I planted him with a look. “That’s a recipe to make me worry more.”
He wouldn’t meet my gaze.
“Was it about me?”
A small nod. “I hated it, Jessie. I’ll do anything to keep that from happening again.”
“How did they even find out about me?” I asked.
“Probably pictures from that benefit. I love taking you places, but I hate that this is the result of it.”
“You don’t think he’d actually do something to hurt me, do you?”
Ben shook his head. “Unlikely. I just don’t like that asshole talking about you.”
I ducked my head to meet his eyes. “Hey. I’m not too worried about it. I mean, I don’t like it, but I did have my sexy boyfriend throw some sick punches on my behalf. Did you spit in his face, too?”
Ben grimaced. “I might have.”
“Not very classy, Benny. But thanks for sticking up for me.And know that you don’t have to. Okay?” I ran my thumb over his busted lip. “I need these lips.”
He pulled me close and nuzzled the top of my head. “I get why in the fairy tales they locked the princess away in a high tower. I just want to put you in a bubble so no one can mess with you.”
“Don’t forget, babe—they’re messing with you. Not me. I probably don’t want to know what he said.”
He shook his head. “You don’t. It was disgusting, and he can’t just get away with it.”
“I’m sorry, Jockey.” I yawned. “No shrimp in his curtain rods, okay?”
“Oh, I want to do worse than shrimp in the curtain rods.”
Ben held me extra tight that night as we fell asleep.
Chapter 39
Mikey
On Saturday morning, Jessie and I had a little date day before I had to leave town. We fucked in the shower when we got up, and man, did we get adventurous. I know Jessie likes a little ass play, so I rimmed her until she was a screaming, whimpering mess. But then, she returned the favor and I was shocked at how much I liked it. Who knew I was a butt guy? But even more, the whole relationship thing was taking me by storm. I didn’t realize that even sex brought you closer when you stayed committed to one person. It felt amazing. I loved my dirty girl so damn much.
Oops, there I was thinking, nay, knowing, that I loved her. But it seemed wrong to tell her I loved her for the first time right before I went on a long road trip. I wanted to be able to take her to dinner, to celebrate, to spend hours in bed solidifying it. And what if she didn’t feel the same way yet? I didn’t want my brain to be messed up for an entire nine-day road trip. I needed to be locked in.
We got take-out coffee and she took me to her favorite fabric store to pick out material for my suit. My only requirement was that it had to coordinate with the hat she made me, so I could have a complete J. Welsh ensemble. She didn’t let me see what she got when she was looking over the silk for the liner, saying it was a surprise. I loved seeing her in her domain like that, describing why certain materials were better than others. She got emotional looking at a certain green velvet, her fingers delicately touching the fabric.
I walked up beside her and took her other hand. “You want some of that, hon?”
She sniffed. “No. My best friend just had a dress for a middle school dance made out of this material. It just took me back unexpectedly.”
I tucked her into my side and kissed her temple. “You want me to get you some?”
She turned to me quickly with a tearful smile. “No. It just felt nice to see it. Let’s go check out.”
After we had lunch, she headed to drop me off at my car at the arena. I always hated to leave Jessie when a road trip came around, but I really hated this one. Even though Riki and the rest of the Dallas team were long gone, I felt like I needed to be Jessie’s bodyguard. I just had this sneaky feeling like something was going to go wrong while I was gone, but I needed to shake off my jitters. It was an important time for our team.
The road trip would be our longest of the season, and right before the playoffs. You’re always due for one hellish road tripper season, and apparently, they’d saved the best for almost last for our team. We were sitting pretty in the number one wild card spot for the Western Conference, but we really had to focus to make sure we secured our spot in the playoffs.
And plus, we were going to Detroit. That meant a visit with my parents, which always carried some baggage. To say I was dreading it is an understatement.
Adding to my anxiety, Jessie’s car sounded like it was on its last legs.
