First Down (First and Ten #1) (3 page)

Ana tried to pat her friend’s hair down and found that it didn’t help. “I think you should just give in to your curls and embrace them.”

“My mama can hear you all the way from Texas, and she is not amused. I was raised on the belief that you are only as good as your hair, and right now, my hair is a tragedy.”

Jordan let out a loud long-suffering sigh. “Please don’t start the hair discussion again. I haven’t eaten since breakfast, and I drank two beers. I don’t have the stomach for it.”

“Quit whining. You can listen to the hair discussion, because I’ve listened to your long drawn-out explanations about the diseases of the world more times than I care to count,” Ana replied. She glanced at Alex and noticed that he was staring down at the ground. “Did you forget a hat again?”

He glanced at her sideways and smirked. “Yes, Ana, I did. I’m trying to make it to the restaurant without being swarmed. Come hold my hand, so no will recognize me.”

She took his hand and walked down the street. “I’m going to start bringing you hats, just in case.”

“Why do you people walk everywhere anyway? What happened to driving in a car?” Alex asked.

“We’re free to walk among the people, because we are not famous and rich for throwing a ball around,” Ella replied.

Ana studied her friend and wondered why she wanted to leave when Jack and Clark showed up. “Ella, why did you want to leave so quickly after Clark sat next to you?”

“I don’t like men who are so handsome, because they make me nervous. My heart started beating hard when he took my hand, and I didn’t care for it. I needed to get away and figure out what it all meant.”

“It means that you two had chemistry,” she replied.

“I can’t have chemistry with someone like him. I think it must be low blood sugar.” She patted her head again and let out another sigh.

The group walked into the restaurant and stopped at the hostess stand. Alex and Ana continued to hold hands as they waited to be seated. The place was packed, so it was going to take a while to get a table. People were trying to get around them, so Ana pulled Alex’s hand. They moved out of the middle of the entry and let people pass them as they exited.

Jack and Clark sat at a big round table toward the back, and Jack watched the front door. He heard a group of people come in and caught sight of Ana right away. He smiled to himself, until he noticed she was holding Alex Martinez’s hand. “What the hell is that about? Does she have a thing for Alex?” Jack caught Alex’s eye, and they nodded to one another. He watched the ball player drag his group of friends toward their table. “Hey, Alex.”

“Hey, Jack. Are you guys expecting anyone, or can we join you?”

“No, we’re not expecting anyone. Have a seat.” He stood and held out the chair next to him for Ana. He watched confusion pass over her face as she stared down at the chair he held. “Once you said pastrami sandwich, I couldn’t get it out of my mind.” She gave him a faint smile as she lowered herself into the chair he’d pulled out for her. As she moved into the seat, he was treated to the feeling of her skin against his as their arms brushed together. He felt an incredible urge to run his hand along her bare shoulders and feel her skin against his hand, but he decided that it might not be welcome at this point in their relationship. He let his hand fall away and sat in his own chair as he smiled at her. He knew he was acting crazy, but he couldn’t help himself. He was infatuated with her and there was nothing he could do about it. He just needed to ride the wave and see if she was as amazing as he guessed.

“Thanks, Jack. So are you and Alex friends?”

“We’ve run into one another at different events around town, and I would say we’re friendly. I didn’t know you two were dating.” He knew it was an obvious volley, and he didn’t care, because he wanted to know what he was up against.

Ana gave him a look of disbelief and then started laughing. He watched her tip back in her chair as the hilarity rolled over her.

“Boyfriend…that’s funny.”

Jordan glimpsed over, took pity on Jack, and leaned forward to explain. “We’ve all been best friends since our freshman year in college. We’re an incongruous group, but somehow, we make sense when we’re together. I was Alex’s roommate, and Ana was Ronnie’s. Our rooms were separated by Ella’s. We’ve been together ever since, in some form or fashion. I’m Dr. Jordan Cameron, by the way. Nice to meet you.”

Jack extended his hand and shook Jordan’s. He relaxed and felt better knowing that Alex and Ana were not together. He wouldn’t want to be held responsible for getting rid of one of Miami’s favorite athletes. But if it became necessary, he probably wouldn’t hesitate. Ana was the sort of woman who made a man consider all sorts of things.

“Jeez, Jordan. You don’t have to introduce yourself with your title. That’s so obnoxious and pretentious,” Alex snapped.

“Shut up, Alex. Don’t make fun of me just because you’re the only one without a doctorate at this table.” Jordan huffed.

“I’m not the only one. Do you think that Jack and Clark have advanced degrees? Always showing off how smart you are doesn’t make someone like you.

Ella moaned from her seat and dropped her head on the table. “I told you not to bring that up. How am I ever supposed to get a date if people know that I have a doctorate?”

Clark sat back in his seat and watched the show. He hadn’t been this entertained in a long time. He examined Ella and admired her big hazel eyes and crazy curly blond hair and magic mouth. The fact that she was pounding her head against the table didn’t concern him in the least. He was from Georgia, and there was a certain amount of crazy in every family. In the South, they liked to embrace the crazy and give it a front row seat. Hell, most of the time they were the best part of any family gathering. He rubbed his hand on Ella’s back and waited for her to pull herself together and lift her head off the table.

She finally opened one eye and looked at the man who was rubbing circles on her back.

“I’ll take you out, Ella…let’s go on a date.”

She sat up and stared. “Is this one of those pity dates? Because if it is, I’m not interested. I think you’re very handsome and in no way my usual type.” She was interrupted by the waitress coming up to the table.

“Everybody ready to order?”

Ana leaned away from Jack and spoke to the waitress in a clear voice. “I’m ready.”

“What’ll it be, honey?”

“I would like a pastrami sandwich with a side of potato salad and extra pickles. Please.”

“Good choice. Who’s next?”

Alex gave the waitress his order, and then the rest of the table followed. It finally it was Jack’s chance.

“Big boy in the corner…what do you want?”

Jack smiled at the description and gave the waitress his order.

She nodded her approval and walked away.

Clark turned toward Ella and took her small hand in his. She was crazy as a mad hatter and didn’t seem to have any interest in him. In some way, that made him feel really good, because he was tired of people trying to get close to him, his fame, and his money. Plus, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been on a date with a smart woman. It wasn’t an opportunity that regularly presented itself, so he should take advantage of it while he could. “So, Ella, our date? When do you want to go?”

“I thought you were kidding?”

“I’m not kidding. I can take you out tomorrow or Friday. I have an early night Saturday, because we have a game on Sunday.”

She studied him for a moment and tried to decide whether she wanted to go or not. She realized that it was never going to become something, so this could be a chance to get over her fear of handsome, athletic men.

Alex regarded Clark and gave him a half-smile. “It’s going to take her a while to decide. I once sat at a car dealership with her all day as she tried to decide between the navy or black car. She has a hell of a brain, and she likes to consider all of the possibilities. You may still be sitting in that seat tomorrow, waiting for an answer.” His hand shot in the air in a flash, and he caught the package of crackers that she hurled in his direction. “Did I mention that she has good aim?”

Ella considered Clark and made an uncharacteristically quick decision. “I’ll go out with you, because it will be like shock therapy. It’s not like it’s going to be anything serious, so this could be a good opportunity for me to date a handsome man and see if I can handle it. I’ll practice my casual chatter with you, and then I can see what works. You’re really cute, but I know nothing will come of it. This will give me practice for when I date someone who would be a good match for me.” Ella nodded and smiled at Clark.

“So you’ll go out with me, but it’s just practice until the real things comes along? You’re not taking this seriously?” Clark asked.

“Yeah. Is that a problem?”

“Do I get a kiss at the end of this practice date?” He felt her eyes roam over his face, body, and his hair. She stared at his mouth the longest, and in a flash, she leaned forwards and kissed him. It lasted no more than ten seconds, but it was a hell of a kiss.

“There…we kissed. Now we don’t have to do it again.” She watched Clark smile and wondered why a small kiss made him so happy. It wasn’t even a kiss that she put any effort into. Giving him a faint smile, she wondered about his mental acuity and then decided it didn’t matter. He had a beautiful body and pretty blue eyes. Apparently, she was capable of being as shallow as the next person. She silently congratulated herself at the thought.

“Dinner and a movie tomorrow night. I’ll pick you up at seven o’clock,” Clark said.

“Sounds good to me. That will give me just enough time to get my hair under control.” She patted the back of her long blond hair and wondered if a more natural look might not be a good option.

Clark gazed at the woman who had more brains than sense and admired her inability to filter her thoughts. She didn’t have an ounce of guile. She thought it, she said, and if you were smart enough, you dealt with it. He put his hand on the back of her chair and smiled like he’d just renewed his contract for double his annual salary.

The waitress started bringing food, and soon, the enormous table was filled.

Jack stared at Ana and wondered what the key to getting a date with her was. Clark managed one with Ella before the food had been delivered. Maybe he should start with getting her to speak with him. He watched her put half her sandwich on Alex’s plate, and Alex give her half his fries. They were not even looking at each other when they did it. A wave of jealousy ran through him at their familiarity, because it appeared to be a dance they’d been doing for years. Alex gave her his pickles, and she gave him her tomatoes as they both engaged with the conversation at the table. He wanted to be the one that had that with her, not some dumb baseball player. Alex seemed like an okay guy, but not someone who she should share food with. He realized that his jealousy over the food sharing was illogical, but that didn’t stop the feelings coursing through his veins. Apparently, he had some latent cave-man tendencies, which were just now revealing themselves. He decided to worry about it later or perhaps not at all. Apparently, Ana was going to make him feel all kinds of new things.

Jordan studied Jack and noticed the man seemed to have it bad for Ana. Maybe he should clue him in. “They’re like brother and sister…they love one another, irritate each other, and fight three times a day, whether they need to or not. It’s nothing more than that.”

“That sounds like a lot to me,” Jack replied. He studied Ana and wondered if she held a hidden love of Alex.

“You don’t marry your sibling,” Jordan responded. He returned to his food and the conversation at the table.

Jack started eating and tried to come up with a plan on getting Ana to go out with him or at the very least acknowledge his existence. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Ana speak to Jordan.

“Why am I going to this tennis thingy tomorrow?”

Jordan wiped his hands and regarded her with patience. “Summer of Junior Year….hockey practice every week.”

“What time to you want me to pick you up at your house?” Ana responded.

Jordan let a satisfied smile play across his face. “You can come at twelve. I need you to pick out what I’m wearing and then give me your notes on the women that I’m interested in.’

“Fine. Text me the name of the girl, and I’ll come up with some points of discussion.”

“Thanks, Ana Banana.”

She smiled at Jordan and then blew him a kiss. A genuine look of affection crossed her pretty features.

“So you had a crush on a hockey player?” Jack asked. If she had gone out with one jock, then it meant that she might be willing to go out with another.

Turning to him, she smiled. “I had a torrid affair with a hockey player for a year when I was in college. It was the best and worst time of my life. Jordan came to practice with me as I mooned over the man that ended up breaking my heart. He also picked up all of the pieces after I fell apart.”

“You all have something amazing together. It’s hard to see at first, but it makes sense now,” Jack responded. He noticed that the group communicated in shorthand, in much the same way he did with his team mates. He wanted a shorthand with Ana, but first, he should probably see if she would spend some time with him.

“Stanford Five. That’s what we call ourselves. We couldn’t have made it through without one another. Ronnie is our ring leader and keeps us going in a forward motion. Alex is our connection to everyday life. Jordan is our voice of reason, and Ella is our conscience.”

“What are you, Ana?”

“I’m the heart of the group. I make sure that we don’t fall apart.” She picked up a pickle and took a bite as she stared. Though he wasn’t her type, she could certainly appreciate the effect of his smile. He had a grin that could make you think things that you shouldn’t.

“That makes sense.” He gazed down at her and watched her steal one of his pickles. “You can have my pickles, Ana. You can have whatever you want.”

She’d unconsciously eaten off his plate and realized how inappropriate it was. “Sorry, Jack.  I usually have better manners.”