I rolled my eyes without letting him see me. The driver pulled up to the large condo complex, the place I’d been calling home for six weeks of my life each year. I knew I could find some trouble inside. No matter what time of year it was, a hot young thing ready to play could always be found.
We unloaded the SUV, headed inside, and got our room keys. “Where you at?” Luke asked, holding up his envelope with his room number on it. Shit, not far enough from you, kid.
I flashed him my envelope and watched his smile grow. Yippee, we’re practically neighbors, his expression seemed to say.
Calvin slapped my shoulder as he walked by. “See ya tomorrow.”
“You don’t want to get dinner or a drink?” I asked, disappointed that he wouldn’t want to hang with his old pal. Shit, now I’m calling myself old.
“I’m ordering a pizza, calling Whit, and going to bed early tonight.” He was such a good boy. Not me. I was itching for something, and it wasn’t pizza.
“I’ll head out with ya,” Luke said.
Did I ask you, kid?
CHAPTER SEVEN
Holly
“Holly! Are you in there?” I peeked around the corner to find Whitney standing in my living room. My living room. Well, close enough.
“I didn’t hear you come in last night.” She smiled, looking at me with unadulterated curiosity.
“Yeah. We went out for pizza.” My tone was less than enthusiastic.
She closed the door behind her and sat down on the round red chair in the center of the room. “So, tell me all about it.”
“Not much to tell. We went for pizza.”
“I saw how he was looking at you,” she prodded, looking so anxious to hear that I liked Jack that it made it nearly impossible to disappoint her.
I’d been dreading this conversation. I was still trying to figure it all out myself. That kiss, my God, it was unappealing in just about every way imaginable. Hearing Ace’s voice earlier moistened my panties, and that was without any physical contact. Leaving Jack last night, my panties were bone dry.
“He’s nice.” I cringed.
I moved to the couch, plopped onto the overstuffed cushion, and let my head fall back into its soft embrace. “Oh, Whitney, it was the worst kiss ever,” I finally admitted.
Shit. She looked irritated. “You’re just hung up on Ace,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. Yep. Very irritated.
I sighed and slouched farther into the couch.
“No. I really was having a great time. He’s so sweet, so attentive, and so damn good looking.” I gushed, trying to make up for my lack of excitement from before.
“Then how could the kiss be that bad?” Whitney asked.
“I don’t know.” I shuddered, remembering the slobbery tongue invasion.
“Was he nervous?”
“He didn’t appear to be. He actually seemed pretty confident.”
“Too much tongue?” she ventured.
“Waaay too much.” I stuck my tongue in and out repeatedly to give her an example.
She wrinkled her nose.
I replayed the kiss for her, telling her how he took me in his arms, how strong and confident they were, and how ready I was for the kiss. “Maybe I expected too much. Like, built it up in my mind?” I excused. It was hard to pinpoint what the problem was, other than there were no sparks.
“You just weren’t into it,” Whitney told me and I bristled about her making this my fault. But a part of me agreed. I wasn’t into having my tonsils plunged.
“Were you thinking about Ace?” she asked gently.
And there it was. My real problem.
“Some, but when we were eating, I actually didn’t think of him at all. But the kiss. Whitney…” I sighed, not sure how to explain it. “The very first time Ace kissed me, it was magical. Like all the storybooks kisses brought to life.”
Her face softened, and I knew she understood the feeling, even if she didn’t like the person the feeling was attached to.
“Calvin already gone?” I asked, desperate to change the subject.
She frowned and nodded. I hated to see her sad. I knew she hated being alone during the weeks he was in training.
“I talked to Ace this morning,” I admitted.
Her frown grew from sad to irritated in an instant. “Why?”
“Well, after that disappointing kiss, I just thought…”
“That’s exactly why you can’t get involved with anyone else. You have feelings for him Holly, admit it.” She wasn’t wrong, but I wasn’t going to admit it.
“He’s so passionate,” I argued. “When he touches me I melt.”
She fake gagged again, and I knew I’d never get her to understand.
“So, does this mean you’re staying with him tonight?” she asked after several moments had ticked by.
“No,” I pouted. “He’s already left for spring training.”
“Why did he leave early?”
“He said they needed him there. Something about the new relief pitcher and having a left-handed batter to practice with.”
“That’s strange. Calvin didn’t say anything about him coming down early.”
I found it strange too. If he’d told me last night that he was leaving, I’d probably have found a way to escape my forced date with Jack. “He said the decision wasn’t made until this morning, but he did invite me to Daytona to stay with him.”
I watched her closely, wondering how she was going to take that news. She sneered. “You really plan on flying a thousand miles for a booty call?”
Wow. Whitney’s sarcasm could pop any balloon.
“I thought it would be fun if you came along.”
She narrowed her eyes at me, as if she was trying to see through my sincerity. “Why would I want to be there?”
“You wanna see Calvin, don’t ya?” I asked.
She sighed, and that dreamy I’m so in love smile appeared on her face. “I could do that.”
I jumped up from the couch, let out a cheer, and headed into the kitchen to find the bottle of wine we hadn’t finished.
“But, I think we should wait a week or two.” Whitney leaned against the kitchen counter as I poured two glasses.
“Okay,” I agreed, but not as excited by the idea of waiting. Of course, I had no idea when Ace would want me to come down
I wasn’t excited about waiting, but I knew Ace had said he wanted to get settled in first. Plus, that would be about the time the NASCAR fans cleared out, and right before the spring breakers and wild bikers showed up. I didn’t want to leave Ace without a warm body to snuggle with once all those wild women arrived at the beach. I knew he would find one before then, but once the party started there was a good chance he’d forget about inviting me.
My phone vibrated on the kitchen table. Whitney grabbed it before I had a chance. “Your lover boy is texting.”
My stupid heart fluttered. Ace must’ve landed already.
“It says, ‘Can’t wait to see you again. I can still taste your lips.’” She looked at me, surprise written in her eyes. “Wow, that’s really sweet.”
It really was. “See? He’s not always an asshole,” I defended.
Whitney’s face changed, morphing from excitement to pity. “This isn’t Ace.”
I snatched my phone from her hand and read Jack’s name across my screen. The disappointment was like a smack in the face.
“I think you should give Jack a chance,” Whitney murmured before lifting her glass to her lips.
“I never said I wouldn’t.”