“Gonna ground me?” He smirked, like it was the funniest thing.
“You’re not the only one who protects those in their circle. I didn’t know you were in mine until today, but it’s true.” My voice came out more serious than I intended. “I’ve already lost someone important to me to alcohol and drugs. I cannot lose you too.”
His smirk disappeared, and he gave me a solemn look. “Noted.”
“What am I walking in on? The atmosphere is heavy.” Brooks tried to be cheery, and I gave him a fake smile—which he totally didn’t buy. Brigs hit Brooks on the shoulder before moving on toward the bar, and I shrugged.
“We were just chatting.”
“You referring to your brother?” Brooks wasted no time in asking the hard question.
“You heard that?” I avoided his intense, probing stare that seemed to unzip the no-sharing-details coat I wrapped around myself. It was slow but obvious how each inch he took made it harder to hide. “I said it quietly.”
“I have good hearing.” He gestured toward our table, and I let him lead me. His hand felt comforting and warm on my lower back and was so different from all the others who touched me there. My skin flushed at the contact. He pulled out my chair and positioned his so my legs were in between his. It was intimate and too much.
“Are you sure we should be talking when we could…” I stopped and eyed him up and down. “Leave?”
Lust flared in his eyes, but he made no moves to get up. “We have at least ten hours in bed together. I can spare an hour to talk.”
“Ten? That’s presumptuous.” My tone was level, but my libido wasn’t. She roared in need despite the orgasms, and I crossed my legs. “I doubt you can last that long.”
“Don’t test me. I recall spending at least an hour between your legs, licking every fucking inch of you, two years ago. I’ll find ways to pass time. Trust me.” He licked his lips and goose bumps broke out at the heat in those two words. Trust me.
I was starting to, and that was a problem.
“Let’s start now.” I wiggled my eyebrows, and his shoulders slumped a little bit. Guilt twisted my stomach into knots, and it was a rare feeling. I never got close enough to people to hurt their feelings—besides Fiona and now Brigham—and it sucked. It wasn’t my intention to hurt him, but I felt his hurt when he stood up, put his jacket on, and held out his hand to me.
“Ready?”
“We’re leaving?”
Shut up. Just go. Use his body.
“At your suggestion, yes.” He didn’t look happy, nor sad, but it was stupid how I missed his smirk and playful eyes. “My room is on the top floor so we’ll have to take the elevator.”
I hesitated. Yes, I wanted to spend the night with him and use his body to distract me from my overworked and sad life, but that signaled the end of our date. He wanted to know something personal about me, and I’d reverted to sex, like I always did, and he was disappointed. “Share something personal with me.”
“I’m starting to think of life beyond baseball, and it doesn’t scare the shit out of me anymore. It’s…exciting to think of the next chapter of my life,” he said, not missing a beat.
“More,” I demanded, seeing how far I could push him. He remained standing not two inches from me, and the air crackled between us. This was more than foreplay, and it lit me up. “Tell me more about yourself.”
“My dad died when I was a kid, and I miss him every day. I want two dogs but I’m not home enough, nor do I have someone who can watch them, so I think that’ll be the first thing I do when I retire. I could eat the same meal every single day and not get sick of it, and I would kill for my family.”
Wow.
Shit, did I say that out loud?
“You look shocked and pleased, Mitch.” He sighed and looked at the chair. “Am I sitting back down or are we going?”
I didn’t respond, but I yanked him back on the chair, sure I was going to hate myself for it later. I was a glutton for punishment because each minute with him was another minute of thinking what ifs about a future with him. “How can you…how is it so easy to share those things about yourself?”
“That’s easy. I trust you.” He laughed and took a long drink from my water glass. Couples shared drinks, and it sent a little thrill through me. “I feel very comfortable with you, and people who have trust and comfort share things about themselves.”
“That sounds relationship-y.”
“Friends, couples, partners, bosses, teammates. They are all versions of relationships, some sexual, some not. It doesn’t matter. To have a connection or bond with someone in any format requires some level of trust and sharing. Like what you have with Fiona and Brigham.”
“Does that upset you?”
