My parents still bought the same newspapers, but most people chose how to get their news and what they wanted to know about these days. Rachel didn’t seem like a big sports fan, but I hated the idea of her picking up a newspaper or catching a story online about me. We’d both purposely held things back about ourselves, so not telling her wasn’t really lying, even by omission.
So, why did it feel like I was betraying her by not sharing where I’d be in a few hours or what I was really doing here?
Something told me she’d understand, and if she knew, she wouldn’t make a big deal over it or use the information to seek me out. And I wouldn’t see her past this morning, so if I wanted to tell her, what was the big deal?
If I told her, everything would be different. I wouldn’t be just a guy with a new job moving to a new city. It was what had stopped me from telling her about what I used to do and what I was here for in the first place.
To Rachel, I was just Silas. What I was able to do before and what I had to do now in my career didn’t apply. It was a breath of fresh air I hadn’t known I’d needed, as this transition had seemed to be choking me.
She’d soothed me in a way no one else in my life had because I hadn’t been open about the turmoil that had fueled my life since I’d blown out my knee. Not like I had been with Rachel, even though I’d held back all the key details about my identity.
Her comment about how impostors didn’t get impostor syndrome still echoed in my head, the only piece of advice that almost made me believe I could pull this off.
Because I sure as hell felt like an impostor, from the second I’d accepted the job. It would multiply when I stepped up to the microphones today to announce managing the Brooklyn Bats this season, but I’d do all I could not to show it.
I still had that drive to succeed, even if I had to direct other players instead of playing myself. As Rachel had noticed, I did care a lot, so maybe I could do this.
I felt the first spark of excitement over this job because of the beautiful woman next to me, and I couldn’t even thank her for it since she didn’t know what my job was.
While my time with Rachel had quelled some of my managing nerves, I was still sorting out all that happened between us. Fixating on a woman I couldn’t know past today was a distraction I didn’t need.
Nope, parting ways was the best thing. I’d make sure she got into a cab and hope she’d get home safely, fighting the temptation to get her number so I could make sure. I’d take what happened between us as the glorious thing it was, a few hours of awesome to straighten out my scrambled head.
Though, when we said goodbye, I knew my head would be scrambled for a different reason, but I could only dread one thing at a time.
“What time is it?” Rachel asked, her voice gravelly and full of sleep as she propped herself up on her elbows. The sheet draped across her torso, but I couldn’t resist a look when it drooped low, the side of her gorgeous breast exposed as she shifted toward the window.
We’d had sex until I’d run out of condoms and then had lain in bed talking until we both fell asleep. An old teammate had always advised us to pack three in our wallets, and while I’d never had the occasion of using more than one, for some reason, I’d listened.
For two people who didn’t know each other before yesterday, we’d fit together perfectly. I’d memorized every part of her body with my hands and my mouth, along with the sounds she made when I’d touch and taste her in all the right spots. She was beautiful from head to toe, and in another time, with another box of condoms, I wouldn’t have stopped touching her. Last night or ever.
Fuck, what was happening to me?
“Five,” I whispered, sitting up with the sheets still at my waist.
“I better get going,” she said on an adorable yawn. “I wouldn’t want to make you late on your first day.” Her sleepy smile made my chest pinch hard enough to want to rub away the ache.
Again, what the hell was wrong with me? I couldn’t catch deep feelings for someone I’d only known for a day. This was chemistry and good sex.
Really good fucking sex.
“I don’t have to be anywhere for a while. No need to rush.” Before I could help myself, I reached out to squeeze her shoulder, running my thumb back and forth over her soft skin. She needed to leave, and I needed to figure out a way to get her out of my head.
She turned toward the window as she let go of another loud yawn, stretching her arms over her head as the sheet dropped to the small of her back. Not being able to resist this one last temptation, I looped my arm around her waist and rolled her onto her back, the sweetest giggle escaping her when I settled between her legs.
“We should be figuring out how to detach, right?” she said with a sad sigh that echoed in my gut. “I mean—” she shut her eyes and shook her head “—you have to go to work, and I have to get my sister. This urge to stay under the covers with you until they drag us out has nowhere to go.”
“Yep,” I said, exhaling the same deep sigh but not moving away like I should have been.
“And you’re out of condoms. So starting anything up would be the cruelest kind of a tease, right?” My eyes fluttered shut when she sifted her hands through the hair at my neck, goose bumps trailing down my back as her nails scraped my scalp.
I spotted regret in her eyes, but also enough heat to make me forget about my original plan to gather her clothes off the carpet, hand them to her like the gentleman I hadn’t been last night, and wait outside the bathroom before I walked her to the hotel entrance and put her into a cab.
“Some things don’t require condoms,” I said, arousal more than sleep coating my words. If this wouldn’t last past today, what was the harm in taking just a little more?
I wanted it and her enough to ignore just how much harma little morewould be.
“Like what… Yes, right there,” she whispered, sinking her head into the pillow as I slipped a hand between us and traced lazy circles around her clit.
