Page 53 of Lucky Baller
“Really? I would think that you would get right back to it.”
“Nah, some teams do. Coach says we need a day to rest and let our bodies heal.”
“I hardly think that one day is long enough for that. I’ve seen those hits some of the guys take and even you when you’re getting sacked.” I grin.
“Always busting my balls.” He shakes his head, but a smile tilts his lips.
“It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it.” I peck his lips and then roll away from him.
“Get back here,” he demands playfully.
“Can’t. Now get moving, Number Eighteen.” I grab my clothes from the chair in the corner of the room and disappear into the bathroom. By the time I’m dressed and have brushed my teeth with my index finger and some toothpaste, I find Landon sitting on the edge of the bed, his hair mussed and a sleepy, sexy smile on his face.
“Ready?”
“Yes.”
He stands from the bed, offers me his hand, and links our fingers together. Hand in hand, we head out to the garage. He offers to stop for breakfast, but I’m cutting it close on time, so I decline.
“I should be home around five or a little after.”
He leans over the console and kisses me sweetly. “Have a good day, baby.”
Butterflies swarm my belly. “You, too.” I wave awkwardly and climb out of his SUV. He doesn’t move until I’m in the house. Not able to resist, I peek out the blinds and watch him drive away. I pinch my leg and jump from the pain. I had to make sure I wasn’t dreaming that this is real, that this is really my life. With a smile on my face, I rush to the shower and get ready for work.
I’ve just released the dogs so they can run as my stomach grumbles. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I see it’s just after ten. I should have taken the time to at least grab a granola bar this morning. Oh, well, I’ll just have to deal until I can run out for lunch. I rushed out of the house this morning without packing anything. Being hungry is worth not running late. I usually hate to have to rush, and it puts my entire day off-kilter, but somehow, that’s not the case today. Well, unless you count my stomach’s angry growl. I guess waking up with Landon makes all the difference.
Heading back inside, I find Autumn in our shared office. “Hey, what are you looking at so hard?” I ask, watching her stare at her laptop.
“Just going over the details for the adoption fair this weekend.”
“What can I do? We’re all set, right?”
“Yes. We have plenty of volunteers, but I’m just worried about the attendance. Our fairs here at the shelter don’t do nearly as well as the ones we hold at the mall or other shopping centers. We’re at capacity, and I’m hoping we can find some of our animals forever homes.”
“Okay. So what do we do? We’ve got social media ads going. We’ve passed out over five hundred flyers. We have posters hanging all around town. What are we missing?” Before she can answer, the chime sounds, letting us know we have a visitor. There are no volunteers on the schedule until this afternoon. Standing from my desk, I start for the door, but before I can make it to the threshold, Landon is there.
“Hey.” He leans in for a quick kiss. “I assumed you didn’t take the time to eat. I know how much you hate to run late, so I stopped at the Cup of Joe Café and bought you your favorite.” He holds up the bag from the café as his proof.
“Best bo— guy ever,” I stumble over my words.
He leans in close, placing his lips next to my ear. “Boyfriend, Tess. You had it right the first time.” His lips press against mine, and that’s all it takes for me to get lost in him.
“This is new.” Autumn chuckles, pulling us out of our trance.
Landon smiles down at me, hands me the bag from the café, and turns his attention to Autumn. “Landon Barker, boyfriend to Tessa Deaton.” He smirks, holding his hand out for Autumn to shake.
“Stop.” I pull on his arm, bringing it back to his side. He takes that as an opportunity to lace his fingers with mine.
“Looks like I missed a lot last night from Henry’s until now.”
“You could say that,” I confess.
“What I want to know is why I’m just now hearing about it?” Her smile is wide as her eyes give me a knowing look.
“I was running late and came in and got straight to work. I was going to tell you, but you looked like someone just kicked your puppy, and we started talking about the adoption event on Saturday, and well, this guy decided to show up and started throwing around titles.” I bump my shoulder into Landon’s.
“Hey, I earned that title. I’m all about throwing it around.”
