Ask For It (11 page)

“Aren't you going to introduce us?” the mousy brunette asked, pinning her friend with a curious glance.

“Um, sure. Trevor Wyatt, meet my other two best friends. Baby Campbell and Gretchen Mascoe.”

“Do you have a brother?” Baby asked, wiggling her eyebrows up and down. She stepped forward and extended a delicate hand.

What a flirt.

He kept his arm firmly around Julia's waist as he shook Baby’s hand.

“Go find your own man and leave Trevor alone,” Cindy said from the kitchen doorway. She held a platter piled high with roasted beef and vegetables. Trevor's taste buds did a little jig.

Trevor enjoyed watching Julia interact with her friends. They’d obviously shared a lot over the years. There was something charming about the fact that they got together each week to talk and sample new wines. There was plenty of teasing and an obvious love between the four women.

Lots of laughter too.

The camaraderie made him miss his team. His step from the limelight had been hard; many of the guys hadn’t understood it. They were busy with their lives, fast moving careers…women. Several of them had young families and no one knew the pressure of sending a team back to the Bowl better than Trevor.

Most of all he missed his best friend. But the thought of Carson made the back of his neck heat and the rest of him flush with a sweat. Would he ever listen to Trevor’s side of things? Watching the way JJ smiled at her friends through good natured ribbing about keeping Trevor a secret made him wonder if he shouldn’t try to call up the man who’d been like a brother to him, on and off the field.

“Don’t make me tell the rat story,” Baby warned.

“Go for it,” Julia shot back. “And I’ll tell them about the time you thought a fish stole your bikini top.”

The delicate arch of Julia’s brow made him laugh. Damn she was cute. He loved it when she got all feisty.

Baby’s light blue eyes lit up and she made a show of zipping her lips.

“So, Adam, tell us about your work,” Trevor said, deciding a safer topic was in order.

The man sat down his fork and wiped his mouth. “I work for a web hosting company in Vegas. I haven’t told Cindy yet, but a couple of friends and I just bought out the company this week.”

“Really?” Cindy threw her arms around Adam’s shoulders. “That’s awesome!”

The dark haired man accepted her affections, seeming only slightly embarrassed.

“We’d all been there for years, talking about doing our own thing on day. And the owner was letting tech support slide too much.” He shrugged.

“Which is how he met me,” Cindy said with a satisfied smile before kissing Adam’s cheek. As she pulled back, she reached over to wipe her lipstick from his skin and Trevor could have sworn he heard Gretchen sigh.

Julia lifted her glass. “To new adventures.”

“And new friendships,” Baby added, a glimmer in her eyes.

JJ glanced at Trevor’s profile in the low light. Why had she been so nervous about introducing him to her friends? Somehow in two hours, she’d completely forgotten the tension she’d felt. The uneasy feeling in her stomach was gone. Baby and Gretchen had given her a thumbs-up and matching grins on the way out of Cindy’s apartment.

All in all, it’d been a great evening. Smoother than she’d expected, but now she was chalking her low expectations up to nerves. It’d been a while since she’d dated anyone worth introducing to the group.

And Trevor…well, as much as she’d been crushing on him over the years, she was surprised that Baby had managed to keep from teasing JJ about it. She never knew what was going to come out of Baby’s mouth, which was part of her charm, but also an occasional cause for embarrassment.

JJ reached across the console and laced her fingers with his. He'd been absolutely wonderful. A gentleman. Attentive. And the way he’d kept his hand on her thigh throughout the entire meal had ensured that her attention was at least halfway on him at all times.

Luckily, Adam had been there to provide a bit of distraction from Trevor and their budding relationship. She liked how down to earth Adam was. Quick to smile. Obviously a brainiac. And somehow, despite being opposites in many ways, he and Cindy seemed perfect for each other. Which was good, because JJ was pretty sure that between the two of them they could create nuclear power.

“Penny for your thoughts.”

“I was just thinking about how crazy Cindy and Adam are for each other. It's good to see her in a real relationship.”

“A real relationship?” he asked, slowing at a red light. Outside, a homeless man played a saxophone on the street corner. A play must have just let out at the Fox. Hundreds of people poured onto the sidewalk, several tossed change in the man's saxophone case.

“One where both parties see a future. Baby's a serial dater and I'm afraid Cindy's followed her lead the last few years.”

“What about you?”

“I'm not a serial dater.”

“And our relationship?”

She turned to him then, heart in her throat. Why did she feel like this was a precipice of their relationship? And how could it be? They'd only been together for two weeks...if you could consider a wild weekend followed by two weeks apart and another wild weekend  “together.”

“What about it?” she asked softly, terrified to say the wrong thing. Her heart squeezed and she realized just how important his answer was.

Before she could chastise herself for being silly and overly optimistic, he reached for her hand. “Is our relationship real?”

“I hope so.” Otherwise she needed to get out of it ASAP. Trevor Wyatt was the kind of man who could break your heart without even trying.

“Me too.”

CHAPTER TEN

Two weeks later, Trevor sat in his rented SUV just outside the Georgia Dome, a perk of the local police force being a fan of his. His flight had arrived just as the game was starting and he’d been at a loose end since then. With no key to Julia’s condo, he’d had nowhere to go, nothing to do…except think of her.

Trevor waited until the game was over and then forced himself to sit there for an hour longer before sending her a text message.

SURPRISE. OUT FRONT. WANT A LIFT?

It'd taken considerable willpower and several laps around the stadium to leave her alone so she could do her job. Being in her company was addicting.

Throughout the day he'd found himself remembering the look on her face as she'd come apart in his arms two weeks ago. The gorgeous O of her mouth, raised brows. Pure pleasure.

He could still hear her breathy little sighs. A trip to the market after lunch had turned a little embarrassing when something had reminded him of her fresh scent.

They said scent and emotion were connected. Evidently his cock reacted to scent as well. Who'd known an erection could come about so fast? Now he had a box of chocolate cereal that made a great crotch cover that he had no intention of eating.

Her reply flashed onto the screen.

WOULD LOVE A RIDE.

Oh Jules…the things she did to his heart. And his cock. Sometimes he wondered if she was the ultimate temptress. Or if she really didn’t understand the connotation her words had.

He looked up for a landmark and gave her his location. Then his heart took off like a speed train.

Since JJ had come back into his life he felt more alive than ever and also at a loose end. After his accident he’d stopped all public appearances, even charity events. Seeing Julia’s busy schedule, the way she made time for friends and flipping houses, made him realize he needed to take his life off pause. There were organizations who counted on appearances from people like him to bring in donations. And he’d put off his endorsement deals as long as he could.

When he’d given his agent the go ahead to start scheduling a few things for him again, the response had been a little overwhelming. But he’d managed to work through the appearances this week in record time and made last minute plans to fly to Atlanta. He could’ve probably gotten last minute tickets to the rare Thursday game, but after being surrounded by fans all week, he didn’t want to face any more.

He was starting to wonder if Julia’s use of a disguise wasn’t a stroke of genius. In a weak moment he’d even gone online to see about getting colored contacts and a box of brown hair dye.

He tightened his grip on the steering wheel as he pondered the latest ‘fan letter’ he’d turned over to the police earlier in the week.

No amount of hair dye would stop the letters. And short of stopping all public appearances and losing his endorsement deals, he’d remain a target for crazies.

He blew out a sigh. Where was she? He needed to feel her hand in his, hear her voice and feel…grounded again.

Had it really been a month since she’d strode into his cousin’s store? It felt like six months.

A few minutes later she darted out of the crowd. She was wearing the backless sneakers she’d bought at his cousin’s shop. Damn, she was adorable. Ponytail swooshing back and forth as she walked, a skip in her step. As she got closer he could tell she didn’t have in the muddy contacts. Those lovely blue-gray eyes were looking for
him
. The knowledge made him puff up with pleasure.

He unlocked the door just as she reached the SUV. She sank into the leather seat next to him and tipped her head back against the headrest. Her sigh told him just how busy her day must have been.

But then she rolled her head to the left and her lips curved up. “Hi,” she said, her voice husky. Her eyes were bright despite the dim interior.

“Hi yourself,” was all he managed before he reached for her.

She leaned into his embrace and their lips met in a hot kiss. He cursed the console between them, needing to be closer, to feel her against him.

Cupping the back of her head, he deepened the kiss, tangling his tongue with hers. She moaned and sucked him into the depths of her mouth. So hot. So wet. His erection pressed against the fly of his jeans.

Damn, he had to get her back to her place ASAP. With her clinging to him, kissing him like she hadn't seen him in years, he didn't think he could last long. In fact, he knew he couldn't.

“You're going to have to let me drive, sweetheart,” he murmured, caressing her face. He opened his eyes just as she nibbled her lower lip.

Double damn.

Jerking away from her he threw on his seatbelt. Without another look in her direction, he started the car and sped away from the curb. Damn, she was going to get him arrested for public indecency. And the charges would be totally justified.

“No contacts?” he asked as he negotiated the remaining game traffic.

She shook her head and again her ponytail captivated him. He couldn’t ever remember being turned on by one, but his fingers itched to tug it until her head tipped back, exposing her throat.

“I don’t think I’ll be using them anymore.”

“Good.”

That earned him a grin.

“If John finds me threatening, too damn bad. I’m a good writer. He’s lucky to have me on his staff.”

She was right about that. He’d read her article about Ricky Mathers. Entertaining and informative. He was glad she was ready to stand up for herself. That didn’t stop him from wanting to take this John dude out back for a fist-nose pie though.

“What brought this on?”

She shrugged. “Got a job offer. It made me reread some of my work. I used to be pretty good. Enthusiasm does that. But that was when I loved my job.”

There was so much in her words, so many questions he wanted to ask. But he settled on the biggie.

“Job offer?”

“I told them thanks, but no thanks. I’m not moving to the west coast.”

Her phone buzzed in her bag and for a moment JJ considered not answering it. But she saw Thomas’s name flash up at her and she reached for it.

“It’s my brother,” she said so Trevor wouldn’t jump to the wrong conclusion again and sent him a teasing smile.

He grinned back and reached for her hand.

“Hey Thomas,” she said into the speaker.

“Hey Jules. I’ve got the tablet for dad, but Best Buy doesn’t gift wrap. If I try to wrap this thing, you know it’s going to look like a toddler did it.”

JJ laughed. Thomas might be the middle of her three brothers but he was also the responsible one, the glue that kept everyone else together. But he couldn’t wrap worth a darn. For that matter, when he tried to use gift bags…yeah, he just didn’t have much of a creative bone in his body. No, he was all man, no frills.

“Sure. I’ll wrap it before the party Saturday.” Which reminded her, she needed to call her dad and let him know what time she’d be there. “See you at eleven?”

Her phone buzzed, alerting her to an incoming call on the other line. She held it out quickly. Speak of the devil.

“Yeah. See you then.”

She clicked the button to switch the calls.

“Hey Dad.”

“Hi peanut! How are you?”

JJ cut a glance at Trevor and offered him a quick smile. “I’m doing great. How’s the birthday boy?”

His deep laugh carried through the phone and reminded her of the thousands of times she’d heard it as a child. After her mom had married him, JJ’d had a happy home life. An idyllic childhood so different from her first five years. Sometimes a little too conservative, but happy nonetheless.

“I’m fine. Can’t wait to see my favorite daughter Saturday,” he teased. “What time will you be able to get here? The boys are already chomping at the bit for a rematch.”

A rematch of the football game in the backyard last year, where JJ had totally kicked butt.

“I’ll be there around eleven,” she said, offering Trevor an apologetic smile. He gave her hand a squeeze. “And Daddy…I hope you don’t mind if I bring someone.”

Okay, so that was a little presumptuous. Trevor might not even want to go. Was it too early for him to meet her family? She didn’t feel like it was. They’d covered a lot of ground in four weeks and she wanted to show him off to the most important people in her life. But she hadn’t thought to ask him when his return flight was.

“That’s great honey. Can’t wait to meet him.”