Page 19 of Playing with Fire

I was going to get her, alright. No, wait. Not like that. We were just playing a friendly game of soccer. But that didn't stop me from imagining ways it could be anything but.

Alice continued to encourage me as Nikki helped Izzy keep the ball from me. At least one of my children was on my side. Honestly, I wasn’t surprised. Nikki was much more competitive than Alice.

Izzy slowed as I came up behind her, turning one way and then the other, preventing me from getting the ball away from her. She smiled over her shoulder at me, and the sight made my chest feel tight. Jesus, she was beautiful.

I crowded her space, and then, with a smirk, I wrapped my arms around her from the back. I tensed as my forearms brushed against the bare skin of her stomach, and my dick jumped to attention.

“I got her. Alice, get the ball.”

Alice smiled and stole the ball, running down the field away from Nikki.

“You're cheating,” Izzy yelled.

I lifted her off the ground and lowered my mouth to her ear. “And what are you gonna do about it?”

Her breath hitched, and a shiver raced through her. The smell of strawberries was so strong, my mouth so close to her neck, I had to fight the urge to move my lips lower and press against the skin there.

What the fuck was I thinking?

I blinked and let her go, dropping my hands to my sides and stepping back. She spun and we stood there, staring at each other for a heartbeat before she blinked and took off after the ball again.

I wasn’t giving up that easily, though, and jumped right back in. Who knew practicing soccer could be so much fun? Sure, it was a game, but I shouldn't have been enjoying it—at least not in the way I was.

Being close to Izzy. Touching her. All of it was a very bad idea.

So why did it make me so happy?

Chapter Twelve

IZZY

Talk about mixed signals.Yesterday at the park with Logan was so confusing. He didn't have any issues running around playing soccer with us, being playful and almost flirty. The way he so easily picked me up and whispered in my ear, and then went back to playing soccer like nothing happened… None of it seemed to affect him.

Me, on the other hand? I kept hoping he'd wrap his arms around me again. My stupid body responded to him in the most unfair ways. Did it not understand he wasn't interested? At least not in a way that made any sense.

Now he was here, and I was trying—very unsuccessfully—not to look over at where he and the rest of the guys from the firehouse sat. Could I not avoid him?

“You okay?” Nicole's voice pulled me from my thoughts.

I turned my gaze away from the group and picked up my cider. “Yeah, fine.”

She’d texted after her nursing class tonight, asking if anyone wanted to meet for a drink. I’d just left Maggie's, with no plans for the evening, and now that I had a little extra money coming in, I could do stuff like this more often.

She glanced over at the guys. “Did you take my advice?”

“Advice?”

“Yeah. With Logan?”

“Oh.” I shook my head. “No. I don't want to make things weird. I really like this job.”

“But if he likes you too, aren't things going to continue to get weirder?”

“He doesn't. And I never said I did.”

“Right. Okay.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

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