Safe With You (23 page)

“It’s too early to tell. A lot of avenues aren’t adding up. I’m having restraining orders put in place for all four of you, though.”

“Four of us?” I swallow, rubbing my forehead.

“Yes because Cam is a negative fuse at this point. You’re about ready to detonate at any second. I can only get you guys out of so much, Kyle. And I’m running thin on pro bono.”

“I’ll pay for their cases. I told you I would.” I’m starting to wonder if heartburn will cause permanent damage with the fire smoldering in my throat.

“You’re not. Go help your mom this morning because she needs a ton of extra hands with the demo and remodel. Cam can’t do everything. We’ll be done here around two.” He grips my shoulder and goes back to his office.

The drive to the flower shop seems like hours. As a kid, it was my favorite place. The mundane task of dragging flower buckets and watering plants was kind of cathartic for me. I didn’t have to think about anything. My brain was always wired to baseball and the pressure to be on my game every second. Even if I was only able to come here once a week, I dragged it out as long as I could. I needed the outlet of doing nothing.

Also, my grandmother made a mean sweet tea. Working for her always had a sugar-induced perk we never spoke about.

The small shop in the Neartown section of Houston hasn’t changed in the forty years it’s been open. My mom did an awesome job preserving my grandmother’s vision of
rustic chic
. I still don’t know what it really means, but the store looks like it belongs out in the forest. The fragrant smell of roses still makes me feel like a kid. No matter what rare flowers my mom orders, it always smells like roses in here.

Cam’s car is parked in the back and I can only imagine the job waiting for me. I walk in and stumble a few steps as Cam has half of Ikea strewn in front of him. He holds up two different-sized oak and rustles through a bag of bolts.

“What the hell are you doing?” I laugh and take a big step over his spread.

“Why can’t they print fucking instructions?” Cam eyes the illustrated diagram next to him. “They’re shelves. They can’t be this fucking hard to assemble.”

“Cameron, I have lemon lavender soap back here. I don’t care how burly you are, I’ll still shove it down your throat.” My mom throws a few remnant leaf stems at his head.

“Sorry, Mrs. A.” He drops the planks and stands. “Your son is the genius. I’ll let him do it.”

“Fine. You can break down the counters in the back, they’re delivering the new one this afternoon. And turn off the waterline in the utility closet!” She shoves him as he walks past. “No more cussing, either!”

“Your mother is a slave driver, Avery! But I love her!” he shouts.

“You better if you want a hot meal on the table tonight.” She doesn’t even look up from her arrangement.

“Hi, Mom.” I walk around the counter and take the giant container of greens from her. She kisses my cheek and nods to put the bucket into the cooler.

“Hi, sweetie. How’s Olivia?” She fluffs the giant bouquet of tulips and pushes it off to the side.

“Holding up.” I shrug and hop onto the counter behind her. I can’t pinpoint what’s making me feel this much unease. Maybe it’s because I’m not with her and she probably has to divulge some pretty horrific details. I technically could have stayed, but she insisted she needed to do this on her own. I respect her for that, but it doesn’t mean I like it.

“Kyle, I really like her.” My mom takes my hand and squeezes it tight for a second. “She’s polite, sweet as sugar, and so beautiful. You really have a winner.”

“You met her less than a day ago.” I laugh and glance into the back room as something shatters. Cam curses and my mom rolls her eyes.

“Didn’t you say you
just knew
? I like her. Don’t mess it up.” She laughs and nods me over to the shelving. “Now get to it. I want all these units up today. The new cooler is coming in today, too. So save some space for that.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I salute her and take in the twenty boxes of shelving units.

Not one of my high school girlfriends ever came here. Olivia is the only girl I’ve ever wanted to bring here. I know she’d appreciate the details and the aesthetic they worked so hard to keep. I also think Olivia would fill a void for my mom, too. Since I’m an only child, she never had an ally here. Olivia could be the missing link for all of us.

When my mom told me she was redoing the shop, I told her she couldn’t touch the window displays, the one detail in here was always between me and my grandmother. The antique wooden shelves in the front displays are the same kind of high-level veneer maple my favorite bats are made from. I’m sure it cost a fortune to get something so specific, but it always reminded her of me. She told me even when I was off in college, or making millions, these were my roots. I would never forget them.

This is a sacred place to me. The shop was always the place where I wasn’t
The Next Big Star
. I was just me. Kyle. The lanky kid who hit six-two in the eighth grade and had a questionably huge best friend who looked like he used cement as a dietary supplement.

My grandmother drilled deep into my brain to always remember who I was. Where I came from. That my parents’ money was hard earned and to never expect anything based on status. Regardless of how I grew up, I never thought I was better than anyone. Even in baseball. When I knew tryouts were bullshit for me, I always went out of my way to help the other guys.

She died two months after my accident of a massive stroke. It was insult to injury. All I wanted when I could put more weight on my leg was to come here and help her. But she died before I was even off crutches. The only good memory I have of that time is the jug of sweet tea and container of homemade oatmeal raisin cookies she made me a few days before.

I was catatonic after she died. I couldn’t even bring myself to go to her shop for nearly a year. This is the first time I’ve been here in months. Like Olivia, I need to move on and accept things. The shop is going through an overhaul to update some of the older pieces, so I’m going to take today to do mundane, hard work. It’ll get my mind off the bullshit swarming in my head.

Chapter Twenty-One

Sweet Catastrophe

Olivia

Kyle drives through a different, yet no less impeccable, housing development. Dale perches on the edge of the window, wagging his tail so hard it thwacks my chest over and over.

Kyle glances in my direction, pursing his lips as he turns into a small baseball complex. “This is where I played Little League.”

I laugh. “Way better than my fields.”

As he walks around the front of his car, I stare at him like the view is somehow going to become old. It doesn’t, and I’ve never been more thankful. When he opens the door, he takes my hand and the box of food we picked up a few minutes ago.

The sun is shining and it’s sixty-five degrees outside. We sit in silence in one of the dugouts as we eat, and it’s almost as awkward as the first time he took me to dinner. Dale begs for scraps as the overwhelming smell of bacon fills the air.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Kyle glances at me. Apparently, he used to volunteer a lot for his old coach. I told him I’d come with him to this seminar, but that was before the shitstorm of tears and anger at his dad’s office yesterday.

“Of course. I need the distraction.” I pick up Dale and sit in Kyle’s lap, leaning my head on his shoulder.

“You know our relationship shouldn’t be based on distractions.” He kisses my forehead. “But I have to say you’re pretty good at it.”

“I know.” I want to laugh to lighten the mood, but it doesn’t feel right. There’s a bunch of things hanging in the air right now. Everything with his dad, talking about Braden, how different his whole life has been than mine. I just don’t know how to open up. “There are still so many things I want to tell you right now. Things I should have told you before your dad. But I will. I promise, but it’s going to take some time. You made me see what I—”

Kyle stands, cradling Dale and me in his arms, his eyes never leaving mine. “Stop. I don’t know how else to say this without being blunt. I love you. No matter what happens or happened, you were the one that finally pulled me out of the ninth circle of hell that has been holding me by the ankles and not letting me live my life. The only thing I care about now is your happiness and safety. Everything I’ve ever told you has one bottom line. If I didn’t leave UNC and come to New Orleans, I never would have met you. You are my happy ending. End of story. So no matter what you tell me or don’t tell me, nothing is going to change how I feel about you.”

“Kyle.” I hop down and place Dale on the floor. I spin around and take his face in my hands, not second-guessing my first instinct. “I love you, too. I
am
happy and I’m safe, and this is still so new to me. But, I love you. Maybe even more than you love me.”

I never would have imagined it would feel this good to love someone so much. His arms wrap around my waist as my lips crash into his. Our moment is cut way shorter than I’d like as tires crunch over the gravel in the parking lot. I dive from Kyle’s arms to grab Dale before he puppy-tackles and slobbers on everyone in the parking lot.

Kyle walks next to me to meet a very portly older man wearing a Mariners hat. I smile so widely as they embrace almost like father and son. It’s adorable, but not as adorable as the little girl who comes barreling from the backseat, hearts in her eyes as she bounds toward Dale and me.

“Hi, I’m Olivia.” I release Dale, but watching him before he goes overboard in affection.

“What’s his name?” She giggles as Dale crawls onto her lap, licking her cheek. I’m not surprised that she ignored me and went straight for the furball.

“Dale.” I pull him back a little as they both tumble into the grass. “What’s yours?”

“Madeline.” She stares at Kyle. “Are you Kyle’s wife? He’s so cute!”

At least she has good taste.

“No, definitely not. He’s my boyfriend.” I scoot closer to her as the wind picks up, allowing Dale to be our canine blanket. “So, why aren’t you out there with the other kids?”

“The boys on my old team teased me because I’m too small. So I quit and went back to gymnastics.” Dale scurries up her chest, showering her with more kisses. I know how she feels. Before I went into softball, I was on a coed team. I was relentlessly teased for being smaller than fun-sized.

I subtly nod Kyle over as he glances at me. He jogs to us and sits in the grass. “I swear you triple in size every year. What are you, fifteen?”

Bless her little heart, she blushes redder than Dale’s collar. “I’m nine now, Kyle!”

“Maddie told me she quit baseball for being too small.” I exaggerate a gasp. “I think she’d be perfect as a catcher, right?”

“You’re killing me.” Kyle grabs his heart and falls back onto the grass. Poor Dale thinks he’s dead and he bolts from my arms and onto his chest. “I swear, I’m taking Dale home right now if you don’t come out there with me. We’ll show them.”

Maddie shakes her head, tears welling. “But, I don’t like being teased.”

“You really think they’re going to tease the new assistant coach? I’ll make them do sprints for three hours if they do!” Kyle sits up and pulls Maddie into his lap. “Remember last year when you hit that single? It went right through Bobby’s legs! I couldn’t even do that when I was your age.”

I might actually have a heart attack as they banter back and forth. Maddie almost knows more about baseball than Kyle does. Homeboy has the patience of a saint. He always has. Dale snuggles into my lap and I smile when Kyle and Maddie stand up a few minutes later.

“Come over in about ten minutes. I’m going to give an epic speech.” Kyle kisses my forehead.

“I’ll kick those little boogers’ asses if they try any funny business with my girl, Maddie.” I wink at her.

Maddie takes Kyle’s hand and they both walk over to the dugout. The next few hours fly by in a blur as I watch Kyle and his old coach talk to thirty kids about baseball. Watching Kyle help them makes my love for him grow even more because his passion for baseball never left. I know his passion for me won’t, either.

***

I smile as Kyle’s fresh and minty breath prickles against my cheek, sending goose bumps all over my body. “Wake up, darlin’ … ”

“One sec … ” I bury my head into the pillow, roll off the side of the bed, and scamper into the bathroom. After a quick wake-up pamper and teeth brushing, I run back into the bedroom. Dale barks and wags his tail before running in a circle.

My hands grip and run through his messy hair as his lips move further down my jaw, neck, and chest. Nervousness and excitement rush through me. The anticipation gives me all the courage in the world to move ahead. Yesterday turned out to be more perfect than I ever expected.

He ushers Dale off the bed and out of the room, closing the door. I lean on my forearms as he walks back, my smile probably touching my ears. As he hovers over me, his lips press against my neck again. His breath is hot and labored between kisses as his hands slide down my body. “If this is too much … ” His head inclines to mine.

“Don’t stop.” My need for him is overflowing. I clamp my eyes shut, waiting for this to finally happen. My legs are glued together and I squirm, trying to provide pressured relief. Sensing my discomfort, he slips a hand between my thighs, hitting all the right spots without any guidance. Back arching, I gasp as his fingers work through the first ten layers of tension. The pleasure is amazing, but this won’t do. I need more than this … I need him.

All of him.

Within seconds, our clothes are strewn about the room. He guides my underwear down my leg. I nearly combust as he kisses my stomach lower and lower.

“Please, Kyle. Now.” A high-pitched, breathy moan follows as the blissful end nears. “I want this.”

“What do you want?” he whispers in my ear, tracing figure eights between my legs. “Tell me what you want, darlin’.”