Read All In: Playing to Win (Gambling With Love Book 5) Online
Authors: Lane Hart
"That’s all I have to do?" I ask skeptically. "Wear your jersey?"
For front row freaking seats!
"Yep. One of
my
jerseys from
your
closet, which I get to sign at the game, and you better not even
think
of including it in the auction."
"How'd you…I don't…"
He raises an eyebrow and smirks.
I sigh in resignation and cover my embarrassed face with both hands. "Which hussy told you so I can have words with her about not spilling all of my secrets to big, arrogant men?" I ask and he gives a deep raspy laughs.
"Sorry, but I can't reveal my sources. She says you're a Carolina alumni, too?"
I nod, although I didn’t actually graduate since I left during my sophomore year and never went back.
"Did you watch any of my college games in the stadium?"
I nod again, then swallow the lump in my throat, uncovering my face. "I attended almost all of the home games my first two years." The away ones, too, but I didn't think I needed to share that much.
"Too bad we didn't meet on campus," he says softly, and he sounds almost genuine.
"Food's here!" Tracy yells to us from the front.
"Hungry?" he asks as he stands up. Somehow he makes that one seemingly innocent word sound naughty.
"Starved," I respond as I get up and walk around my desk. Suddenly he's there in front of me, causing me to run smack dab into his big, hard, unmoving body.
Before I can apologize, one of Zack's big hands gently cradles the side of my face. His calloused thumb glides under my chin to tilt my head up. When he brushes my lips with his own full ones I freeze in shock.
That doesn't deter him.
Grasping my hip, he pulls me flush against his body, smelling all wonderful and edible. When my lips open on a gasp of surprise, the man takes that as an invitation to slide his tongue into my mouth, not that I'd ever protest.
My own body finally thaws and begins responding to his touch. Tentatively, my tongue dips into his mouth, mimicking his exploration. He tastes sweet and delicious like sugar, and is probably just as addictive. Every time our tongues tease, his fingers tighten on my hip, causing arousal to throb deep and demanding in my core, growing and warming until it's a steady ache.
My arms don't really want to work, so I just reach for the closest part of him I can get to - his trim waist. God, his body is rock hard and warm, so damn incredible underneath my greedy palms that long to touch his skin. I grab fistfuls of the sides of his shirt, begging him not to stop. Butterflies take flight in my stomach. Or maybe it's actually bumblebees, creating a heavy, vibrating sensation through my lower body.
When Zack finally pulls away we're both breathing heavy, unable to do anything but stare at each other while several seconds pass, his confused brown eyes searching mine.
"I thought you'd want to…go ahead and get that out of the way." His voice sounds deeper and even sexier, if that's possible
After I nod he takes a step back, pulling his hands away from my face and hip. What is most concerning is the fact that he isn't giving me a cocky smile or cracking jokes. Zack Bradford actually looks serious for the first time in two days.
His arm motions for me to lead the way out of my office. I really hope my legs can withstand my weight after that ridiculously amazing kiss. When I feel the pressure of Zack's hand on the small of my back, his heat burning my skin through my dress shirt, I figure that if I start to fall he'll catch me before I hit the ground.
While all five of us are all sitting down to eat at the small round table in the break room, the silence is almost uncomfortable. My coworkers keep giving me questioning looks and blatantly staring at Zack. He's busy eating some sort of lunch combination of yummy Mexican cuisine with grilled chicken and vegetables, and stays relatively quiet. Once or twice he pulls his phone out and types a few things on it, probably trying to give himself something to do while we all four gawk awkwardly at him.
I still can't believe he's here or that he kissed me! My lips continue to tingle, and now that I've been close enough to get a whiff of his amazing smell, reminding me of the salty ocean and warm sun, I want more. I catch myself leaning toward him, desperate to inhale his deliciousness.
Oh boy, I'm a goner. Three more dates. I can do this without going head over heels for him. Sure.
When we're finishing up lunch there's a jingle from the front door signaling a guest. Tracy leaves to greet them, and then comes back, holding up four tickets to Sunday's home game.
"Wow, you work fast," I tell Zack, unable to hide my smile.
"That's not an attribute I strive for in all areas of my life," he laughs.
"It doesn't matter how long it takes just as long as you get the job done," I tell him, and something flashes across his gorgeous face. I'd almost say it was a glimpse of insecurity, but that was ridiculous. Either way, I want to take the flirty words back. Not going there, regardless of how good of a kisser he is or how good he smells or how hot he is. He won't remember my name in a few weeks. Or days, more likely.
"Well, ladies, it's been a great lunch, but I better get over to the practice field. See you all on Sunday?" he asks, since I've already invited my coworkers to come with me. The girls all swoon in their seats and thank him for lunch and the tickets.
"Natalie, I'll call or text you to set up our next date, okay?"
Before I can finish nodding my agreement his head dips down and he brushes a quick kiss over my lips. He's gone before I can blink my eyes open in comprehension. Instead of a big sexy man I come face to face with three curious coworkers.
"Did he just…"
"Oh. My. God."
"Wow, Natalie," Rachel says as she fans herself with her hand. "Zack Bradford just kissed you."
"He's a really good kisser," I tell them, after I hear the front door close and know he's out of earshot.
"Was that the first one?" Tracy asks.
"Nope. That was the third."
"Third!?" they exclaim.
Feeling like a school girl, I pull out my phone and find the YouTube video from our sophomore year of college. I hit play and hold it out for the three of them to watch.
"Holy smokes, that's a hot kiss," Rachel observes.
"Yeah it was, well at least for me. He doesn't remember it."
"How can he not remember
that
?" Amanda asks.
I shrug. "Because he's Zack Bradford and he's probably kissed hundreds, if not thousands, of women."
"But that was hot!" Tracy says.
"It was a heat of the moment thing. He'd just scored the touchdown that sealed the win and I just happened to be…there. So guess what." I attempt to change the subject to safer ground. "In exchange for me going out with him, the Wildcats' players are going to do a calendar!"
"No way!"
"Get out!"
"Oh man, I might faint from just imagining all that hotness."
"A friend of mine from college, Janet Mason, is a really great photographer in town. If she'll agree to do the photos for free in exchange for the publicity, then our only expense will be for the printing costs. Those expenses will be minimal, and maybe we can find a printer to even do them for free. We could sell hundreds of the calendars online and at events for twenty bucks a pop, and boom, we've made this year and next year's goal, ladies."
"There's also the sweet little bonus of having a full year worth of hot men on our walls," Rachel adds.
"Just a year? Who are you kidding? It'll be 2014 for many long years in my house," Amanda says, making us all laugh.
Zack
I haven't stopped thinking about her since lunch the day before, especially that kiss. A kiss that almost knocked me on my ass harder than a three hundred pound defensive lineman.
Wait a second…there's something familiar about Natalie and our kiss…getting knocked down.
No
! She can't be the beautiful, tiny cheerleader I'd flattened at the end of the Virginia Tech game. Both women are blonde with sparkling green eyes, and she said she'd gone to Carolina, too.
As soon as my car comes to a stop outside of the apartment building she had texted me the address to, I pull out my phone and do an Internet search. It has to be available somewhere in cyberspace since that damn video went viral right after it happened. We even had the VT crowd cheering for us, the visiting team's quarterback making out with a cheerleader after I'd just whooped their team's ass.
I finally find what I think might be the one. In slow motion I watch the son of a bitch linebacker plow into my back after the play had already been ruled a touchdown, and after I was clearly out of bounds. One of our petite cheerleaders tried to back up out of the way but wasn't quick enough before I smacked right into the front of her, sending her to the ground. I'd tried to brace her fall with my arms around her, but my full weight landed on top of her for an instant, crushing her into the grass. I'd looked down into a pair of surprised, gorgeous, green eyes and asked her if she was all right. She'd nodded and exhaled a barely audible, "Yes." Then she'd smiled, stopping my heart before she said, "Awesome play on the read option, Zack," stroking my ego before I helped her to her feet.
At the time I wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline, the excitement, my arrogance that I'd just managed to score the winning touchdown, or our team coming from behind to win the game in the last fifteen seconds. But whatever it was, something made me kiss her. I yanked my helmet off and went for it, then I couldn't stop kissing her. She'd been an eager participant, just like the kiss with Natalie yesterday.
Based on the video I found, we'd apparently stood there lip-locked for several minutes. I'd wanted nothing more than to ask her out, but my girlfriend at the time, Samantha, had gone ballistic that night when she saw the video, threatening to break up with me. Instead of blowing her off to pursue the sexy little cheerleader, I'd tried to do damage control with Sam because of my ego. How stupid was that? I never saw her on the sidelines again after that game, and I'd definitely looked for her.
Watching the replay, it wasn't a close up, but it was enough for me to be almost certain that the cheerleader is definitely a slightly younger Natalie. Why hadn't she mentioned that she was the girl I'd made out with in front of everyone? Maybe she's forgotten about it. I hadn't. I just didn't realize that Natalie and the cheerleader were one in the same.
Pulling myself out of Memory Lane, I climb out of my car and head up the steps for Natalie's apartment to knock on her door. While I wait I try to slow my breathing and racing heart. Damn, I'd only been up one flight of stairs and I'm in the best shape of my life. Was it nerves making me feel this way? All jittery and…anxious? Is
this
what it felt like to be nervous? I'd never felt such a thing before, and didn't have any longer to ponder the sensation. The apartment door opens wide and my heart stops.
"Wow, Natalie. You look…wow." Apparently nerves also make my brain stop functioning. There she stands with bouncy blonde curls framing her beautiful face, looking flawless in a red, curve-hugging dress that ends above her knees. Her lean legs are bare all the way down until they reach red, fuck-me heels.
"Thanks," she says with a blush covering her cheeks. "Since I don't date I figured what the hell, I'd go all out. Is this dress okay for what you have planned tonight?"
"Yes, even though you'd look beautiful in anything, especially Carolina blue," I say and watch her green eyes blink wide in surprise. "Do you still have your old cheerleading uniform?"
Her pink lips part on a gasp. "How'd you…"
"You lied. You said we've never met before," I tell her, remembering our first conversation the other day at the stadium.
She smiles and looks down at her shoes shyly, pushing a curl behind one ear. "We hadn't technically met before the other day."
"No, not technically, but we'd made out in front of thousands of people. Almost a million have watched the video on the Internet. I never forgot that kiss, I just didn't realize you were the same gorgeous girl."
"Yeah, I've changed quite a bit over the last four years," she says almost sadly.
"I don’t think so. Now I can't figure out how I was so blind that I didn't see it before."
"Let me just grab my purse and I'll be ready," she says quickly and then she vanishes.
I take a step inside her apartment even though she didn't invited me in. It's a nice place, and the woman honestly does love blue. There's all sorts of variations of the color, from a dark navy couch to light blue walls. It's a consistent theme throughout the living room and kitchen based on what I can see. There's also a Carolina lamp on an end table, a Wildcats' clock on the wall with several other little pieces of team merchandise sitting around, showing she really is a big football fan.
Coming back down the hall, Natalie looks up and sees me standing in the foyer.
"I like your apartment," I tell her and she swats playfully at my chest.
"I'm sure it's Polly Pocket size compared to where you live," she jokes.
"It is, but my big ole house just makes it feel that much lonelier." Why did I tell her that? Am I really lonely? The answer is a resounding
yes
.
Natalie rolls her eyes. "Right, like you're ever there alone."
"You'd be surprised how much alone time I have. I'm getting too old for my wild ways, and I'm trying to settle down with just one woman."
If I am going to be a father I sure as hell can't have my son or daughter seeing a revolving door of women coming and going through the house. Lacy wouldn't put up with me always having a bunch of sluts around.
Thinking about it, other than Natalie, there isn't a single woman I've dated or fucked lately that I'd even consider eventually introducing to my child. If that's not a wakeup call then I don't know what the hell is. I need to call Lacy and apologize for being such an ass to her when she told me she was pregnant. It was time for me to man the fuck up.
"Uh-huh," Natalie mutters, unconvinced by my statement as she locks up her apartment and we head down the stairs to my car. "Is it true what the tabloids said about you recently ending a relationship?" she asks, catching me so off guard I almost stumble. I knew the media loved that sort of shit, I was just surprised Natalie remembered seeing the article about mine and Lacy's split from several months ago.
"Yep. My girlfriend of a year broke things off about four months ago," I decide to tell her honestly as I hold the passenger door of my Mercedes open for her. She pauses before sitting down.
"
She
broke up with
you
, Zack Bradford?" she asks sarcastically.
"Yes, apparently you're not the only woman that can withstand my charm." After she giggles and climbs in, I walk around to the driver side, hoping this conversation is over. Nope.
"So, it's none of my business, but why'd you two end things?"
I sigh before jamming the key in and starting the engine. "Because I'm an asshole. I cheated on her, honestly, more times than she even knows. She got fed up and instead of moving in with me after she graduated from college in May like we'd planned, she broke up with me."
"And what's changed?" she asks.
"I'm tired of being an arrogant, self-centered, bastard man-whore. I want…more." And I want to keep my job. Oh, and I might be a father. I keep those two reasons to myself.
"Do you want her back? Do you miss her?" Natalie asks softly.
"It doesn't really matter what I want. Lacy had already moved on within two weeks of leaving me. I tracked her down in Greensboro to see if we could try and work things out. She said we were done. Actually she said there wasn't a single part of me that she missed. That same night I saw her, she got caught by a cop fucking a guy in his truck. She's living with him here in Charlotte now and seems...happy."
"Must be a great guy, or she must be crazy," Natalie says with a smile.
"Or she's right. She's better off without me. Apparently I'm sorely lacking in the bedroom too." Shit, I want to face-palm myself after letting that slip. That's probably the last thing I should say to a woman I'm trying to sleep with.
"Maybe you two just weren't compatible," Natalie says simply. "Why'd you cheat on her?"
I exhale and run my fingers through my hair, tugging on it. I’m so ashamed of the truth I can’t even look at the woman next to me. "Because I could. Because I treat sex like a meaningless hobby. Women are a dime a dozen and I never tried to resist."
"Wow, you're making me feel really great about agreeing to go on this date with you."
"I can promise you, Natalie, I'm not going to see anyone else while we're dating," I tell her. Hell, I couldn't if I want to keep playing football. "The last woman I was with was Sunday night, and that was nothing but a one-night stand." Gold-digging whore. She had to be the most expensive prostitute ever.
"Did she have any complaints?"
Yeah, she probably wanted more money.
"No, but I had help." Why Jake and I like to fuck the same woman, I'm not sure. Maybe because it can't be anything but fucking with another person around. No feelings to get in the way just trying to get off.
"What does that mean?" she asks.
"Nothing. Let's not go there." I have to find my filter and stop letting my mouth run away. The woman is like a human truth serum, making me want to spill my guts. But the more I spill the faster she'll run the other way.
"So what about you? Why don't you date?" I ask her.
I hear her squirm in the leather seat as I drive us downtown. "I…I don’t date because I don’t want to lead men on."
"So you don't date because you have no intention of fucking them?" I ask, trying to figure this woman out. I've never met anyone like her.
"Yes."
"Why?" I asked in confusion. "You can't be saving yourself for marriage because you can't get married without dating first."
"No, I'm not saving myself," she laughs. "That's just not something I want right now. I really don't want to talk about it either."
"Okay. But I'm glad I bribed you into going out with me," I tell her, and she's smiling when I sneak a quick glance at her.
"Where are we going?" she asks, changing the subject.
"A charity concert for Levine Children's Hospital. It's the only thing I was pretty sure you'd approve of," I tell her honestly. It's also a guaranteed photo op since it's a red carpet, VIP only event.
"Oh," she mutters. "That's very decent of you."
"Yeah, well, I'm not all that decent. I'm also a huge fan of
Tri-Polar."
"Tri-Polar
is playing a concert in town tonight?" she asks in awe. "Holy shit!"
"You're a fan, too?"
"Heck yes. Who isn't?"
"See what I mean though? I'm a selfish bastard to want to go to this thing to see them."
"The money is still going to the local children's hospital, so it's okay if you actually enjoy the event, too," she responds. "Seeing as how I'm a fundraiser organizer and all, do you mind telling me how much the tickets were?"
"A hundred each."
"What? Only a hundred dollars and you get to see
Tri-Polar
? What is wrong with these organizers? They should charge at least ten times that much!"
"Um, yeah, they're actually charging a thousand times that much."
"Huh?" she asks, sounding confused.
"The tickets were a hundred grand."
There's a second of silence, and then she exclaims, "What the fuck?!?" making me laugh at her sudden outburst of profanity. "You paid one hundred thousand dollars for us to go to this thing tonight?"
Unable to help my smile, I glance over at her in the passenger seat. Natalie’s chest is rising and falling rapidly, and I’m pretty sure she's about to hyperventilate.
"Each!?!" she squeaks out, holding both hands to her chest.
"You okay? Do I need to take you to the hospital instead?" I chuckle.
"You-you can't...I can't," she stutters.
"Can't what?" I ask.
"You should take someone else. That's too much...to spend. Holy shit."
"Natalie, calm down. Take a deep breath. It's okay. It's just money."
"Ha!" she exclaims. “Just money? It’s enough to buy a house!”