First Down (First and Ten #1) (22 page)

“Why don’t I go with my friends and see you there? That way I’ll have fun.” She felt him release her and watched him take a take step back. He looked at her with big, hurt puppy dog eyes. Maybe that wasn’t the right thing to say. “What I meant to say…”

He held his hand up and shook his head. “Is it that bad going out with me?”

“I like it when it’s just the two of us, and we hang out at home. I don’t really like it when we’re out, because I feel like people are judging me and talking about me. It’s the same feeling I had in high school, and I would like to avoid that, if possible.

“Are you embarrassed to be seen with me because you’re afraid that people will know that you fell in love with a big dumb jock who struggles to read? The big smart doctor can’t be seen with a dumb football player.” This was the biggest blow of all. She loved him, but she didn’t want to be seen with him. He felt like yelling at the top of his lungs and hitting something really hard. He stared down at his feet and waited to hear the death sentence that she was about to give him. She pulled on his hand, and he finally looked at her and noticed that she had tears in her eyes. This was going to be bad, and he had a feeling that she was going to break up.

“You
are
dumb if you think that’s what I’m worried about. I can’t believe that you think that. I don’t want to go out and have people wonder why the big, handsome professional athlete is dating the plain, smart geeky girl. I’ve worked really hard to grow out of my insecurities, and what happened in the bathroom at the restaurant brought everything back. I hate to admit how much it’s bothered me. Then the guy who ran into me didn’t even notice I was there. I don’t care about the attention you get. I just don’t want to be collateral damage.” She wiped the tears that had started to roll down her face and sniffed loudly. It felt like high school all over again. She was the geek trying to fit into the jock’s life. Maybe this was all too much, and she should return to the life that she was comfortable with.

He couldn’t stand watching her cry, because he never wanted to be the cause of any unhappiness in her life. Lifting her up, he cradled her in his arms and walked out of the kitchen. He called out to Trevor. “I’m taking care of Ana today; you can have the day off.” He walked down the hall toward the bedroom and kicked the door shut once they were inside. He lowered her to the floor and kept his hands on her. “We’re going to solve this argument naked.” He slid the zipper down on the back of her dress and let it fall to the ground. He was rewarded with a view of the woman he loved in some damn sexy underwear. The sight of her was never going to get old.

“Jack, I’m supposed to be at work, not getting naked with you at home.”

He slid the strap of her bra down and let his mouth move over her shoulder and up her neck. “You can tell them that you had to make sure that the head of the foundation was happy and satisfied with the direction of research.” He released her bra and watched it skate off her body. Gliding his mouth down her neck toward her breasts, he heard her say something but didn’t pay attention. When he had the opportunity to get his mouth on her, nothing else mattered.

The moment his hands stroked her, all reasonable thought left her head. She became incapable of anything else but experiencing pleasure roll over her body. “I thought I was the head of the foundation.” A moan escaped as he ran his tongue over her skin, and electricity ran over her nerves.

Raising his head, he gazed into her eyes and smiled. “We are both the head of the foundation. Now be quiet and enjoy what I’m about to do. I’m going to show the geeky scientist just how much the dumb jock loves her.” He picked her up and dropped her on the bed. Her laughter filled the room, and he got rid of his clothes and laid down on top of her. He watched her hand float to his face as she stared into his eyes and smiled. This was a lot better feeling than what happened in the kitchen. “Ana, I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I hope you will eventually feel the same way about me.”

“You have a big life, Jack, and that scares the hell out of me.”

He dropped his mouth to hers and kissed her with everything he had. Pouring every feeling he had into it, he somehow wanted to convince her that he was worth the trouble. She responded and kissed him back as her hand gripped his arm. She wasn’t moving away, so he hoped she was going to take him on. “How we feel right now, in this moment, is all that matters. This is the truth of us, and that’s what I want us to concentrate on.”

She kissed his shoulder and let the feel of him wash over her senses. “When we’re like this or sitting at the kitchen table, I don’t have a single doubt about us and what we are together. It’s just the other stuff that worries me.”

“Let’s just take it one step at a time. We had fun at Home Depot together last week, and we did okay at the grocery store. Maybe we should try Target next. I bet we’d have a good time. Let’s just do the normal stuff that couples do and build from there.” He moved his hand down her leg and started slipping her panties off. Her smile told him that she liked where he was going with the argument.

“Are we fighting naked?”

“Yep, we’re working out our differences in bed. We should always do it this way.” Her hand slid in between their bodies, and she found what she was looking for. She smiled dangerously into his eyes as she moved her hand up and down his length. He let out a hiss as pleasure rolled down his back. “I like the way you argue. Let me show you how I argue.” He shifted out of reach and kissed his way down her body. Leaving a kiss on her hipbone, he moved his shoulders in between her legs. “Now, just relax. I have some convincing arguments to make.” He swiped his tongue across her center and felt her back lift off the bed. This was definitely going to go in his favor.

********

Their skin was being cooled by the overhead fan as they lay among the tangled sheets. “I’ll go and find a dress to wear to your charity event on Thursday.”

He rolled into her and put his arm across her back. “Why don’t we go together? Then I can take you out for dinner. Those would be normal activities that couples do. We seem to have some success at that, and we need to keep doing it.”

“All right.”

“Are you being agreeable because of how we solved the argument?”

“What you just did to me would make me want to do anything you wanted. Maybe I shouldn’t be telling you that, but it’s true. If you ever want something from me, then please do what you just did.”

He kissed her shoulder and smiled into her skin. “Good to know, sweetie. I’ve found the sweet spot, and I know how to get there now.” He lifted his head, and watched her eyes close as she fell asleep. She murmured something before she was completely out. If they always argued like this, he wouldn’t mind at all.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Thursday

Jack sat on the couch and waited for Ana to finish getting ready. She had kicked him out of the bedroom an hour ago and told him that she wanted to surprise him. Flipping through the channels, he searched for something to watch on TV. Sports Center was on, so he decided to watch it while he waited. They were recapping the rankings of the hockey teams and reviewing player performance. His phone buzzed, and he checked to see who was calling. It was his attorney, and he decided to take the call, hoping that it was good news.

Ana took one last look at her efforts and decided that there was nothing else she could do. What she saw was as good as it was going to get. At least the color was right. It was the same shade of green as Jack’s uniform. This was the team’s big fundraiser, and she hoped that he was going to like her dress. It was a departure from what she normally chose, and hoped that it made her appear a little less like a plain Jane. She grabbed her purse and walked down the hall. She heard Jack on the phone and wondered who he was mad at. She could tell by his tone that he was angry. He ended the call just as she walked into the room. This probably wasn’t a great start to their special evening out. Clearing her throat, she stood stock still and waited for him to look up. His scowl was quickly replaced by a huge smile. Maybe the dress was better than she thought.

His beautiful girlfriend was hot and sexy, and there wasn’t going to be a man in the room tonight who was going to be able to resist her. “Wow!” He stepped toward her and took her hand. “Can I kiss you or is that against the rules?”

Running her hand down her dress, she smiled and squeezed his hand. “You can give me a small sweet kiss, and that’s it. I don’t want to go to this event and look like I just rolled around in bed with you.”

Bending down, he gently pressed his mouth to hers. He felt her lean against him, and he smiled against her mouth. “Thanks for going to the party with me. I hope that I don’t have to beat anyone up for acting inappropriately with you.”

“Nobody is going to notice me, Jack, and I’m fine with that. Ella told me that she was going to be there tonight, so I’ll have someone to talk to.”

“I’m not letting you out of my sight the whole evening, so you can talk to me.” He led her toward the front door and made sure the timer was set for the lawn ornaments that they had put up last week. Every time he came home, he got a smile out of what they had created on the front lawn.

Ana had chosen to honor Jack’s profession and arranged the reindeer at the line of scrimmage with Santa as the ref. She had added presents at each end of her pretend field. It all looked great lit up at night against the palm trees that lined the front drive into the house. She was slowly making the house into a home, and the more stuff she brought over, the better he felt. As they walked out to the truck, he remembered what his lawyer had told him, and he hoped like hell it wasn’t true. Because if it was, there was no way Ana was going to forgive him. He wouldn’t be able to talk his way out of it, no matter how much she loved him. Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, he helped her in the truck and allowed himself to be distracted by her long, sexy legs.

********

Jack walked toward Ana with drinks in his hand and studied the man who was standing too close. He must be someone she knew from work, because she was happy, relaxed, and chatting away. He didn’t care for the way the guy was staring at her and would probably need to discuss it with him at some point during the evening. Pasting a big smile on his face, he approached them and inserted himself right next to Ana. “Hi, sweetie.”

She returned his smile. Not able to resist, he planted a sweet kiss on her lips. Might as well make it clear to the guy where things stood. He handed her the drink he’d gotten for her and then wrapped his arm around her waist. Assessing the man, he smiled and waited for Ana to introduce them.

“Jack, this is Dr. Nelson. He is one of the professors in Forensic Neuropsychology. I took one of his seminars and loved it.”

Jack put out his hand. “I’m Jack Ellis.” The man gave him a cool, superior smile as they shook hands. What a pompous ass. There was no way Ana would ever be interested in someone like him. He kept his mouth shut and decided to let the guy make the first move. It was always a good idea to wait and let someone show you what they were all about.

Ana took a sip of her drink, leaned into Jack, and gazed around the room. She knew there was some kind of pissing contest going on, and she decided to do nothing about it. Let them work it out. While she respected Dr. Nelson’s mind, she didn’t respect his attitude. He was the sort of man who gave doctors a bad reputation. He always behaved as if everyone was beneath him. She spotted Ella across the room and decided to escape. “I just saw Ella walk in. Jack, come and find me when you’re done talking with Chad.” She waved to them both as she made a beeline for Ella. Jack was a big boy, and he could fend for himself.

Jack stood facing the good doctor and tipped back on his heels as he listened to him pontificate about the emerging importance of his specialty. If he was to be believed, his research was single-handedly responsible for putting away half of the sickos in Miami. As the guy was winding down, Jack took the opportunity to make his escape. He clapped him hard on his back before offering his parting shot. “Chad, it’s been real interesting listening to your speech. I’m going to head over, check on Ana, and see if she needs anything.” He was about to walk away, and before he did, he offered a piece of advice to the good doctor. “By the way…if I ever catch you looking at my girlfriend that way again, I will treat you just like an offensive lineman standing between me and sacking the quarterback. If you don’t believe me, catch the game this Sunday and see what I mean.” He started whistling as he made his way over to Ana.

Ana and Ella stood close with their heads together. They were discussing how the Thanksgiving holiday had gone for both of them. Just as the Ella was about to give her the details of Clark’s visit with her family, Ana felt a big arm slide around her waist. Turning, she smiled into Jack’s happy eyes. “That didn’t take long to make your escape. It always takes me forever to get away.”

Jack squeezed her waist and studied the crowd. “I appreciate you leaving me with the good doctor. That’s fifteen minutes of my life that I’m never going to get back. That man speaks without breathing.”

“You were an excellent boyfriend by letting me break free. I owe you one.”

Leaning down, he whispered in her ear that he would be collecting later that evening. The thrill of his words left goose bumps on her skin. “Now that you’re here, you have to leave. Ella was just about to give me the details of Clark’s visit with her family.”

Jack smiled at Ella and then winked. “My friend Clark told me all about it. Apparently, your brothers are going to the game in Dallas, and then we’re all getting together afterwards. They have all become good friends.” He watched her shoulders drop as she looked sadly at both of them. That wasn’t the reaction he was expecting.

“Thanks for reminding me, Jack. Clark has wormed his way into the heart of my family. They like him a lot more than they like me. My tactic of taking him home for Thanksgiving completely backfired on me. I think my mama would trade me in for Clark without batting an eye. The woman has no loyalty; it’s embarrassing.”