Page 67 of Run the Play
I kiss her one more time, just under her ear, and step away. “While I enjoy all of you, I don’t want a finger in my tacos.”
“Eww.” She scrunches up her nose, and fuck me, it’s cute as hell.
“What can I do?” I ask.
“Nothing. It’s not a hard dinner, and I like cooking for you.”
“You could have saved yourself the trouble, and just let yourself be my dinner and my dessert.” I smack her ass lightly. I’m standing right next to her, so I see the beautiful pink hue that coats her cheeks.
“We need real food.”
“If you insist.” I sigh as if eating dinner is a hardship. Who am I? What has this woman done to me?
“There,” she says, as she finishes dicing the tomatoes. “Time to eat.”
We make our plates and settle at the island, just as we have every other night this week. Leaning over, I press my lips to her cheek. I can’t stop touching her. “I’m glad you’re here,” I tell her.
She smiles at me, and it lights a fire in my veins to see her happy. “I’m glad I’m here too. Not just here with you, but in Tennessee.”
“What made you decide on Tennessee?” I ask, taking a huge bite of my soft taco before groaning. So. Damn. Good.
“I grew up about thirty minutes from Nashville, in and out of foster homes, as you know. None of them felt like home to me, but I guess the state did. I’m not sure, to be honest. Somethingjust told me that Tennessee is where I need to be. That I need to return to where I grew up.”
“Best decision ever.” I wink at her, and I’m once again rewarded with a smile.
“It was,” she agrees, wiping her mouth. “When I applied to work for the Rampage, it was on a whim. I went to a game once when I was younger. My social worker took me and a couple of others. It was some kind of outreach program, and it stuck with me. When they called me for an interview, I was so excited that I think I almost passed out. I was already living in Nashville, in a rundown studio apartment, and I was waiting tables, barely getting by.” She shrugs, and my heart squeezes. “My gut was right. It led me to the Rampage.” She pauses and leans her head on my shoulder. “It brought me to you.”
I kiss the top of her head because it’s there, and I have this “I can’t stop touching her” condition, which is ridiculous, but I think it’s a thing because Knox has it too. I guess when you’re falling for someone, that’s what you do? Kiss them, touch them, and just sit next to them. Doing mundane things like eating dinner is more fun than anything else I can think of.
I’m convinced it’s just her.
My Rowan.
“So you’re a lifelong Rampage fan. It really is true love.” I bat my eyelashes, and she giggles.
“Well, I didn’t know much about the game, but that day was the best. We were allowed to purchase food from the concession stand, which was a first for me, and we sat next to a nice family with kids too. We all cheered and celebrated together. It’s one of my fondest, if notthefondest moment that I can remember from my childhood.”
This beautiful, sexy woman of mine has lived a hard life. Losing my dad so young was tough, but I had my mom and mysister. My girl had strangers, and that twists my heart into knots thinking about a scared, lonely young Rowan.
“What happened to your parents?” I ask. I’ve never wanted to push her to talk, but she’s opening up more and more, and she knows she can trust me.
“They were young. My mom was fifteen. Living in foster care herself, and from what I hear, she wasn’t sure who my dad even was. She tried to keep me, and even fought to get me back once she turned eighteen, but she couldn’t seem to get her life together. They kept me in and out of foster care until one day, the day before my eighth birthday, the social worker came to visit to tell me that my mom had passed away. Later, I found out it was an overdose. By then, I was too old for adoption. No one wants a kid who’s almost grown. Most want babies or toddlers. So, I bounced from home to home. Some were bad, others were worse, and there were a few that were good. There was one. I lived there for almost a year, but the dad, Mr. Long, his job transferred to a new location, and they had to move, so I had to pack my bags and move to another house. Another new family.”
“Fuck, Roe,” I rasp. My chest aches for her.
“It wasn’t so bad. There are so many in my position who have it much worse. I kept my head down, worked my ass off in school. My guidance counselor helped me apply for scholarships, and I went to the school that offered me the most. That’s how I ended up in Michigan, and where I met Chaz.” She shrugs. “You know the rest.”
I don’t know what to say. Words fail me, so I rely on touch. I slide my arm around her waist, and that’s how we finish our meal. I'm one-handed because I can’t let her go. Iwon’tlet her go. Not now, not tomorrow, not ten years from now. Not ever.
“Please don’t be different,” she says, turning to face me in her chair.
“I’m not, at least I don’t mean to be.” Reaching out, I cradle her cheek in my palm. She leans into my touch, which soothes me, and that’s fucked up because I should be doing my darndest to soothe her. “I want to give you everything,” I tell her. It’s the truth. Everything she missed out on, I want her to have it.
She smiles softly. “Landry, you can’t make up for my past, but I’d really like to live for and look toward the future with you.”
“Oh, baby, that’s happening,” I tell her, leaning in for a kiss. “Go find us a movie, and I’ll clean up.”
“I can help.”
