Fumbled (The Girls of Beachmont #1) (13 page)

“Fifteen months, I
think,” I answered, trying to recall the last month Grace had mentioned. I never
understood the months-versus-year thing. “She turned one a few months ago.”

“C’mere, Cleo,” Tabor
said sweetly.

She looked up at him and
giggled, but clung to me as if her life depended on it.

“I hear ya, kid,” I
muttered.

Tabor was in front of
her with his arms outstretched, but she was hesitant to take the leap.

He started making some
weird sound, and she was intrigued enough to leave my leg and toddle over to
him. Tabor hoisted her up in the air and started playing with her, causing her
to laugh. She melted into a puddle of goo, so I stood up and walked over to the
pair and kissed Cleo’s cheek.

“Sellout,” I muttered
into her ear.

Cleo ignored me, opting
instead to shower Tabor with all of her affection. He walked down the few steps
to the grass, set her down, and followed behind as she ran around. She made it
a habit of falling down and then laughing until he picked her up again.

He sat down on the grass
and Cleo started using him as a human jungle gym, and he obliged. Tabor’s hands
were ready to catch her if she fell the short distance, and my heart began to
warm.

“You’re good with her.”

Is that the sound of my biological clock
actually
ticking? Down, girl!

“Kids are easy,” he
answered.

“You think?”

“Well, I can’t speak
from a parent’s perspective, but yeah. Kids are real. They don’t know how to be
fake.”

“Yeah. I guess so.”

“Hell—” He covered
his mouth and grinned. “Sorry.
Heck,
I’m
sure you know that from your program.”

I nodded and walked over
to sit next to him. Cleo ran into my arms and I fell back with her so that she
was on top of me. I raised her in the air and moved her around in my arms,
pretending she was an airplane, and then I set her so down so she was
straddling my stomach. Before I could register the action, Tabor leaned down
and kissed me. It wasn’t passionate, but it was exactly the type of kiss to
make me question the friends thing. He stood up and Cleo raised her arms in the
air, so he picked her up and I quickly got to my feet as he walked away with
her in his arms.

Tabor looked over his
shoulder at me and smirked. “It’s the adults you have to worry about.”

T A B O R

For the rest of the
night, all I could think about was that kiss. It wasn’t the first time I’d
kissed her, but this one was in the open where anyone in her family could have
seen it. She was nervous about entering my life and what my sister dubbed the
JT Hunter Circus.
What Dani saw as an
obstacle, I saw as a glimpse into who she was, and I liked it.

As we left the Miners’
house, I said goodbye to her family and stifled my laughter when I spotted her
dad giving her a thumbs-up. Her cheeks burned red and she shooed him off as she
tried to get her poker face on. I had some work ahead of me with Dani, but
something told me she was worth the effort.

She gave me a sideways
glance when I asked if she’d let me drive her Bel Air. It was a nice car, and
despite her reluctance, she gave in. Inside I was content knowing that she
seemed to trust me.

As we made our way back
to my place, I could feel her eyes on me. And all I could think about was the
kiss I’d given her. I knew it had been ballsy, but I couldn’t stop myself from
doing it either. Seeing her with Cleo and laughing so freely had tugged at
something inside me.

“Can you come inside for
minute?” I asked as we pulled into my driveway.

“I should really get
home,” she said, opening the passenger door and shutting it behind her. We were
standing in front of the car and I cocked my head to the side, gauging her
mood.

“Ten minutes,” I said,
watching as she debated. “Please?”

We were in a silent
standoff, me smirking and her with a furrowed brow. I wished like hell I could
read her mind.

“What was that kiss
about earlier?” she finally asked.

“Wait…do friends not
kiss?” I asked, feigning shock.

“Not in my experience,”
she answered humorously.

“Look, please Dani, just
come inside for a minute.”

I reached out for her
hand and she allowed me to guide her down the path that led to my back door. I
still hadn’t said anything and it began to feel awkward between us. I thought
it would be easier to talk, and yet I found myself staring at her as if
she
was the one who asked to come in.

“So why did you want me
to come inside?” she asked quietly.

Dani looked calm,
crossing her arms over her chest, but it wasn’t convincing. As I rested my arms
on the countertop in front of me, I knew that she was someone worth putting
myself out there for. We were separated by the massive granite island in the
center and she looked grateful for the barrier.

I grabbed two beers and
handed one to her, standing in front of her, but giving her enough space to
think. She smiled nervously as she took a sip of her beer. I watched her run
her finger along the condensation on the bottle, nervously avoiding me.

“So you kissed me
earlier,” she said casually, but kept her eyes on the beer label that she had
started peeling off.

“Yeah. And if I recall,
you kissed me back.”

She shifted
uncomfortably and brought her eyes to mine, a look of determination flooding
her. “I didn’t.”

“Why are you lying?” I
took a swig of beer and raised a brow.

“I’m not,” she started
to object, as she leaned back against the counter behind her. But I suppose it
was farther than she realized because she stumbled backward. I stepped forward
and reached out, catching her elbow, and held on until she stabilized. “Lying,”
she finished.

When I released Dani’s
arm, I brushed a stray hair from her face. Her body shivered as my fingers
grazed her cheek.

“Why are you so adamant
that we shouldn’t at least try?”

“Why are you so adamant
that we should?”

“Because…why not?”

It wasn’t a sound
argument, but with Dani mere inches away, it seemed good enough and she seemed
to believe it too. She sighed and closed her eyes briefly before our eyes
locked again.

“What is it you’re so
scared about?” I cocked my head to the side, genuinely intrigued by her
reasoning.

“I hate that word,” she
huffed. “It’s a helpless word…a weak word.”

“I don’t know you very
well, but from what I’ve seen so far, you are neither helpless or weak.”

“Honestly, I’m just not
sure it’s the right time for me to get involved with someone.”

“With someone? Or with
me?”

“Tabor,” she started,
but I interrupted.

“I have women sending me
private messages, nude pictures, and throwing themselves at me,” I told her,
shaking my head as the words came out. “They have no idea who I am, they just
want a piece of me because I’m relevant at the moment. How are you any
different? You’re holding who I am
against
me, just like it’s a selling point for them. I
want
to get to know you. I don’t care about the shit they do. I’m
not stupid, I know what they’re after. You can say whatever you want, but I
know you like me, too. So if you’re not scared, what is it?”

“Are you always so
cocky?”

“When I know I’m right,
I am.”

Dani shook her head and
set the beer down, bracing her hands on the granite behind her as she looked
into my eyes. “What makes you so sure you’re right?”

I didn’t answer right
away, instead setting my own beer down and sauntering the few steps it took to
stand in front of her. I rested my hands on either side of her body, pinning
her in, but leaned down to look into her eyes. As I began to speak, I wanted
her to know every word coming from me was truth.

“Because, when I saw you
the other day fixing your tire, you agreed to a date. Because you kissed me the
other night and I know you felt something. Because you told your friends about
me. Because whenever we’re together, I can see it in your eyes,” I said with a
smirk. “Do I need to go on?”

Dani shook her head
slowly, knowing I was right. Every bit of it. I’d put my cards on the table and
wanted to get to know her, but she was the one who was slowing the pace.

“What if it doesn’t
work?”

“What if it does?” I
fired back. “We may find out we have nothing in common and maybe we really are
better off as friends. But the way I see it, we won’t know until we try.”

I leaned forward so I
was close enough to smell her hair as she continued to talk.

“But I still don’t want
everyone to know—at least not yet. I’d like to keep this between us and
the few people that know, because I like my privacy.”

“Something else I like
about you,” I said, moving my lips to her cheek.

I leaned back and
watched as her eyes fluttered closed. She slowly opened them and took a deep
breath, but when she spoke I knew the game was over.

“What else do you like
about me?” she asked, grinning up at me.

I leaned in and kissed
her pink, full lips. “The first thing I liked, was how messy you were trying to
change that damn tire,” I said, kissing the corner of her mouth.

“And second?” she asked
breathily.

“That you didn’t seem
impressed by me,” I chuckled, kissing her cheek.

“I’m not.” She laughed
softly before closing her eyes as I trailed more kisses along her jaw. “What
else?”

“You’re not trying too
hard,” I answered, kissing just below her ear.

“You’re just a guy,” she
murmured, unable to speak in her normal voice as I kissed her neck.

I brought my forehead to
hers and closed my eyes. My arm was wrapped around her waist and I gently
pulled her against me. Dani’s hands were braced on my arms and I didn’t want
her to let go.

“That’s right,” I said
as I stood up to my full height. “I’m just a guy. Take away the endorsements,
agents, and teammates, and I’m just like any other guy.”

She snaked her arm
around my neck and pulled me to her, finally kissing me the way I had hoped.
Dani was one of the few women I’d met that I wanted to spend time getting to
know, and I wanted her to feel the same.

Dani pulled away, ending
the kiss, and narrowed her eyes playfully. “I hope you’re not like any other
guy. I’m going out on a limb here because I think you might be unlike anyone
I’ve met before…all that stuff you mentioned aside. So don’t break me. Okay?”

Those words held so much
vulnerability in them, because this was her way of letting me know that she
wanted to try. So I did the only thing I could think of: I kissed
her—promising, with my touch, that I would do everything in my power not
to hurt her. Because she deserved my best.

My free hand traveled up
her back until it tangled in her hair, holding her to me. Her body responded to
my touch and her soft moans as she let her guard down were all I wanted.

I released her from my
arms as she separated from my lips, even though it was that last thing I
wanted. We were breathing heavily, and as she took a step back I watched the
beauty that was Dani Miner. She smiled up at me and I couldn’t help but return
it with my own when I saw her cheeks flush.

“I should go,” she said
hesitantly, but I got the feeling she wanted to stay. “You probably have a lot
going on tomorrow.”

I reached for her hand
and smiled. “I have a late appointment, so no need to rush out…unless you want
to go.”

“I don’t.”

I grabbed our beers with
my free hand and nodded my head toward the living room.

“Where are we going?”
she asked, chuckling behind me.

“Thought maybe we can
watch a movie or something.”

“Or something?” she
teased. “Smooth, Tabor.”

“That’s not what I
meant, but I like where your mind is going,” I answered quickly before walking
toward the leather couch.

She watched as I tossed
several pillows onto the floor. Abbi and Mom went overboard in decorating,
despite my argument that men don’t care about pillows.

When the space was
cleared, I sat down in the spot I’d worn from my vegging and reclined the seat
back. I patted the open spot next to me and casually draped my arm across the
back.

Dani was still standing
off to the side as I turned on the TV and began flipping channels, glancing in
her direction a couple of times.

“I won’t bite,” I said
teasingly as I patted the seat again.

“Good to know,” she shot
back. “I’m just waiting to see what you pick before I make the commitment.”

I turned away, smirking
and shaking my head, never stopping on any channel. I liked the playfulness in
our banter. Dani had a dry personality, but that was something that made me
laugh. It was hard to tell when she was serious or joking, and that kept me
guessing. Every once in a while, I’d pause on a channel only to change it
again.

She finally walked over
and joined me on the couch, and when she did I dropped my arm over her shoulder
as if she’d always been there. I handed her the remote and laughed at her
reaction.

“Wow. You play well with
others?” she asked, feigning shock before handing it back to me. “You pick.”

“All right.” I shrugged,
flipping the channel a few more times before stopping and angling my body
toward her. “It’s too much pressure,” I laughed.

“No movies then,” she
said, turning to face me so she could see my face. My finger ran lazy circles
on her upper arm and I noticed a shiver as she tried to hide her reaction.

“Okay.” I smirked,
leaning in to kiss her, but she pressed her hand over my mouth.

“Not that either,” she
said. She gave a mocking scold and grinned. “Tell me something about you that
most people don’t know.”

I leaned back and looked
at the ceiling as I considered her question.

“I don’t really like
talking to people,” I admitted.

Dani’s face scrunched in
confusion and I smiled, shaking my head.

“I like people. But I’ve
never been completely at ease in front of a crowd. I hate press conferences,
but we are obligated to do them after a game.”

“Why do you hate it so
much?” she asked.

I inhaled loudly and
cleared my throat. “I don’t
hate
it,
but when I was a kid, I had a bit of a stutter. I was teased when I was in
first grade by the other kids and I just got to the point where I so was
embarrassed that I finally stopped talking altogether.”

“Really? But I haven’t
heard you stutter,” she observed, and she wasn’t wrong.

“Remember how I said my
mom was a teacher?”

She nodded and I
continued.

“She worked at a different
school from where Abbi and I went. The speech pathologist at her school was
supposed to be the best in the area, so Mom moved us there. I was in speech
therapy until I was in fifth grade.”

“So you don’t stutter
anymore,” she clarified.

“I still have my
moments, but for the most part, I’m good. But that’s why I hate talking to
people, or in public,” I said. “What about you?”