Page 89 of Outlaw Heartstrings
“Dude, seriously? Stop being an idiot,” Parker advises me, flinging a French fry at my face.
I manage to duck in time. “How am I being an idiot?” I ask, even though I could probably write an entire essay on all the ways I’m being an idiot when it comes to my feelings for Alba.
Ronan rolls his eyes. “Bruh, you should be trying to winher over, not getting her ready to be some other man’s sex rag doll.” He scowls.
Fuck. They’re not letting me off the hook.
My friends continue to bust my balls. When I can’t take it anymore, I end up cussing them out, tossing down some cash, and storming out of the restaurant.It’s not my finest moment but I’m having a hard time accepting the truth about how I feel.
By the time I’m out on the sidewalk, Ronan’s already left me a preachy fucking voice message.
“Take it from a man who’s been in a similar situation and almost lost the woman of my dreams by being stupid. I would still be curled up in a ball, crying in the shower with shampoo burning my eyes if I’d lost Nicky to another man in some practice-dating bullshit. Quit the games and be real with your girl. Tell her how youreallyfeel.”
I hate him. I absolutely hate him at the moment.
But only because I know he’s right.
Braving the bright lights and crowded sidewalks of the Sin Valley Strip, I head back in the direction of my little condo on foot. The whole time, I’m feeling sick to my stomach about the images the guys put in my head.There are so many things I want to do with Alba.
Dirty things. Sweaty things. All-night-long things.
It kills me to imagine her doing those same things with someone else somewhere down the line. But that’s exactly what will happen if I teach her all about pleasure and then just walk away from her.
With each second that passes, I grow more desperate to hear Alba’s voice. I need the assurance that, at least for now, she’s all mine.
The moment I make it back to my place, I sit on my stiff,cold mattress and call her on video. She answers with a smile, right in the middle of putting Jagger to bed.
“Dad!” My boy lights up at the sight of me.
“Hey, little man! Did you have a good day?”
“Yes, I did.” And he starts to tell me all about it.
Jagger and I chat for a few minutes, and when he starts yawning, I tell him good night.
I wait patiently on my end of the phone line as Alba gives him a kiss, turns out the light, and walks back to her own bedroom.
We’re both sitting in our own beds when she asks me about my day.
“The meetings with the team doctors and officials all went well,” I tell her. “They say I’ll be back in the game next season.”
“Oh, congratulations, Easton. You’ve worked so hard to get back.” She gives me a sweet smile, but I’m pretty sure her eyes betray her true feelings. I don’t think she wants me to go.Or maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part. I’m not sure.
Either way, I’m eager to change the subject.
I stretch out on the bed, getting comfortable against my pillows. “So, Tiny Tiger. Are you finished working on your wishlist yet?”
Alba bites down on her lip. “I don’t know…”
I laugh. “Oh, that blush on your cheeks tells me you’ve been hard at work. What? Are you feeling too shy to tell me about it?”
“Maybe…” A ghost of a smile touches her lips.
I miss those lips. I miss the way they taste, the way they feel on mine. I wish I were kissing them right now.
“Well, that wishlist better be ready by the time I get back to town,” I tell her sternly.
She chuckles, laying back against her own pillows. “Ooh! Bossy, Mr. Tower.”
