Running Interference (8 page)

She looked stricken. Eyes wide. Nostrils flaring.
Bingo.
Wait a minute. He was the asshole who had hurt her?

“Of course it's about my dad's gym.” She stumbled over the unconvincing words. “That's all I care about. And you,” she jammed a finger into his chest, leaving behind a sting, “can't solve this with your magic checkbook and Lombardi Trophy.”

Maybe he couldn't solve the mind-bending crap that was happening between them, but the foreclosure of the gym? Definitely. “You wanna bet?”

“No! What I want is ... ” She hesitated. “What I want is … ” She shoved her fingers into her hair. “What I want is for you to forget I ever asked you to help me. Go home and spend time with your mother. Just leave. Leave! You're good at that.”

Yep. He was the asshole. “T … ” He reached for her again, but this time she backed away. “You're mad at me. I get it.”

“Do you?”

“I do.”

“I don't think so. I think you see me acting like this and you think I'm pissed because you called to cry about missing home, and you called to cry about Abigail cheating on you, and you called to cry about how worried you were that you wouldn't go in the first round of the draft, and then you never called again. And you'd be right, but not completely, because what really pisses me off is that after all of that, you can sweep into town and make me want you again.”

Damn. Just damn. He couldn't even breathe. “T …”

“Don't ‘T' me.”

“Okay.” He put up his hands in surrender. “Okay, but do I get a chance to respond to that?”

Her shoulders slumped. “I don't know. I kind of want to take it all back.”

God help him, he chuckled. “I don't want you to. I needed to hear it—all of it. Especially that last part. I'm sorry. I was a selfish idiot. And while I don't expect it to happen right away, I hope you can forgive me someday.”

She chewed on her bottom lip.

As much as he wanted to keep talking until she said she miraculously forgave him, her struggle broke him. “Come here.”

She didn't move except to square her chin, and then she looked at his open arms and made a face. “I don't want any strings. Do you hear me? None.”

He heard what she was saying, but he was struggling to understand her as much as she seemed to be struggling to understand herself. Was she trying to define whatever was happening between them?

“No strings,” he said. “Got it.”

But it was probably too late for that. Looking at her shivering against the cold with a strange determination twinkling in her eyes, Cam knew he hadn't completely cut the strings that came from being with her in the first place all those years ago. No matter how much time passed, she would always be his first. And that had weight. He had no idea what being with her again after all these years would prove, but the pull was so strong.

He went to her and leaned in until he felt her warm breath on his face. “No strings,” he said again.

And then he kissed her. A smooth, firm press of his lips. No hands or arms to bind her. A sweep of his tongue to open her mouth. A taste of the heat inside.

Her fingertips grazed his jaw, and he stepped closer, angling his head and deepening the kiss on the leverage from her hand that was now sliding over his cheek.

She gripped his jacket with her other hand and made a throaty noise that echoed in the night. Hell, even if this came with strings the strength of steel cables, he'd take his chances.

When she finally broke free, she looked up at him through glassy eyes. “Whatever happens from here, it's just sex,” she said.

“Deal.”

• • •

Tanya took him by the hand and guided him around back to the fire escape instead of going through the restaurant foyer where they could be seen. The last thing she needed was Aunt Grace getting a load of this.

She climbed the metal stairs first. Her clammy hands gripped the rails while his soft hands caressed her ass. Oddly erotic. She slowed down and let him skim between her legs. This was off the hinge. Completely crazy. And she was going for it. The faster she ate a half gallon of ice cream the more the brain freeze hurt, and that pain would keep her from wanting it long term.

Ooh!
But there was no pain now. Just wave after wave of pleasure and so much heat. She could run the length of a football field without breaking a sweat, but these steps and that man made her breathless. So she climbed even slower, but it didn't help. She was light-headed by the time they hit the landing.

At the top, she faced him, pulled him close, and kissed him hard. Her jelly legs ached to be wrapped around him.

She dragged her mouth from his and steadied herself with an inhale. “You sure you're up for this?” After their lackluster encounter senior year, they had a lot to prove.

“Trust me. I'm up. I've been up since the parking lot.”

Screw the aftermath. She yanked him by the shirt into the hallway, where she broke free of him long enough to make it to her door and slip the key into the lock. But before she could open it, he slid his hands beneath her shirt, skimming her belly until he cupped her breasts.

Lust lapped at every nerve ending. She dropped her forehead to the door and tried to slow her breathing, hoping to get enough air to her lungs. Her head was soupy, but she needed to think … at least a little bit. Did she even have condoms? Jillian would. Someplace.

He leaned in, opened his mouth on her neck, and she pressed her backside against him. Just a little grind against the bulge in his pants. He rolled her nipples until they hardened, and she gasped.
Not here.
Sex in the hallway when she had family downstairs was an awful idea.

But her body lagged behind the thought. Too saturated in desire for him. Her backside rolled and rubbed. Her breasts hung heavy. Her head twisted so her mouth could meet his.

Somehow she managed to turn the knob and push the door. The second it opened, something felt off. And there went the yummy feelings Cam had delivered with the palm of his hands. She pushed his arms from under her shirt and shook her head.

“Let me make sure Jillian didn't somehow beat us back from the gym.”

Something moved on the sofa.

She stepped closer and looked over the back to find Jace sleeping under a quilt Grandma Martin had made.
Oh, crap.

Cam saw the child, too. His eyes widened as he exhaled. Disappointment hung on his face.
Tell me about it, buddy.
But this was a big deal.

She stared at her nephew for a few seconds while her breathing regulated, and then she looked at Cam. “I don't know what's going on. As far as I know, he's not supposed to be here.”

A quick search of her apartment proved Jillian was indeed still gone and no note or telephone message was left. Waking Jace up was the fastest way to get to the bottom of this.

She sat on the edge of the couch in front of his legs and rubbed his shoulder. “Hey bud, wake up.”

His eyelids fluttered.

“There you go,” she said. “We need to talk.”

Cam was standing at the end of the sofa, and Jace seemed to see him first—probably because the guy was so damn huge.

The kid scrambled into a sitting position. “Hey! Cam Simmons! What are you doing here?”

“My thoughts exactly,” Tanya said. “I didn't know we had a sleepover planned.”

Jace looked at her, but then he looked away. “We didn't actually.”

She nodded. “I didn't think so. What's going on?”

“I wanted to talk.” He hung his head. “I know you keep a key on the ledge at the top of the door. You used it the last time I was here. When nobody answered, I let myself in, and then I decided to stay. It's true, Aunt T. My mom's moving to Chicago, and my dad isn't going to stop her. He said I don't have a choice. But I do. I want to live with you.”

Ugh.
Tanya wrapped an arm around him and held on. He couldn't live here. She knew enough about child custody from being a teacher to know it didn't work that way. But now was not the time to argue with him. “I'm so sorry you're stuck in the middle of this.” Damn divorce. Dependent people. Messy feelings. Strings.

He cried into her chest, and she leaned her chin on his head and cried a little too. A tissue box appeared in her peripheral vision.
Cam.
He was holding out a box of tissue and smoothing his free hand over her back.

“I'm sorry,” she mouthed. Nothing like opening a delicious carton of ice cream, only to watch it melt. She snatched a couple tissues from the box Cam was holding, and then she offered them to Jace.

“Are you going to make me go home?” He looked up at her, and the sadness on his face widened the crack in her heart.

She shook her head. “No, but I do need to call your mom to let her know you're safe.”

“I should go,” Cam said.

“No!” Jace looked at Cam and then back at her. “Can't he stay and hang out with us? That would be so cool.”

She looked up at Cam. “If you're free, you're welcome to stay. We can have ice cream.” She grinned.

He nodded, and when he sat beside Jace on the other end of the couch, she excused herself to make that call.

When her sister-in-law, Marissa, didn't answer, Tanya called her brother, Tyler, and lit into him. Of course, Tyler wanted to come get Jace immediately, but Tanya warned him that might make things worse.

“Give him the night to calm down and get some rest,” she said. “Maybe he'll feel better in the morning. And by then, you and Marissa can formulate a plan, because whatever you have right now isn't working.”

It was all about the plan.

By the time she returned to the living room, Cam and Jace where sitting side-by-side on the sofa, deep in conversation. So deep it made her stop just inside the hallway.

“There's a lot of cool stuff that comes with being famous,” Cam said.

Jace nodded. “I bet you get all the hot chicks.”

Cam laughed. “I do okay.”

Her gut clenched. He'd always gotten the hot chicks. From the head cheerleader to the movie star. And yeah, she was jealous. Who wouldn't be? When he'd had them, he didn't seem to need her. Good thing she wouldn't have to worry about that this time.

“Have you ever been to Chicago?” Jace asked. The way he stared up at Cam with so much emotion in his eyes had her praying Cam would be careful with this answer.

“I have.” Cam said. “I'm usually there once a year. It's a great place.”

She exhaled. Hearing about the positives of Chicago from a guy like Cam might make things easier for Jace.

“What's so great about it? It's probably just like any other city.”

Cam shook his head. “You mean like here? Nah. Chicago is way better than here. It's a lot bigger, and bigger is always better.” He smiled. “They have awesome food, like deep-dish pizza
.
So good! There's a lot more to do, too. They have a pier that runs out into Lake Michigan with all these rides and games. I'm talking a huge Ferris wheel. You can see for miles. And, Chicago has two professional baseball teams. I mean, how cool is that?”

Alright. She didn't love that he said Chicago was way better than here, but she appreciated what he was trying to do. Besides, two professional baseball teams
was
pretty cool.

“I guess it sounds okay,” Jace said.

“I'll tell you something else,” Cam continued, but quieter. “I'm only here because I want my mom to move to Boston with me. I've been trying to get her to leave Cleveland since I was drafted, but she's stubborn. If she wasn't here, I wouldn't be here. You know what I mean?”

Tanya winced. It figured he had some ugly ulterior motive for dropping into town like this.
Son of a bitch!
She'd been stupid enough to believe he'd suddenly wised up and missed everybody.

“I wish my mom was moving to Boston,” Jace said. “Then at least I could see you again.”

Cam patted the kid's back. “I'll tell you what. If you end up in Chicago, I'll make sure you have tickets to the game when New England comes to town, and we will hang out as much as we can.”

There was the generous streak that had her reeling since the day they spent at the school. So sweet. A turn-on even. If she weren't so pissed about his reason for being here.

“That sounds awesome,” Jace said.

A few beats of silence, and she contemplated rejoining them, telling Cam she could take it from here, but Jace's voice had her halting. “If you had a choice, who would you want to live with, your mom or your dad?”

That
was where she had to draw the line. Cam Simmons was no man to be giving advice when it came to fathers. It was time for him to go.

She didn't want any ice cream tonight after all.

Cam stared at the young boy and tried to wade through his own confusing feelings about moms and dads and where kids fit between them. In his experience, a kid didn't need a dad as much as he needed his mom. That was the biggest lesson life had taught Cam by giving him an absentee father. But Jace had a father in his life, and the boy probably couldn't imagine not having one, so Cam would ease him into it.

“You know, it's hard to see it during times like this, but … ”

“Hey!” Tanya buzzed by the sofa on her way to the kitchen. “I'm going to make popcorn, and, I'm sorry, bud, but it's probably best if Cam goes home.”

The interruption didn't feel accidental. She'd overheard him, hadn't she? And she didn't trust him to answer the question tactfully. Come on. What did she expect him to say?
I didn't have a dad in my life, and it hasn't hurt me.
Or how about,
fill up the hole with professional achievements, fast cars, big houses, and pretty women.

Whatever. He stood. But the kid reached up and grabbed his hand. “You said he could stay.” Jace directed the comment over the sofa back at Tanya, who was fumbling around the kitchen.