’m bursting with excitement,” I deadpanned.
