In the next half hour, he asked me questions everybody else sort of danced around. How long had Bernadette and I been friends, her major, stuff about her boyfriend. It surprised me that he cared to listen to all this. Nobody close to me brought her name up anymore.
We ordered, did another shot, and by the time our food arrived, things seemed comfortable between us again. “I don’t tell people about this. I didn’t mean to…” I tried to apologize but he stopped me.
“I asked.” He stared into my eyes intently. And then he smiled ruefully. “So, not a reporter then?”
“Not a reporter.” I confirmed. God, what a pair.
“How’s your gyros?” He’d ordered a Greek salad. He’d mentioned he has to watch what he eats. I loved gyros’ and couldn’t bring myself to order anything else.
“So. Good,” I answered. “But I’ll never finish it all.” I tore a piece off and handed it across the table. Instead of taking it from me with his hands, he leaned forward and took it with his teeth.
My fingers grazed his lips and I swallowed hard at the wicked look in his gaze. I didn’t pull them away though. No, I slowly traced a line to the edge of his mouth. Moist, smooth, warm.
By the time I drew my hand back, I could hardly think beyond the way he made me feel. I pressed my thighs together and dropped my gaze.
In the course of ten seconds my body had come to life again. His eyes skimmed to my chest. I was breathing hard, and of course, my nipples got all perky giving all my secrets away.
He leaned back and stretched his legs beneath the table. When I realized he was playing footsy with me, I couldn’t help but grin. He’d slipped one of his feet out of his shoes and settled it on top of mine.
This night had definitely taken a turn for the better.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Hunter
When she smiledlike that she might just as well have reached her hand into my pants and wrapped it around my cock. Or my heart.
I wasn’t’ sure which she affected more. Or why.
I did know I owed her one hell of an apology.
I’d slid both my feet under the table, slipped off one shoe, and was caressing her ankle with the sole of my foot. This was new for me. I just wanted to keep touching her.
“I’m glad you stayed.” I meant it. She could have left. I’d given her every reason to. “I was an ass.” I swallowed around a lump in my throat. I’d tried and convicted her at the first sign of trouble. “I’m sorry.”
“You were.” But she didn’t look angry. “But you’re forgiven.” She tucked a curl behind one ear. “Do you hate all reporters?”
And then she tore off another piece of her sandwich and held it out to me. This time when I leaned forward, I intentionally scraped her fingers with my teeth. I’d never feel the same about the Greek sandwich again.
I finished the bite before answering. “I get paid a lot of money to play baseball. A game. Something I’ve loved all my life. And a part of my job is to be something of a public figure.” She took a drink of her soda, watching me over the top of her glass. “I get that. You know? I always give interviews after games. The last thing in the world I wanted last September was talk into a microphone about that last pitch, but I did it. It’s part of my job.” She nodded and for a second I got lost in the caramelly warmth of her eyes. “It’s the reporters that want to find something where nothing exists and then feed it to their viewers that I can’t stand.”
“That sounds like Star.” She grimaced. “It’s happened to you before?”
“At the risk of getting all serious again?” I frowned. “Yeah.”
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” Except she’d told me about her roommate. And some buried part of me wanted her to understand why I’d been so upset.
“I got divorced a few years ago.” Her eyebrows rose. “The whole thing, the marriage, was a mistake to begin with. It didn’t take long for both of us to realize it. We didn’t fight. But we ended up being a horrible fit. She’s what some people consider southern royalty. Filthy rich father. Atlanta socialite.”
“But a few reporters wanted a better story than that,” she guessed.
“Yep. I’ve been pretty… guarded since then.”
She looked down at her plate. “If I’d won Senator Flint I would have been a part of something like that.”
“That Klapper woman’s got a hold of him though. One way or another the Senator is screwed.” I laughed. “I didn’t want you to lose your job, I mean, I felt bad for you. But I was so relieved when she passed on your trade.”
“Except Star has you now!” Her eyes went wide. “I’m sorry Hunter!”
