“Danielle, even if I found another organization to volunteer for I’d still be here asking you out.” He pulled slightly on her hand until she shifted closer to him. “One date. That’s all. Okay?”
His thumb brushed lazily across the inside of her palm. The light touch sent delicious shivers over her body. His gaze grabbed hers and held it hostage. Danielle was lost in the brown depths and lulled bythe slow play of his hands on her. Jacobe’s gaze lowered to her lips. Danielle felt every excited beat of her heart throughout her body.
She nodded. “One date.”
His eyes heated to delicious pools of melted chocolate. He leaned closer. He was going to kiss her. Danielle’s heart jackhammered.
She jumped back. He immediately let go. Her arm hit a small stack of papers on her desk. The sheets flew to the floor. Turning away from him, she quickly bent to pick them up. “Um...as for volunteering, I’ll let you talk with Debra. She helps coordinate volunteers.” She slapped the papers on her desk. He stood in the middle of the small path to the door. She tried to quickly scoot past him without touching.
Her breasts brushed his chest. White-hot desire slammed into her. Her nipples tightened. Danielle jerked forward and almost tripped. When he reached out to help her, she held her hand away and righted herself.
“No worries, I’m good.” She glanced at his face. He was watching her, smiling. Danielle looked away and opened the door. “I’ll get Debra.” She hurried out of the room before she turned into even more of a stuttering ninny.
Chapter 4
“What’s really going on between you and Jacobe?” Debra asked as she and Danielle skimmed a row of party dresses in Revelry Dress Shop.
The second she’d agreed to a date with Jacobe, Danielle realized she had nothing to wear for a date with a NBA superstar. Her dating life of the past few years had been filled with other men from the conservation field. Hiking, biking, and kayaking with the occasional dinner at Applebees. Jacobe hadn’t said where he was taking her, only that he’d text with the details.
“Nothing. It’s just two friends catching up.” She picked up a pink sequined scrap of material she assumed was supposed to be a dress. “What’s this? Why did you bring me here? I said I needed help picking an outfit for a date, not prom.”
Debra laughed and pushed back several other dresses on the rack in front of her. “You said you didn’t have anything to wear.”
“I thought we’d just go to the mall.”
Debra leaned close. “You’re going out with Jacobe Jenkins.” Her voice was low as if conveying a big secret. “He’ll probably take you to a nightclub. Do you have a nightclub dress?”
“No.” She eyed Debra’s Supernatural T-shirt and gray earrings in the shape of a skeletal hand. “Do you?”
“No, but if I needed one this is where I’d go. Now look.” Debra pointed to the dresses.
Danielle sighed and looked through the dresses. “This isn’t necessary. I just needed a simple dress and a new sweater. This isn’t going to be a big deal.”
“You don’t know that. He came all the way downtown to apologize for whatever he did to piss you off after the game.”
Danielle hadn’t told Debra exactly what Jacobe said. Doing so would require revealing they’d slept together in college. She’d just said he’d been the same jerk she remembered.
“He’s volunteering to help us,” Debra said.
“To help his image.”
“But it still helps us. And he asked you out. For once don’t be so doubtful and just have a little fun.”
“I’m not being doubtful, I’m being realistic. In what world does the professional basketball star fall for the conservation girl?”
“I don’t know. Yours maybe.”
“Look, I’ve been here before. Professional athletes have an unlimited access to money and women. Long term relationships aren’t on their agenda.”
“Hold up. Wait a minute.” Debra turned to face Danielle and leaned one arm on top of the dress rack. “You’ve been here? I need the, who, what, when and where?”
Danielle nearly swore. She didn’t like talking about what happened with her ex-boyfriend. She’d never mentioned him to Debra. She straightened her glasses and turned back to the dresses. “It’s a figure of speech.”
“Spill it, Danielle. Come on, I thought we were friends.”
“We are.”
“Then tell me the story. You hear all of my baggage. Spill yours.”
Danielle stopped searching to glance at Debra. She had the determined look that said she wasn’t going to let the subject die. Why not tell her? Maybe then she’d realize this date with Jacobe meant nothing.
“I dated Luke Kinard in college,” Danielle kind of mumbled.
Debra’s jaw dropped. “Luke Kinard? Like, professional football player, Luke Kinard?”
Danielle tried to give a no-big-deal shrug. This is why she didn’t talk about Luke much. People got overly excited about a disappointing time in her life. “Yeah. We met at an Earth Day clean up my sophomore year and hit it off. We dated through college. I knew he wanted to go pro, but we both never really thought he would. He wasn’t drafted, but he decided to try to be a walk on in Philadelphia. He said if he made it, we’d move to Philly and get married.”
A line of confusion formed between Debra’s brows. “He made it. He’s one of their biggest defensive linemen.”
“After he go the offer, he told me about the women who throw themselves at rookies. How much time he’ll have to spend at practices and learning the play book. He didn’t break up with me. I don’t think he wanted to, but I could tell he didn’t want to miss out on all the perks of being in the league. So, I broke up with him. Took the job with the River Watchers and moved on.”
“That sucks.”
“No, it’s reality.”
“But weren’t you upset?”
She had been upset. Hurt. She and Luke had talked about marriage. They both had similar interests. She’d loved him, and she believed he had loved her. He would have tried to make their relationship work. She hadn’t wanted them to end up hating each other because of the pressures from being in the league.
“It was better that way. We’re still friends. I meet up with him for lunch whenever he’s in town.”
“Wait? The friend Luke you meet up with every so often is Luke Kinard? Geez, Danielle, I can’t believe you didn’t tell me Luke was Luke Kinard!” Debra sounded a little hurt by the revelation.
“Only because I didn’t want to sound like I was bragging. We’re just friends now.”
“Friends or not, that’s important background information. Dang, first you know Jacobe Jenkins now you’re Luke Kinard’s ex-girlfriend. What next, is Halle Berry your cousin?”
Danielle laughed. “No. There are no other celebrities in my background.”
Danielle’s phone chimed with the text message alert. She pulled the phone from her purse. “It’s from Jacobe.” She read the message. “He wants to go bowling. He’s asking if I mind.”
“Bowling?”
Danielle grinned. “Yes! Thank goodness.” She put the pink monstrosity back on the rack. “I really didn’t want to wear a sequined party dress and go to a nightclub.” She texted back that bowling was cool. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Bowling?” Debra said again and followed Danielle to the door. “That’s not very romantic.”
“Exactly. What did I tell you? We’re just two friends catching up with each other. There’s nothing that’s going to come of this.”
“I swore there were sparks between you two.”
Sparks, flames, knee melting electric energy. All of that flowed through Danielle whenever Jacobe was near. She’d been burned by that flame before. She wasn’t about to get burned again.
Danielle pushed open the door of the dress shop and marched out
to the warm spring air. “Forget sparks. All I want, and need, from Jacobe is his help selling tickets to the gala to save the River Watchers.”
* * *
Jacobe chose bowling for several reasons. One, he liked to bowl. He’d bought the bowling alley after the owner wanted to let it go a year ago. He frequented the place enough to not be mobbed by fans. Guaranteeing a little bit of privacy for him and Danielle without being too intimate. He also remembered seeing Danielle at the bowling alley in college a few times and hoped she still enjoyed playing.
“I hope you don’t mind bowling?” he asked as he opened one of the double glass doors to let her in. In his other hand he carried the bag that held his bowling ball and shoes.
The sounds of music along with the crack of bowling balls against pins filled the air. She wore a pair of sexy black jeans that hugged her hips, a ruffled white top and a cute black cardigan with a flower on the breast. She wasn’t wearing heels and he could look down at the top of her head, making him infinitely aware of how small and feminine she was.
“I don’t mind,” she said. “I haven’t bowled in a while. This might be fun. Don’t you own this place?”
The smell of her light flowery perfume drifted around him as she passed. He took a deep breath to take in more of her. “You know I own this place?”
“You’re a local celebrity. I saw something on a news report once.”
“I sponsor most of the leagues that play here. When the previous owner started to shut it down, I stepped in so they wouldn’t have to find a new place to play or quit all together.”
She glanced up at him as they made their way to get bowling shoes. “Wow, that’s a lot of investment.”
“I like bowling.”
“I do, too, but not enough to buy a bowling alley. Why do you love bowling so much?” Her big brown eyes were filled with curiosity.
“I said I like bowling. Not that I love it,” he deflected.
“To buy this place so the teams could keep playing says you love it. Why?”
He shrugged. “Just do. I played a lot as a kid.” He turned away from her curious gaze to look at the guy behind the shoe-exchange counter. “What’s up, Dennis. I brought a friend in for a few rounds.”
Danielle turned around to greet Dennis. Usually, when asked why he’d bought a bowling alley, he answered because he liked bowling. At that response, people just moved on. He didn’t get into why he liked bowling. After his dad was killed, his grandfather would take Jacobe bowling on Wednesday nights. They’d kept up the routine for years until his grandfather passed away. Those Wednesday night bowling sessions had kept Jacobe sane after the craziness of his dad’s passing. But to tell Danielle that meant he had to reveal too much of himself.
“I hope you have a good arm,” Dennis was saying to Danielle. He pointed to Jacobe. “This guy is serious about bowling.”
Danielle handed over her flats and took the shoes Dennis held out to her. “I’m decent. I think I can hold my own against him.”
“I wish you luck then.” Dennis looked at Jacobe. “You got your shoes, or you need a pair?”
Jacobe held up the shoes in his hand. “Brought mine.”
“You have your own shoes?” Danielle said as they walked toward the first alley. It was against the far wall, with two empty alleys between them and the other people out bowling. Jacobe smiled and nodded at the regulars he recognized.
“Yeah.”
“But you just like bowling. I think there’s more to the story.”
She smiled at him, and it was so cute he couldn’t help but smile back. “Maybe there is, but I’m not ready to tell the story.” Her brows drew together and he knew she was about to go digging again. He leaned down and lowered his voice. “We’ve got to save something for pillow talk.”
She waved a hand as if his words were ridiculous, but he caught the spark of interest that had briefly lit up her eyes. “Stop that. I thought we were just here as old friends.”
“You said we were hardly friends.”
“I had to say that. I wasn’t sure if you meant what you said about volunteering or not. But after listening to you and Debra set up your volunteer schedule, I figured you are serious.”
“Very serious. I need some good press.”
“Because of the suspension?” She walked away to check out the balls on the rack near their alley.
“That and I’ve got plans. I don’t need people thinking that all I am is a bad temper and partying.” Jacobe sat behind the controls to set up the automatic scoring for the game.
Danielle came over and sat next to him. “What type of plans? Hey, I bowl first.”
“Excuse me,” he teased. He deleted his name and put in hers first.
“So, what are your plans?”
“To be considered one of the best players in the league.”
Danielle turned in her seat to face him. “That’s a wish, not a plan.”
“What do you mean?”
“I want to be considered a leader in my field, but just because I want that doesn’t mean it’ll happen. Not without a plan with real goals to get there.”
“Okay, Professor Stewart, what are your goals?”
“First is showing genuine enthusiasm for what I do. I want to make a difference. Not just here but on a larger scale. I pick projects that will have a measurable impact when they’re done, like shutting down Clear Water.”
“Clear Water?” Jacobe leaned down to pull off his shoes and slip on his bowling shoes.
Danielle’s brows rose to her hairline, and her eyes were wide. “Do you live under a rock?”
He shrugged. “Apparently so. Tell me what it is.”
“They’re a sewer provider who can’t properly treat the sewage coming to their plant. They dumped tons of bacteria-laden water into the creeks for years. I fought to get their permit enforced. Major fines were levied and they have to put together a corrective plan to either tie into a better system or shut down.”
“Wow. You did that?” He was impressed.
She leaned back and straightened her glasses. She looked embarrassed by his praise. “Well, not just me.”
“They’re shutting down?”
“They’re trying to expand. They want to dump into Springfield Creek!”
She looked at him like he should be outraged. He shook his head. “You need to school me again, Professor.”
She did. For the next few rounds of bowling, she updated him on her efforts to prevent Clear Water from expanding and dumping into the creek. Jacobe was amazed that all of this was happening right here, and that more people weren’t talking about it.
She obviously was an advocate for her work. Her passion to make things right in the world hadn’t changed. What, or who, else was she passionate about? He’d experienced the heat of her fire during their one night together. He didn’t for a moment think she was seeing someone else. Danielle wasn’t the type to hang out with him if she had a man, but there had to be something else that excited her. If not, he’d be more than willing to bring fun into her life.
“You know,” Jacobe said, after he’d bowled a spare and was coming back to where Danielle was picking up her ball to bowl. “Back in college I knew you were into this stuff, but I thought—I don’t know—that you were just being a Goody Two-shoes.”
Her laugh was incredulous. “What?”
“I mean, I didn’t realize that you really cared about this. Not just because it seemed like the right thing to do or that everyone else was doing it. You’re kind of impressive.”
She fiddled with her glasses again and glanced away. “I’m not impressive. I’m just a hard worker. You’re the one people think of as being impressive. Famous basketball star and all that. People listen when you talk just because you’re a celebrity.” She met his gaze. “I know you don’t want to tell me your ultimate plan
and that you’re only volunteering to help your image, but thank you anyway. You’ll get us the attention we need. That’ll go a long way to help me.”
She walked to the head of the aisle to bowl. Jacobe sat in the plastic chair behind the controls to watch her. Danielle was far more impressive than he. He wanted the recognition for being the best; she wanted to make sure people had clean water. He cared about boys who didn’t know what direction to take. After his spiral when his dad died, and later discovering he wasn’t the father of Christy’s son, he recognized the need for more male mentors out there. He funded programs for that, but he wasn’t as driven to that cause as Danielle was to hers. He’d had nothing but basketball and anger. If he lost basketball, did he really just want to be left with anger?
Danielle rolled a strike and jumped up and down. Jacobe clapped and smiled at her. That was the first strike she’d bowled all night. The bounce of her luscious breasts while she jumped distracted him. His clapping slowed.
A quick vision of her on top of the dresser in a long-ago college room, her dress pulled down and her soft breasts in his hands while his mouth kissed and sucked on nipples as sweet as candy flashed through his mind. That night had been too fast, too rushed and hurried. Next time he’d be sure to take his time and kiss every inch of her body.
Jacobe looked away and forced the memory out of his head. His brain cleared, but his body didn’t follow suit. His blood heated and his dick swelled just enough to let him know that if he didn’t control his thoughts he’d have a full on erection in no time. He didn’t want her tonight.
Yes, you do.
Okay, he wouldn’t turn her down tonight, but that wasn’t the point of this date. He’d tasted Danielle, then walked away without a backward glance after Christy tricked him. He wouldn’t let her think that he cared only about sex when it came to her.
What the hell, Jacobe? You want a relationship, now? No, that answer was clear. Women like Danielle wanted commitments. He no longer did commitments.
“Hey, you okay?” Danielle said.
Jacobe had lowered his head, his eyes closed as first the memory, then the scary thought of a relationship entered his mind. He opened his eyes and slowly lifted his head. He tried to give her a smile but feared it looked as force as he felt.
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