Page 59 of Playing the Field
Much as I’d love to spend more time with her like this, the comment about LA gives me an idea. “How long have you been in LA? A month? Two tops?”
“Split the difference. It’s been about six weeks.”
Six weeks of falling for her.
“So you still kind of look at this place like you’re a tourist.”
She tips her head from side to side, considering. “More or less. I didn’t come here thinking it was permanent, if that’s what you mean. So I guess I haven’t dug in and thought of myself as an Angeleno.”
I don’t like hearing her talk about her time here as finite, even if I know it’s true in the recesses of my brain. Easy enough to push the thought aside in favor of what I want in the moment.
It’s how I thrive on a soccer field. Everything is about the here and now and the goal at hand. If I think, if I dwell on the past or the future too much, I lose the moment. That’s often the difference between blocking a shot and letting it slip by. Between winning and losing. Between success and failure.
I don’t want to fail here, so I force myself to stay in the present.
“I was thinking maybe I should give you a tour. Not the well-known spots like Venice Beach. I’m talking about the ‘Hunter Reyes inside LA’ spots. The ones that aren’t on the map.”
She perks up instantly at the idea, pushing herself to sit and swiveling her legs to cross them. Eyes bright, she looks as eager as a kid who’s been told about a spontaneous trip to Disneyland. Come to think of it…
“Or we could go to Disneyland. Your pick.”
She leans back as though I might trap her if she’s too close. “No, not that. I don’t do scary rides.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Scary? Five-year-olds go to Disneyland. It’s the ‘happiest place on earth.’ You watch soccer players try to kill each other for a living. Trust me, I think you can handle a ride or two.”
She shakes her head. “I mean, I’m sure you’re right, but I like the idea of the ‘Hunter tour.’ I want to know you better. Show me what you love about LA.”
I can’t say no to that. My brain fires up, and I start thinking about where I want to take her, all the things I want to do with her in the hours we have before sunset. It’s early afternoon, so that gives me a roadmap.
“Okay, Tink, get dressed and grab shoes you can walk in, a few layers, and something you’ll want to wear to dinner later. Leave the rest to me.”
She puts her hands on my chest and lowers herself down until her breasts push against my body, and it’s all I can do not to cage her in and keep her here for the rest of the day. Her gentle kissimmediately deepens, and I’m a hairline away from flipping her over and taking her one more time before we leave.
But then she breaks the kiss with a disappointed moan. Pushing herself away from me, she shakes her head. “Too good, soccer star. Promise me our night will end right here?”
“I promise.”
Easiest promise I’ll ever have to keep.
CHAPTER 30
Hunter
“I barely knowmy way around. I swear I won’t be able to guess where we’re going.” Gracie sits in the passenger seat of the Range Rover with a bandanna I tied over her eyes. “Can I take this off?”
“Nope. I want it to be a total surprise.”
“It will be. How can it not? I told you I’ve been to like three places since I got here, most of them within a stone’s throw of work.”
I can be a stubborn son of a bitch when I want to, and right now, her protests are only egging me on. “Nope. Sorry.”
Even under the bandanna, she has the sensory ability to elbow me in the side. “You’re not sorry. Not even a little.”
“Correct.”
Her hand goes to the bandanna but mine is quicker. I take her hand and keep it wrapped in mine. “Patience, grasshopper. I promise, it will be worth the torture.”
A few minutes later, I pull onto Pacific Coast Highway fromKanan and everything changes. The serene Pacific sprawls to our left, blocked by intermittent houses that pop up along the drive, and the scattered restaurants and shops to our right. “Okay, you can take it off now.”
