The Ace (10 page)

Then what the fuck was his problem? Agitated, Jerry yanked his cap off and ran his fingers through his hair. He never hesitated on things. He wouldn’t say he was impulsive, but he didn’t hem and haw incessantly either. Once he figured out what he wanted, he went for it. That was it. What had suddenly made him change his ways, he didn’t know, but it was irritating.

Jerry blew out a breath through his nose and a white puff filled the cold air around him. He was thinking too much, that’s what his problem was. He was doing it with the house, with his game and with Karen, and he needed to stop. He had to get back to his old ways, stop overthinking things and just go for it. He’d been that way all his life and so far it’d worked for him. He’d made it to the Big Leagues and now was one of the best pitchers in the league, if not the very best.

“Fuck it,” he muttered as he stood up and headed toward the locker room.

Whatever decision he’d been waiting for, it was just made. He was done with putting it off and he was going to go for what he wanted, and that was Karen. She’d better be ready because he wasn’t screwing around anymore. It was time.

Chapter Ten

Karen arrived fashionably late to the clubhouse rented out for the engagement party Maddie and Chase were throwing for their close friends and family. The festivities were in full swing—small vases of snow-colored roses sat on each linen-covered tabletop while twinkling lights threaded through silvery mesh crisscrossed the ceiling. Bunches of cheerful, multicolored balloons hung in all corners of the room—she was sure at the request of Bree—adding some fun and color to the otherwise simple-but-elegant room.

In the middle of a large group, the bride—and groom-to-be stood together, beaming from ear to ear as they chatted with their guests. Karen stopped in the doorway and took a moment to watch her friend. Maddie had chosen a classic sleeveless burgundy silk dress that perfectly complemented her petite frame. The color contrasted dramatically with her milky skin and jet-black hair and she looked stunning. The permanent glow on her face from being in love made her even more beautiful. Chase, looking elegant in a custom-made light gray suit, couldn’t seem to keep his hands off her, stroking her arm or putting his hand against the small of her back. Maddie beamed at whatever he was saying and when Chase returned the smile, Karen could see the love on his face. They only had eyes for each other and that was how it should be.

Once in her life, she’d thought she could have all that. That she wanted it. But so much had changed that Karen now realized it wasn’t for everyone and she was fine with that. She had a role in life and playing wife or significant other wasn’t it, but it didn’t stop her from feeling an occasional tinge of jealousy or sadness. Whenever she did, like now, she had to remind herself what had happened. She refused to be helpless ever again, to feel as if she’d lost all control because she’d put her trust in someone else only to have it trampled on.

* * *

Jerry stood in a corner, just out of Karen’s line of vision, watching her. He’d been keeping an eye out for her, and when she’d walked in late, looking stunning and sexy in a short, simple black cocktail dress and her golden blond hair a seductive, messy tumble down her back, he’d moved to greet her but the expression on her face had stopped him. It was only there for a split second before she’d shoved it aside and her usual self-confidence returned, but it stunned him because he’d never seen her look so vulnerable before and he felt a strange desire to make her forget whatever it was that had upset her.

He found himself by her side, not remembering moving from his spot, determined to put what troubled her out of her mind. She turned as she sensed his approach and stood up straight, a cocky smile breaking out on her face.

Jerry handed her the glass of wine he’d picked up off a tray on his way over. She took it from him, eyeing the black suit he wore over a black shirt without a tie. “You trying out for a second job, Jer? All you need is a tray and you’re set.”

He grinned. “Doesn’t hurt to have something to fall back on in case the whole baseball thing doesn’t work out.”

Karen laughed as she took a sip of her wine, but he noticed it didn’t seem genuine. “I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

“You look very nice tonight.”

Her eyes warmed, but he still saw the frailty now that he knew how to see past her mask. “Thank you. You do too, Smutty.”

He gave an exaggerated sigh. “I thought we talked about this.”

“What?”

“The name thing.”

“Oh, sorry. Jerry—”

“No,” he interrupted as he moved in front of her. “It’s Pookie, remember?”

“Oh, right. Sorry. How could I forget?” This time her laughter was full, warm and real. “You look nice tonight, Pookie.”

“That’s more like it,” Jerry said with a matching grin. He paused for a second before leaning into her slightly. “You don’t need to worry about it either.”

She leaned back to look up at him. “I don’t need to worry about what?”

He hitched his head toward Chase and Maddie. “That. You’ll have it one day.”

Karen visibly stiffened as her smile quickly vanished. It was as if a light switched off within her. Her mouth gaped and she looked like she was about to say something, but nothing came out. Wondering just what door he had opened, Jerry didn’t want her to close herself off.

“Karen?” he said softly.

She swallowed but then glanced over his shoulder and he turned, spotting Chase and Maddie heading in their direction. He muttered under his breath, frustrated by the interruption, but quickly shoved it aside, telling himself he’d have more time later on to dig deeper into the puzzle that was Karen.

“There you guys are!” Maddie exclaimed. “We didn’t think you were coming,” she said to Karen. “Fashionably late, I see.”

Karen eyed Jerry a second longer before plastering a bright smile on her face and pulling her friend into a hug. “Not come? Are you kidding? Don’t be ridiculous.”

* * *

Thankful for the intrusion, Karen went through the motions of making small talk with everyone before Chase and Jerry wandered off to mingle with their teammates, and Maddie dealt with some crisis with the wait staff. She remained where she was and tried to figure out exactly what Jerry was up to. She’d thought that everything was going to be simple between them, just two adults having fun together—nothing more, nothing less—but now she wasn’t so sure.

They’d agreed to have commitment-free sex, but then he’d given her a chaste good-night peck on the cheek. They’d established that they were going to keep things simple and casual, but now he was making comments that sounded anything but. She couldn’t figure him out and it was driving her crazy. She usually had a guy pegged after five minutes, but he was forever changing the game, catching her off guard at the most inopportune moments.

Karen watched him, standing across the room talking and laughing with some of his teammates. He looked innocent enough, with his boyish charm and easygoing demeanor, but there was something else in there. She wasn’t surprised that he could be sweet and caring, very thoughtful at times, but his strong intuition took her aback.

He’d caught her completely off guard with his comment that she would find what Chase and Maddie had one day. People usually couldn’t read her easily—even Maddie still had difficulties at times despite years of practice. It made her ponder rethinking her agreement with him and backing out gracefully before things got messy—even messier than they appeared to be already.

What was she thinking? Hell, no. That was the last thing that she wanted and so she was moving full-speed-ahead with their agreement. She’d get her hands on him, no matter what it took, even if she had to apply some pressure to his snail-like pace. She was confident that she could keep things between them under control, tucked inside a neat little box where they belonged. Then, when the time was right, she’d have no problem kicking the Smutster to the curb. He was, after all, just another man. No more, no less.

* * *

During dinner, Karen and Jerry sat with the bride and groom along with Bree at the head table. The room had a soft hum to it as everyone enjoyed the delicious roasted chicken and friendly conversation. For the most part, Jerry had kept his exchanges with her to a minimum, so much so that she wondered if he even realized she was sitting next to him. He’d spent most of dinner debating with Chase about things that made her eyes want to cross.

“Seriously?” Karen finally asked, interrupting their intense discussion on four-seam fastballs. “How can there be that many different ways to pitch a friggin’ baseball?”

Jerry sat back in his chair. “It’s the art of pitching,” he said as if she was an idiot. “You can’t just have one pitch.”

“Well, duh, I get that, but really? Four-seam, two-seam, sinker, splitter, curve, breaking, change-up, knuckleball,” she said, ticking each off on her fingers. “What’s next? The tornado?”

He looked amused as he turned toward her and twined his fingers through hers, ignoring the fact that they had an audience. “Wow, Karen. I’m impressed that you knew all of those.”

She paused a second, caught in his deep brown eyes, before yanking her hand from his tight grasp. “Why is that impressive?”

“I don’t know. I guess I didn’t realize you knew that much about it.”

“Are you insulting my intelligence?” Karen looked over at Bree, who was watching their exchange with undivided attention. “Bree, is he insulting my intelligence?”

She nodded with a small giggle and Jerry gasped. “Now wait a minute! I am not,” he exclaimed, turning his head to frown at Bree. “I can’t believe you took her side, Bree.”

“Is it because I’m blonde or a woman? Or both?” Karen inquired, her brow raised.

He swallowed thickly before taking a drink of water. “Why do I feel like there is no right answer to this one?” he said to the table.

“Can’t help you out of this one, Smutty,” Chase said with a grin.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?” Jerry asked, giving Karen a hopeful grin as he tried to placate her.

The table laughed and she gave him a small smirk before raising her brows again, waiting for his answer. Seeing he wasn’t going to get out of it, Jerry sighed. “I’m sorry, Karen. I didn’t mean to insinuate that you didn’t know anything about baseball even though we all know you go to the games so you can admire our asses...” He broke off with a whoop of laughter as she jumped up, reaching for the glass of water that sat in front of him, threatening to pour it over his head.

He grabbed for her arms, laughing as he tried to stop her. Karen was giggling as she struggled out of his grip, but he held on tight and pulled her against him, pinning her arms as he sat her down in his lap. He continued to hold on to her even when everyone else got up to check out the dessert spread that lined the back wall of the room.

Karen looked at him over her bare shoulder. “You can let me go now.”

“I don’t think I want to,” Jerry said quietly. His gaze never left hers as he placed a soft, discreet kiss on the sensitive skin right behind her ear, causing goose bumps to rise up all over.

She was suddenly aware how close they were to each other. She could feel the heat of him through his clothes, his heart beating against her back and his warm breath on her neck. The soft, woodsy smell of his cologne lightly mingled with the air around them and begged her to bury her nose in the crook under his jaw.

Unable to stop herself, Karen swallowed hard as she shifted her butt back until she felt his hardness. Tilting her hips, she rubbed gently against him as a shudder ran through her. His eyes closed as he hissed in a breath, and when he reopened them, they were so dark with desire that they appeared bottomless. Jerry shifted his arms, causing her breasts to rest on his forearm, and pulled her back again so he could press against her.

Her breath was coming in shallow gasps and the noise of the room around them was a low drone. She couldn’t tear herself away from the strong magnetic pull of him and tried to press closer, needing desperately to touch him. His hand, hidden from view under the table, streaked down her side and snaked under her dress. His warm palm glided up her thigh before he gently cupped her with a slight squeeze.

“Jesus Christ,” Jerry moaned under his breath, his long fingers lightly stroking her dampness through the thin, silk patch of her thong. His head fell forward onto her shoulder and Karen knew he was struggling to keep his control from snapping.

Bree’s high-pitched giggle followed by Maddie’s laugh yanked Karen back to reality. She wrenched herself off his lap and stood, tugging down her dress as inconspicuously as possible. She was breathing hard and felt overheated, and was pleased to see that he was in the same shape. His eyes still burned hot on her and there was a slight flush to his skin as he tried to steady his breathing.

She cleared her throat and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to regain her equilibrium. “Perhaps we should save that for another time.”

“Perhaps we should,” Jerry agreed.

“I’m going to get a drink. Do you want to come?”

He glanced down at his lap before looking back at her with a crooked grin. “I think I should stay here for now, don’t you think?”

“Oh, right. Sorry,” she said with a suppressed giggle. “Can I bring you something then?”

“A beer would be good.”

Just as she was about to walk away, Maddie rushed over, grabbed her arm and pulled Jerry out of his seat. “Come on, guys.”

The band had started to play and people were filling up the postage stamp–sized dance floor. Karen realized belatedly that Maddie was making a beeline toward it.

“Oh, no,” Karen protested as she tried to dig in and stop.

Nothing was going to deter Maddie as she continued to pull them. “Come on. The wedding party has to dance together.”

“Maddie, we’re not doing the cheesy best man/maid of honor dance, come on.”

“It’s my engagement party and you’ll do what I want you to do.”

“Maddie, he can’t dance! He’ll step all over my toes and I’m wearing my new Prada sandals tonight.”

“Who said I can’t dance?” Jerry asked. Apparently, he’d overheard, even though his attention was on trying to button up his coat one-handed in order to cover the bulge in his pants.

Seeing this, Karen burst out in hysterics, causing Maddie to stop and turn back to them. “What are you laughing at?”

By this time, Karen was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down her face and Jerry’s strong attempts not to laugh made it even funnier to her. He grabbed her by the arms, dragging her toward the dance floor while keeping her strategically positioned in front of him. “Nothing. She’s just lost her mind,” he told Maddie. “We’d love to dance.”

Stepping onto the wood floor, Jerry pulled Karen into his arms and moved them around to the slow, sultry music.

“I’m sorry. I forgot about that and then when I saw you...” She started to laugh again recalling how he’d been frantically trying to button his jacket with one hand since Maddie had the other.

“Okay, okay. We don’t need to relive it,” he said with a crooked grin.

Karen wheezed out a breath. “Oh, man, that was funny. I haven’t had a laugh like that in a long time. Thanks, Smutty.”