She exhales and starts to laugh, and I reach down between us to dispose of the condom. Turning onto her side, she puts a hand under her cheek, smiling as she looks up at me. It hits me right in the chest, and those thoughts of staying try to come flashing back.
I push those away. We’re just having fun, scratching an itch. We both have other plans.
“We’re supposed to be working,” she says.
I trace my finger along the blonde curl at her cheek. “It’s Sunday. You’re supposed to rest on Sunday.”
“We’re not resting. We’re fucking.”
Now that was the hottest thing I’ve heard in a while. Leaning down, I kiss her rosebud lips. “We’re rewriting history.”
She pushes up with a sigh, standing and going to her bathroom. “I’m taking a shower. You’d better take off.”
“You don’t want me to join you?” I make a disbelieving face, but she shakes her head.
“That was the last time.”
A grin splits my cheeks, and I’m about to laugh as she closes the door quickly. Not quick enough for me to miss the grin lifting her cheeks as well.
We’ll see, sex kitten. My sassy Tinkerbell.
It’s early afternoon, so I borrow Gran’s red Chevy pickup and head over to my dad’s. I’ve been procrastinating this visit, because I know what he’s going to say. Nobody can believe I’d walk away from the Chief’s deal. Sometimes I don’t believe it.
Parking the truck, I look up at the colonial mansion surrounded by black wrought iron. English ivy climbs the bricks, and a fountain is between the street and the front door. It’s one of the historic homes in Fireside, and my mom loved it so much.
I’m not sure my dad even looks at it. He just pays people to maintain it. I find him in the kitchen, and when he sees me, he crosses the room to pull me into a hug.
“When did you get in town?” He pats my shoulder.
“A couple of days ago.”
“A couple of days?” That gets me a frown as he returns to the array of canisters sitting beside the blender. “Glad you made time for dear old dad.”
I’m not really in the mood to pretend he means that. “What are you making?”
“Check this out. Twenty milligrams of collagen and a full dose of Vitamin D and peptides.” He puts two scoops of white powder over the bananas and orange syrup in the blender before sliding the large white tub across the bar to me.
Essential Proteins. I read the label briefly. Dad got into the fitness game when we were in high school. He opened a few gyms down around Oceanside Beach when it was first developing, and they blew up in popularity. Seems even on a beach vacation, some people want to hit the gym.
I’d just run on the shore.
“That’s cool.” I set the canister aside. “How you been doing?”
I’ve never been able to figure out why our dad didn’t remarry. It’s not like he didn’t get over losing our mom. I was a little pissed at him for that as a kid, but now that I’m older, I recognize the signs they weren’t really happy together.
Still, he’s a good-looking guy. Hell, J.R. and I both look like him. I’m the tallest of the three, but we all share the same light brown hair and blue eyes. Mine just gets lighter in the sun.
“Feeling my age.” He exhales a grim chuckle. “They don’t tell you how much changes when you hit fifty.”
My brow furrows. “Anything serious?”
“Only if you call poor vision, thinning hair, and saggy balls serious.”
“Jesus.” Wincing, I go to the fridge and pull out a soft drink. A mental image I do not want in my head is my dad’s saggy balls.
He cackles and hits the button on the blender. After a few ear-splitting seconds, it’s mixed, and he pours it into a tumbler. “With the way they’re developing these supplements, you’ll probably never have to worry about it.”
“Hope so.” I huff, not really believing it.
“So you turned them down.” His eyes narrow, and just like that, we dive into the shit.
“You know I’m no quarterback. They wanted J.R. for that position.”
“You’re right. John was a fool to turn down their offer. He let you down, too. If he’d taken the deal, they’d have offered you starting receiver. You two are a team, dynamite on the field, and you threw it all away.”
“It’s not what he wanted to do. It’s not what I want to do.” He makes a disgusted noise, but I’m not finished. “Do you know how many concussions NFL quarterbacks get? You know what that does to your brain?”
“When you’re that rich, you can afford the doctor bills. Hell, just look at all these retired guys doing commercials, hosting sports shows, making a killing. It’s a good life.”
“Not all of them are that lucky. J.R. wanted to be a dad. I’m going to Hollywood.”
“Hollywood.” He huffs a derisive laugh, and a flash of shame tightens my throat. “I’ll give you five minutes.”
“Thanks,” I mutter.
“Anybody can be a dad.”
“Not anybody can be a good dad.”
He sets down his drink. “Is that supposed to mean something?”
“It means what I said.”
Blue eyes level on mine. I’ve seen him make grown men pee their pants with that glare. I’m not feeling the urge.
He adopts a superior tone. “A good dad teaches you to stand on your own two feet. He prepares you for opportunity and helps you seize it when it appears.”
“Yeah, I get it. I was pretty naïve thinking you’d understand having a dream.” Setting my empty can on the bar, I’m ready to go.
“I had a dream. It was the dream I passed on to my boys. I had all the talent of you two combined, but once I blew out my knee it was over.” He rounds the bar. “This is a once in a lifetime chance. It’s not over for you.”
“This conversation’s over. See you around, Dad.”
His sharp reply follows me to the door. “If you turn your back on this offer and go to L.A., don’t come crawling back here when you fail.”
Don’t worry. I’m never coming back here.
Nine
Daisy
“Do geese see God?” Scout stands in the center of the master suite shirtless, half-used paint supplies scattered all around us.
I, by contrast, am down to my underwear and socks. “Wow.”
His head tilts to the side. “Seriously? Wow?”
“It counts! It’s a palindrome.”
I’m still not sure how he talked me into a game of strip palindrome. Actually, I do know. He could talk me into pretty much anything at this point. Ever since that massive orgasm in the ocean, and the following two, I’ve been in deep smit.
I walked around sore and achy from riding his cock all evening, then I dreamed about riding it all night. He held me in his arms, smiling down at me and smoothing my hair back with his fingers. It was fizzy and romantic, like a scene in a movie.
“Madam, I’m Adam.”
“Mom.”
“You already said Mom. Lose the bra, Sales.”