“Jade? Jade justhappenedto run into you and invite you to the brunch withmy family?” Her voice rose and she buckled herself in with a little too much aggression. “I’m calling bullshit.”
“You seem worked up about it. You need something to relieve your tension?” I slid my gaze to her face and enjoyed her slight blush. “We can show up late.”
“I’m game for a quickie,” she deadpanned.
I burst out laughing at her expression—which slowly formed into a mischievous grin. “I knew I had game with the ladies.”
“Fun fact, Gideon. If the bra matches the panties, trust me, it means I decided to have sex, not you.”
“Well, do yours match?” My dick tingled at the thought of her in lingerie.Get it together.
“Behave today and I’ll let you know,” she replied with an annoying smugness to her tone. I adjusted my position in the seat and tapped the wheel. “Google says to turn right when you get to the main entrance to this neighborhood. We’re heading north, I believe.”
“You don’t know where your sister lives? Aren’t you close?”
“She moved recently. I haven’t had time between school and baseball and, uh…things.”
“Things like me?” I snuck a glance at her and enjoyed her clear discomfort. I was a sick bastard. “I can be distracting.”
“Don’t let your already inflated ego get bigger than it is. I can’t take it.” She let out a long sigh and crossed her legs.Legs that I want to spread wide open.
“Gideon? Did you hear me?”
“Uh, sorry. What?”
“Did Jade say what this was about?”
“She wants to talk to me about helping out with the charity and being a spokesperson. It’s not publicly talked about, but I’m pretty into MADD and SADD.” I stopped and cleared my throat.Why is it awkward, telling her about the good parts of myself?“My agent, Billy, always wants cameras there to film and capture my volunteer work but I refuse. My parents always told us to give back and yeah. I try. You probably don’t believe me—”
“I know you do.”
“Wait—how?”
“Curiosity got the better of me one night after a glass or three of wine. I looked you up. I can’t say I’m surprised. You have your heart in the right place even though you come across as a total dickhole.”
I swallowed down my emotions. So many thoughts crossed my mind.She looked me up? My heart in the right place? Dickhole?“I don’t understand. You know I’m into the local chapter of the Boys and Girls club?”
“You like to give back to the community. It’s all under the radar, though. I mean, shit, Gideon. You’ve donated back-to-school supplies to local kids, visited the after-school program and you’ve invited an entire club to a game. Plus, you’re coaching a teenage baseball team and not a lot of people know. I assumed you would’ve blasted all your good-doings and shit the first time I met you.”
I didn’t respond. I wasn’t sure how. If she knew I was into charity, why hadn’t she said anything? It was something we both had in common—besides liking each other without clothes on. But our similarities ended there. My neck ached with anxiety and I used my free hand to rub the back of it.Why does Fiona have this power over me?
“In two miles, get on the highway and you’ll be on it for a good ten minutes.”
I nodded and tried to form my next words. After a few minutes of a stifling silence, Fiona reached out and put her hand on my forearm. I glanced at her touch—she rarely initiated contact—and ignored my body’s reaction to her. “Gideon, relax. I’m not sure what’s going on in that handsome head of yours, but chill. I never asked about the charity because it’s not my business. It’s yours. It doesn’t affect our relation—situation. If you give it to me good and aren’t a total dickhole to the kids, I don’t give a shit if you donate millions or pennies to organizations.”
My blood turned to ice.Our situation? Doesn’t affect her?“Jesus. You’re frustrating as hell, woman.”
“So I’ve been told.”
She let go of my arm and went back to closing off her body. I’d noticed it a week ago. She would cross her arms and legs and turn away from me whenever she said something intimate. Curiosity got the better of me, and I swallowed down my initial irritation. “It doesn’t matter to you if I’m a good person or not. You only care about my dick and coaching the kids?”
“Pretty much. I mean… I didn’t like you the first time we banged. I might dislike you less than in the beginning, but this isn’t about our souls finding a match or shit like that.”
“Hm.” I blinked, trying not to be hurt at her words. I didn’t dohurt. There was too much to do to worry about trivial things like feelings, but her words stung.Interesting that the tables have turned.I grew to not like, but respect and want to spend time with her while she used me for sex.Fine.
“I mean, I think it’s absolutely awesome that you have this hidden side of you that no one knows about. You aren’t doing it for fame and to get credit. I would’ve thought with the injury and meltdown from last year, you would want cameras everywhere.”
“My personal choices don’t have any play in my professional. Billy wants cameras and the whole shebang but I refuse. I hate my fame, but if I can use it to help kids, I will.”
