Page 56 of Lucky Baller
“Is that creepy?”
He chuckles. “Not creepy at all. Come on. Let’s get you packed, and we’ll pick up some food on the way home. I was going to make dinner, but I do believe my time is better spent holding you.” He wraps an arm around my shoulders and guides me into the house.
As I’m tossing items into an overnight bag, I wonder if this is all too soon. Am I rushing this? It feels right, though, and that’s what matters. I can only imagine what Autumn would be telling me right now. She and Jeremy fell in love in a week. Not that I love Landon, but I do really like him. We’re both adults, and as long as we’re both on the same page with where this is going, I’m not going to let my fear get in the way.
“You ready?” Landon asks when I enter the living room.
“Yes. I think I have what I need.”
“You know, I’ve never asked you, why don’t you have any animals?”
“The landlord doesn’t allow it. Doesn’t mean I haven’t brought a few home from time to time.” I shrug. “One day, I’ll buy my own place so I can have a pet.”
“Dog or cat?”
“Dogs.”
He nods. “Yeah, man’s best friend. I had a golden retriever as a kid. His name was Ace. If I wasn’t at football practice, I was out in the backyard with him. He died during my senior year of high school. I swear he was a member of the family. Hit me and my parents hard.”
“Landon Barker, you’re nothing but a big ole softy.”
“Shh,” he says dramatically. “Don’t let that get out. It will ruin my street cred.”
I throw my head back in laughter. “Sorry to break it to you, Number Eighteen, you don’t have any street cred. Your skill and your number get you respect.”
“As long as it gets me yours.” He stands from his spot on the couch and reaches for my bag. “What sounds good to eat?”
“Honestly, a burger from Henry’s.”
“That’s my girl,” he says, guiding me outside with his hand on the small of my back. He stops and makes sure the door is locked. “I was thinking I could drop you off at work in the morning on my way to the field and then pick you up. That way we’re not taking two cars.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s selfish, really. It gives me more time with you.”
“Well, when you put it like that.” I smile, and he returns it. His is just as wide as he leads me to the passenger side of his SUV.
“You want me to call it in?” he asks, reaching for his phone.
“Nah, we can go in and eat.”
He reaches across the console and links his fingers with mine, and we’re on our way to dinner. Just like that. He’s so seamlessly slipped his way into my life, and I realize I wasn’t really living before Landon.
Chapter Sixteen
Landon
“Hey, Henry.” I wave to him at his spot behind the counter. With Tessa’s fingers laced with mine, I lead her to a table in the back corner. It’s hard to tell when any of my teammates will show up, and I want her all to myself. They’ve yet to meet her officially as mine, and part of me wants to shout it so the entire world can hear, but the other part of me wants to keep her for myself. There has only been one incident where the press got a photo of us, but you can’t see her face. I want the world to know, but at the same time, I don’t want that intrusion into our lives. They print complete shit, and I have no doubt there will be something printed that will threaten what we have. It’s not a risk I want to take.
Not with her.
So, for now, I’m going to keep her all to myself. Well, until this weekend, that is. My Tweet is getting national attention. They’re going to want to know my connection to the shelter, and I’ll tell them. That gives us time before the world thinks they have a right to invade our privacy and meddle in our lives. I hateit, but I love football. It’s the price I pay to play a sport I love for a living.
“Tessa, nice to see you again,” Henry greets her. “This guy treating you right?”
She smiles and nods. What she doesn’t know is that he’d ream my ass if there was any other answer than yes. “Perfect gentleman,” she replies with a kind smile.
“Now I know you’re pulling my leg. This guy?” He points at me.
