“How’s it going with the two of you?”
Alicia took a sip of wine and smiled at Liz. “Garrett’s shoulder is doing good. He’s starting to throw pitches.”
Liz slanted her a look. “Nice evasion, but you know that wasn’t what I was asking.”
She hadn’t thought it would work, but it was worth a try. “I don’t know how it happened.”
“I do. You’re hot, and so is he. It’s Chemistry 101, honey.”
“It shouldn’t have happened at all. He needs to be concentrating on his recovery, not on sex.”
Liz snorted. “Sex is great for recovery. All that blood churning through his veins. You’re the expert. A player in a good mood is not a bad thing, is it? I mean, a lot of his recovery is mental, isn’t it?”
“That’s true, but his cock has nothing to do with his shoulder.”
“Oh, come on, Alicia. If you’re keeping him content in the sack, he’s relaxed and more apt to work harder on his rehab. He’s less tense since you’ve been having sex with him, isn’t he?”
Alicia narrowed her gaze at Liz. She was right on in that department. “Well, who made you such a fucking expert on all things sports medicine?”
Liz laughed. “Honey, I don’t know a goddamn thing about sports medicine. But I know a lot about sex and how to keep my man relaxed and happy. And when he’s relaxed and happy, he plays great fucking baseball. So quit second-guessing your every move with Garrett, and enjoy what’s happening between the two of you.”
Alicia lifted the wine bottle and refilled her glass and Liz’s. “Has anyone ever told you how smart you are?”
“Not nearly often enough.” Liz lifted her glass and clinked it against Alicia’s.
Maybe Liz was right and their relationship was good for Garrett’s recovery. She’d told him at the very beginning to get out of his head. When he wasn’t so focused on his shoulder and every step in the process, she could make inroads with his rehab.
What better way to do that than with sex?
A definite benefit—to both of them. Because there was no downside to having sex with Garrett.
*
THEY HAD DINNER AND GREAT CONVERSATION, AND Alicia spent the evening not worrying about anything for a change. Apparently, Garrett chilled, too, because when he came inside after being with Gavin, he put his arm around her. He even kissed her in front of her cousin, which she thought was more than a little monumental.
She supposed she could even call this evening a date. They laughed, had drinks, talked baseball, and she couldn’t remember seeing Garrett this relaxed. He’d stuck close to her all night, touching her in small ways that made her stomach ripple with desire. He’d trail his fingers down the side of her neck or rub his thumb over the back of her hand, all seemingly innocent gestures that fired up her nerve endings and made her wish they were alone so she could touch him in intimate ways and make him feel half the things she was feeling.
“What are you doing?” she asked him at one point in the evening when he laid his hand against the small of her back, his fingers creeping dangerously low to her butt. She kept her voice at a low whisper, so Gavin and Liz couldn’t hear
He gave her a sexy, innocent smile and an “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about” as a response.
She had a feeling he knew exactly what he was doing to her. In return, she draped her hand over the top of his thigh, letting her fingers dangle ever so close to his cock. Then she drummed her fingers while she carried on a conversation with Liz. When she looked up at Garrett, he glared at her.
Ha. Payback.
By the time they left Gavin and Liz’s, she was a bundle of taut tension. Garrett might appear to be unruffled as he leaned back in the seat as he drove, but she was strung up with the need to get him naked and climb all over him.
He knew it, too. She could tell from the lazy sweep of his fingers down her leg to his relaxed posture in his seat. He was smug and confident, and he knew exactly what he’d been doing to her all night—driving her right to the brink.
She wasn’t about to let him know she was ready to explode. She’d just look out the window and pretend everything was fine.
Until his fingers started a slow trek up her thigh, raising her dress.
She snapped her gaze to his and pulled the hem of her dress down. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Giving her an innocent look, he said, “Me? I’m just touching you. I like touching you. Do you want me to stop?”
“Yes. No. Yes. I don’t know.”
He cocked a brow. “Care to clarify?”
“You were driving me crazy all night.”
“Was I?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah, well, you were doing the same to me.”
It was good to know she’d had some effect on him. “I like you touching me.”
“Then let me, Alicia. Lean your seat back. Spread your legs.”
She looked outside. “We’re in the car, Garrett. You’re driving.”