Fair Catch

by Ruddick, Jessica

  Jake: Is there anything I can do to entice you to change your mind?

  I grinned. There was the flirty Jake I knew. Yes, I’d been worried about the kids, but now I could admit to myself that I’d been worried I had overestimated how well our date had gone. I’d spent almost the last two years in a relationship that was far from normal, so my perception might be off.

  Rachel: I need to stay to give Greta moral support.

  Jake: LOL. Maybe once she passes we can celebrate.

  Rachel: Yes, please.

  ***

  Jake

  FIRST THING MONDAY morning, I met with a local lawyer. He reviewed the paperwork Aunt Christy’s lawyer had drawn up and determined everything was on the up and up. Still, we documented the trouble my siblings had had at her house just in case she ever fought me for custody. I didn’t think she would, though.

  When she’d come back on Sunday, we’d had brunch, and it was downright pleasant, which shocked the hell out of me. The kids seemed happy to see her, which I supposed was a good thing. It wasn’t like I wanted them to be permanently scarred by their time at her house.

  By the time she’d left, she seemed satisfied that we were doing okay and didn’t give any indication that she wanted them back. I supposed I couldn’t fault her for wanting to check up on the kids, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

  I was pissed that it had come to contacting a lawyer, though. I didn’t want to get into a legal battle with my aunt. Aside from my fraternal grandmother, who was living the good life with her new husband in Florida, I didn’t have any other family to speak of. Maybe I would take a cue from Rachel and look at the bright side—Aunt Christy was still invested in the kids, so if I needed backup, I could call her.

  Because of the meeting with the lawyer, I missed my classes, which wasn’t ideal in the second week of summer term, especially since I was taking hard classes so I could save the easy ones for the fall.

  At least I didn’t miss my training session, though. Those were actually more important than my classes. If I missed a lecture, I could always borrow the notes from someone. If I missed a workout, there was no way I could make that up. Building my strength and stamina was cumulative. A day lost was a day I would be permanently behind.

  The workout rejuvenated me. With every sprint I ran and every plate I lifted, the stress left me. Physical exertion always had that effect on me. The only other time I felt relaxed and centered was when I was with Rachel. She was the calm in the middle of the tornado that was my life.

  Despite how my day started, by the time I was on my way home, I was in a fantastic mood, probably because I knew Rachel was waiting for me at the house. She greeted me at the door with a peck on the lips. That small touch wasn’t enough, though. I wanted to pull her to me and feel her body against mine. But since I was a sweaty mess, I settled for the peck.

  “I’m going to get in the shower. Will you be here when I get out?”

  She smiled. “You know it.”

  I lowered my eyes and moved closer. “Any chance I could convince you to join me?”

  Her eyelids fluttered, and she put a hand to her throat. “Rain check?”

  “Hell yes.”

  ***

  Rachel

  ONCE THE KIDS were out of school, I fell into the role of managing the girls’ activities and checking in with Ben to make sure he was doing well in his summer classes.

  Ashley had swimming every morning at the community pool. Luckily, there was free swim, too, so Emily didn’t get bored. Once that was over, I would whisk them home for a quick lunch then run Ashley to the middle school three days a week for her drama program. Ben would get home shortly after that, so I would talk with him about his day. Jake had been right—the boy was smart, way too smart to be retaking classes in summer school. With almost no effort, he was bringing home straight As. The first week of summer, Jake and I took him on a tour of VVU, making a special stop in the building that housed the computer science department. A grad student who was there was nice enough to chat with Ben, and now Ben finally understood that while he might not care about all his subjects in school, he needed to get good grades so he could have the opportunity to do the things he did care about.

  We would get a breather in the afternoon before I had to pick up Ashley. Then we would come home, have dinner, and two nights a week, I would be off again with Emily to soccer practice. Occasionally, Jake would meet us there, but he had stretched himself thin. He was taking more than a full summer course load and had two daily training sessions. I usually spent the evenings hanging out with Jake and going home late at night. Then I would get up early and do it all over again. I would’ve been lying if I said it wasn’t exhausting. But Jake was true to his word and paid me well. I was quickly able to pay Katie back for the rent money she’d loaned me, and I started stashing funds away for the coming year.

  Wyatt had worked his magic to get Katie an internship working with athletes in the athletic department, so she was also able to stay for the summer. While she didn’t need money, she did need practical experience in the medical field for her med-school applications. She had Wednesday mornings free, though, so she was hanging out with Emily and me at the community pool while Ashley was in her swim lesson.

  “Ashley discovered Sisters Squared,” I told Katie.

  She groaned. “Are you kidding me?”

  Sisters Squared was the tween show Katie and her sister had starred in. While her twin, Kassidy, was still acting, Katie had gone out of her way to make sure no one would connect Katie Sullivan to Katelyn Sterling, half of the sought-after duo of twin child stars. She’d only just come to terms with her past and become more open about it.

  “Sorry,” I said. “She’s working her way through the third season now. Jake hoped she’d have given up the notion of being an actress by now, but nope.” I handed Katie a bottle of sunscreen lotion. “Can you put this on my upper back? I feel like I’m burning.”

  She gave me a bland stare. “How can you possibly be burning under the brim of that hat? It puts your entire body in the shade.”

  “Thanks for rubbing salt in my fair-skinned wound.” I had never been able to tan. At best, I went from pale to beige. At worst, I went from pale to boiled lobster. Katie, on the other hand, turned into a golden goddess after an hour in the sun. It was maddening.

  She rolled her eyes. “I don’t think you’re burning, but okay.” She pushed my straps aside and started applying the lotion.

  “How’s the internship going?” I asked. Even though we lived together, we hadn’t seen much of one another recently.

  “Great, actually. I’m really enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. So who knows? Maybe I’ll go into sports medicine or physical therapy.”

  Emily ran toward us.

  “No running!” I reminded her.

  She slowed to an awkward speed walk, stopping in front of me and dripping water all over me. “Did we bring my goggles?”

  I fished them out of my bag. “I found them on the couch. We need to work on you keeping track of your stuff.”

  “I know,” she grumbled. Then she raced back to the pool.

  Katie gave me the side-eye. “How’s your summer job going?”

  “It’s hectic but not hard. I like the kids. That helps.”

  “The kids? Or Jake?”

  I laughed. “Both. Plus, it helps that he’s paying me well.”

  Katie wrinkled her nose. “Isn’t that weird?”

  “You know, I thought it would be, but it hasn’t been. Anyway, it’s not like he’s handing me a wad of cash. He transfers money directly into my account.”

  “Well, that’s good at least.” Katie was quiet for a moment. “Did I tell you that Wyatt is taking me home in a few weeks to meet his family? His mom isn’t in the picture, so it’s his dad and grandparents.”

  “That’s awesome!” But after studying her expression, I changed my response. “That’s not awesome?”

  “I mean, I guess
it is. It’s the next step, right? It’s just that I’ve never ‘met the parents’ before.”

  “They’re going to love you.”

  “That’s what Wyatt says, but I worry, you know? I didn’t have a traditional upbringing. I’m not good with all the family stuff.”

  “Honey, I had what you would call a ‘traditional upbringing’ in every sense of the word, and I’m not good with all the family stuff either.”

  Katie sat up and gestured loosely toward the pool and all the kids. “Um, you’ve got the family stuff nailed.”

  “That’s not what I mean. I mean my family stuff.” Although, ironically, if I brought Jake home, my dad would love him. He would probably consider it one of the few things I’d done right, and I didn’t know if that was a point in Jake’s favor or not. Probably not. But it wasn’t Jake’s fault that my father appreciated strong men. Apparently, I did too. I wasn’t going to examine that too deeply.

  “Every family has its problems,” Katie said diplomatically.

  She basically just addressed her own concern, so I gave her a pointed look.

  She sighed. “Okay, okay. I’m making a big deal out of nothing. Things are so great with Wyatt that it’s like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop, you know?”

  “I get it. I just don’t think you have reason to worry.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  ***

  Jake

  MY LITTLE SISTER was kicking ass, fearlessly throwing herself in front of every soccer ball the other team kicked at her. Granted, they were eight, so their shots at the goal weren’t intense, but still. Even though I was her brother, and therefore biased, I could spot athletic talent when I saw it. Previously, she’d played midfield, but her coach must have seen her potential as goalie. It was hard to reconcile the fierce player on the field with the sweet little girl she was at home.

  Damn. I was so proud. It was all I could do to keep myself from rushing over to the bench when the players came in for halftime.

  “She’s awesome,” I told Rachel. “Seeing her at practice didn’t prepare me for this.”

  “I don’t know,” Rachel said with a grin. “I saw—oh shit. Hold on.” Grabbing her bag, she rushed over to the bench. She pulled out Ziplocs with grapes in them and passed them out to each player. As she handed Emily hers, she gave her a subtle fist bump before heading back to me.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Team mom?”

  Rachel shook her head. “That’s above my pay grade. But I signed up to bring halftime snacks for this first game.”

  I frowned. “I should be doing that type of thing, shouldn’t I?”

  Rachel shrugged. “It was no trouble to pick up some grapes when I did the grocery shopping this week.”

  “I really owe you for that.” She had done the shopping the last two weeks. I hated doing it, so when she’d offered, I had gladly taken her up on it.

  She simply shrugged again. “Emily doesn’t mind going with me, and there’s a store right next to the middle school, so it works out. Besides”—she grinned wickedly and leaned closer—“it gives you more free time to spend with me, so really, it’s a selfish act.”

  I stole a kiss while she was so close, letting my lips linger longer than was appropriate for being at a children’s soccer game. “If there’s one adjective that could never describe your actions, it’s selfish.”

  She grinned. “Maybe. Or maybe you don’t know me that well yet.”

  “I think I know you pretty well, but I’d like to know all of you better.” I raked my gaze down her chest, over her abdomen, and down her thighs before meeting her eyes.

  I’d expected her to blush, but instead, she held my gaze. “Is that a promise?”

  “Hell yes.”

  “Then I’ll definitely take a rain check on that.”

  Rain checks… It was always fucking rain checks. The problem wasn’t that Rachel was being coy—it was the damn circumstances. I couldn’t stay over at her place because Ben was too young to watch the kids overnight. We’d talked about Rachel staying over, but she was hesitant to take that leap because of the kids, and I couldn’t say that I blamed her. We would have to find a way to make it work eventually, but for our first night together, I didn’t want any awkwardness about my siblings being in the house or worries about being too loud.

  Because goddammit, I wanted to make Rachel scream, preferably my name.

  And then I wanted to do it again.

  CHAPTER 18

  Rachel

  JAKE: PACK A bag.

  I stared at Jake’s text, not understanding what he was talking about. Did he text me accidentally?

  Rachel: What do you mean?

  Jake: It’s time to cash in all those rain checks. Pack an overnight bag. I’m stealing you away for a night. Pick you up at three.

  Heat started in my belly and spread through my body as I remembered the numerous occasions when rain checks were issued. Finally. My insides were practically quivering with need as I tried to recall exactly what the rain checks were for. We hadn’t specified, but my mind could easily fill in those blanks.

  It was noon. I almost wished he hadn’t given me as much warning as he had because now I had three hours to freak out and get nervous. I felt like I was back in high school, preparing to lose my virginity on prom night.

  I yanked open my underwear drawer and rifled through. White cotton, beige cotton, more white cotton, black cotton… ugh! None of them were right. My panties weren’t of the granny variety, but they were practical, which didn’t mesh with sexy. I usually didn’t worry about that sort of thing, but I’d never had an appointment to get it on before.

  “Katie!” I bellowed, not bothering to keep the panic out of my voice.

  She rushed into my room, breathless. “What? What is it? Are you okay?”

  “I’m having an underwear emergency.” As soon as the words came out of my mouth, I realized how ridiculous they were. “Maybe emergency is too strong. It’s more like a crisis.”

  “Um…” Using two fingers, Katie picked up a pair of discarded underwear by the elastic.

  I snatched them away from her. “Jake told me to pack an overnight bag.”

  She grinned. “You don’t say.”

  Tucking the underwear back in my drawer, I eyed her suspiciously. “Why don’t you sound surprised?”

  “Someone has to stay with the kids.”

  My jaw dropped. “You’re babysitting overnight?” My roommate had never babysat a day in her life.

  She bristled. “Your reaction is a little insulting. Don’t you think I can handle it?”

  “Of course you can. They’re good kids.”

  “What if they were bad kids? Then are you saying I couldn’t handle it?”

  I started backpedaling immediately. “That’s not what I’m saying. That’s not—”

  “Relax. I’m just messing with you. If they weren’t good kids, I wouldn’t have agreed to it anyway. Now.” Katie clapped her hands together. “Let’s deal with this crisis. What’s the problem?”

  “All of my underwear is frumpy.” I hadn’t even addressed the issue of my serviceable bras. I’d just never been able to justify parting with my limited funds for unpractical and uncomfortable undergarments.

  She shrugged. “So don’t wear any.”

  I scoffed. “I have to wear underwear.”

  “Trust me—you don’t. Jake won’t mind.”

  I considered for about half a second. “No way. If I wear shorts, I have to worry about chafing. If I wear a dress, then I have to worry about flashing the wrong people.”

  She frowned. “You have a point. I’ve blocked out Kassidy’s vag-pic episode, but we certainly don’t need you replicating that.” Not too long ago, Katie’s sister had staged an incident in which she’d flashed paparazzi when getting out of a car in the hopes of getting publicity. It wasn’t one of her finer moments. But I doubted a pic of my vag would garner even a fraction of the attention.

  Katie’
s eyes widened, and she grabbed my arm. “We still have that box of shit that Kassidy ordered when she was here. I bet there’s something good in there.”

  We rushed to the living room and hauled the box out of the closet. Katie ripped it open, and moments later, I was hit in the face by a G-string she’d slingshotted at me.

  I picked it off my face with two fingers and held it out. “Um, no. That’s a little too risqué for me.” Wearing those would be worse than going commando. They looked painful.

  Katie dug farther into the box. “Ooh.” She clutched a white piece of fabric. “I haven’t seen this before.” She held up a fancy one-piece bathing suit that had the sides cut out of it. “I could probably squeeze my ass into this.”

  It probably cost more than Greta was worth. If it weren’t white, which meant it was nearly the color of my skin, I would have fought her for it. I took it from her and examined the back. On second thought, maybe not. “There isn’t much to squeeze into. There’s barely enough material to cover your butt crack.”

  “Perfect. Fewer tan lines.”

  With a smile, I shook my head. Ever since Katie had come clean about her Hollywood past, she’d become less afraid to draw attention to herself. In fact, she had developed an overall I don’t give a fuck attitude. I liked it.

  Farther down in the box, we uncovered two negligees. One was black and way too see-through for my tastes, which was kind of a stupid reason to reject it because I was planning to wear it as a precursor to getting naked with Jake. But still, I wouldn’t feel comfortable in it. The style of the other one was better, but it was pink, which was a no-go with my hair.

  “You’re being ridiculous,” Katie told me, “especially for someone who insists her hair is auburn and not red. Auburn-haired girls can wear pink.” Says the former child star who can literally wear whatever she wants.

  “Maybe I’ve started to accept that my hair leans more toward red,” I muttered. God, it was painful to admit that.

  Katie was silent for a few moments, and at first, I thought she might call me out for three years of staunch claims that I didn’t have red hair. “Okay, fine. Redheads can wear pink too.”