Page 100 of Brick Wall
And so does his given name when I get a look at it.
The card is weathered and the JT in the picture is a few years younger. His cheeks are a little rounder and there’s no scruff on his jaw. His hazel eyes are just as mesmerizing, though. His smile is just as lethal. If I’d have met him when we were both in high school, I’d have crushed hard, no question.
“Why is there an h?” I say, staring at the letters that make up Jhaxxsyn Tieylyr Norris.
He shrugs. “Because she was finally back on the good stuff?” he guesses. “Honestly, I have no clue. I’ve had a couple dozen conversations with Brittany Norris over the years, and the bizarre spelling of my name never came up. I went by Jax, mostly, and I never used the h because who the fuck would, but…yeah. Now you know why I changed my name to JT and why I’m a fan of standard spelling.”
I hand the card back to him and he tucks it into his walletbehind his license. “We haven’t really made any progress,” I say, stretching to relieve the tension in my back.
“You ok?” he asks.
“Yes,” I sigh. “Nugget might be protesting the fact that they don’t have a name yet, though, because I’m getting kicked in the spleen,” I say, reaching around to massage my back.
A laugh rumbles from JT’s chest as he hops off the bed and walks around to my side. He lays down behind me, his fingers replacing mine as he soothes away the ache I can’t quite reach. “This is not your spleen, Cinderella.”
“Well, whatever it is, it hurts. And it feels so much better when you do that—yes, the kneading thing. Do that, please.”
He’s got magic hands that ease the pressure on my lower back. But they also produce an ache between my legs. And that causes a whimper to escape my throat. “Ignore me, I just?—”
“Impossible,” JT says, bringing his hand around to the front of my body. His fingers hover over the juncture of my thighs and I swear my hips shift forward of their own volition. “You want me touch you here, too, Maggie?” His voice is rough and low, but gentle.
“Yes, please,” I pant. I should be sleeping. Or doing the dishes. Or studying. Instead, I’m turning into a needy pile of goo at the barest of touches.
His hands go to my hips, and he pulls my body closer to his so that there’s no mistaking the effect I have on him, either. His hand is working its magic between my legs and a laugh escapes my lips as a thought occurs to me.
“Something funny, Cinderella?” he asks, dragging two fingers slowing through my sensitive folds.
“Mmmm,” I hum with pleasure. “I was just thinking our kid may end up nameless because we keep getting distracted.”
As his thick fingers slip inside me, I decide naming the Nugget can wait.
CHAPTER 38
JT
We splitgames with Mountville this weekend, and I’m still pissed about it. The only thing worse than losing a game is sitting the bench, and that’s where I was yesterday. I get it. Kersey’s a goalie, too, and he’s a solid player. We’re gearing up for regionals and I can’t be the only one who’s prepared. But I’ve been in the net most of the season, so watching from the sidelines yesterday sucked.
I’m putting all of that out of my mind today, though, because our little Nugget needs stuff and today’s the day we’re getting it done. There’s a baby superstore about half an hour away, so that’s our main destination. But we’re taking a detour to Josie’s house to see what she and her neighbor are getting rid of.
I help Maggie out of the car and we walk up to the front door and ring the bell. Iris answers and launches herself into my arms.
“You’re here! You’re here!” she squeals before turning her head slightly to the right and bellowing, “They’re here!”
A tall lanky kid appears in the doorway and extracts a very squirmy Iris from my arms.
“Sorry,” he says, setting Iris down. “We don’t get a lot ofvisitors. The little kids get excited for fresh blood.” His face turns crimson, but I just laugh.
“You’re the goalie?” I ask, knowing this has to be Josie’s brother, Zane.
“Yeah. And, uh, you’re the goalie, too.”
I nod. “This is my girlfriend, Maggie. We’re here because Josie has some baby stuff to pass on to us, but you should have Van bring you out to the Wolf’s Den when the season’s over. We could run some drills.”
“Yes, that would be fu-very awesome. Thanks.” His voice squeaks on the last word, just as Van comes up behind him.
“Hey, guys. Josie’s got everything down in the basement, so come on in.”
We follow him through the house and I’m beginning to wonder just how much baby stuff they have to unload when I hear an unmistakable sound. It’s the rhythmic bouncing of sneakers on a hardwood floor. And not just any sneakers. The size thirteen sneakers that belong to my best friend.
