The One Night Stand

by Elizabeth Hayley

  “Some, yeah.”

  “Like what?” Rachel hadn't even taken a bite of her chicken yet, and she realized that to avoid seeming like some sort of military interrogator, she should probably do her best to act casual.

  Gabe’s muscles seemed to tense a bit with the question, as if he hadn’t been anticipating it. Though she couldn't imagine why. It seemed like the next logical one to ask. Which was why she didn’t hesitate to ask it.

  “Just some volunteer work,” Gabe said. “Jace has been working with a local organization for years that helps sick kids. It lifts their spirits when they can meet some of their favorite athletes. It’s how Jace met his fiancé, Aly, actually. She’s a pediatric oncologist.”

  “That’s so sweet,” Rachel said. “I bet the kids love seeing all of you.” She paused for a moment, taking a sip of her iced tea and doing her best to act casual as she asked, “That doesn’t take up that much of your time, does it?”

  Gabe shifted in his seat before answering. “No, I guess not. A few hours a week. But I’ve got some other things in the works.”

  Rachel waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. “You weren’t always this hesitant to talk about yourself,” she teased.

  Gabe laughed. “I’ve always wanted to help animals. I’ve donated money to the Humane Society and places like that in the past, but I’d really like to get hands-on and make a difference.” She noticed Gabe eating faster, stabbing his pasta with his fork and popping it into his mouth between sentences.

  “I love animals, too. Living in New York was the first time I didn’t have a pet in the house. I miss having someone to cuddle with.”

  “You know I’ve been told I have puppy-dog eyes?” Gabe said, waggling his eyebrows at her.

  “You’re ridiculous,” she said, though she couldn’t deny it was cute. He was cute. “What are you planning to do with animals?”

  “Um… You know, normal stuff. Like find homes for strays and rescues. Things like that.” Gabe nodded as if he were the one listening to the information and not the one delivering it.

  “Are you doing volunteer work for a certain rescue organization or…” Rachel’s question trailed off as she waited for Gabe to fill in the rest.

  He finished chewing and took a sip of his drink before he spoke. “Yeah. Well, I mean I will be. Right now I’ve just been doing what I can at home.”

  “What do you mean ‘at home’?”

  Rachel had no idea what he meant by that and from the look on Gabe’s face, he seemed just as confused as she was. “Uh… I’ve taken in a few animals, given them some food and a place to sleep. And some love,” he tacked on almost as an afterthought. “Then I try to find a them a good home or a shelter that doesn’t euthanize them.”

  “Wow, that’s impressive. So you visit sick kids and you’re saving the lives of animals one kitten at a time.”

  Letting out an audible breath, Gabe nodded slowly. “I’m guess I’m pretty unbelievable, aren’t I?”

  It was as if Gabe had taken the words right from her brain before she had a chance to utter them. Sexy and selfless was a combination that was hard to come by. “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” she said with a smile.

  ***

  Jace nearly spit out his beer on the pool table at Gabe’s words, but he was able to cover his mouth in time to prevent the mess.

  “Watch it,” Gabe said, “I’m not replacing the felt on this thing because your saliva’s all over it.”

  “Sorry,” Jace said once he was able to swallow what was in his mouth. “I just learned you told Rachel that you’ve been adopting feral cats so they aren’t put down. It would’ve been your fault if the table got ruined.”

  Gabe glared at him before lining up for his next shot. “I did not say anything to her about feral cats. She just assumed that, so I ran with it.”

  “Oh. Okay,” Jace said dryly. “That’s much better.”

  “Shut up.” Gabe plopped himself down on the leather stool at the high-top table nearby and tossed his pool stick back and forth between his hands. “What would you have said?

  “Not that.”

  “This woman’s gonna think I’m a loser if I tell her I’ve been sitting around on my ass for the past however many months because I’m too lazy to do anything. And I can’t exactly tell her I’ve been spending my time at the secret club I’ve been running.”

  “Well, that I agree with,” Jace said. “But I still feel like the non-profit animal shelter out of your house route wasn’t your best option.”

  “I’m not good at thinking on my feet.”

  “You don’t say?”

  “So maybe I could’ve come up with something else—”

  “Anything else.”

  Gabe stared at his best friend but didn’t acknowledge his comment. “But that’s what I thought of, so now that’s what I’m stuck with.”

  Jace laughed. “Just when I start to think you can’t be any more of a dumbass, you exceed my expectations.”

  “Thank you,” Gabe said, a good-natured smile spreading across his face. “I’m glad my antics are at least entertaining to someone.”

  “I’m sure they were entertaining to Rachel too. There’s no way she believed you opened a pet motel in your living room.”

  Gabe took another sip of his beer as he tried not to act like Jace’s comment worried him. If Rachel thought he was lying last night, that didn’t bode well for any future relationship with her. “First of all, I’m not running a pet motel.”

  “I know you’re not.”

  Gabe rolled his eyes. “And second of all, if I did have stray animals in my house, they wouldn’t be in my living room when I have two extra bedrooms. And it would be a hotel, not a motel. My place is nice.”

  “Maybe you should start one,” Jace said. “You seem like you’ve given it a lot of thought.”

  “Just take your turn before I beat you with your cue.”

  “Okay, okay, I’m shooting.” Jace held up his hands before lining up his shot. “By the way, what’s going on with that dick, Barnes? He still giving you a hard time?”

  “Nah, haven’t heard much from him lately. Hopefully it’ll stay that way.”

  “That’s good. Maybe he’s given up.”

  “I hope so. Running this place is tough enough without worrying about bitter ex-addicts trying to threaten their way back in. One of the bartenders quit suddenly the other day. She said one of the guys put his hands on her, but she wouldn’t even tell me who. Now I have to worry about the douchebag doing it again, and I have to find a replacement for her.”

  “Shit,” Jace said, looking sympathetic.

  “I know. It’s not like I can place an ad on fucking Craigslist or something. Where the hell do I look for a bartender for a club that’s not supposed to exist?”

  “I have no idea, man. Did Mike leave any tips or instructions or anything about that stuff?”

  “Not about that. He left info about the vendors and what paperwork people need to sign and stuff. But that’s really it. You’d be surprised how many little things pop up that I have no idea how to handle.” Exasperated, Gabe ran a hand through his hair. “Lately I’ve been thinking I shouldn’t have even agreed to this. I’m not cut out for it.”

  Jace came over to him and put an arm around Gabe’s shoulders, squeezing him so hard against his own body it almost hurt. “Nah, you’ll figure it out. You always do.” Gabe was just about to thank him for the kind words when Jace added, “And if you don’t, the pet motel thing sounds like a solid Plan B.”

  Gabe glared at him. “I told you it was a hotel. And I hate you.”

  “No, you don’t,” Jace replied.

  And they both knew Jace was right: Gabe could never hate his friend. Not when he loved him so damn much.

  Chapter Nine

  Rachel poured herself another cup of caramel coffee and threw in a splash of cream. It was almost ten in the morning, and she’d been thinking about the story she was supposed to be inv
estigating since she’d woken up over two hours ago. Rick would want her—no, expect her—to have some sort of credible information or a lead of some kind if he were going to keep her in Philadelphia. And at this point, she hadn’t even begun to look into anyone who may help her find out about the club.

  Now it wasn’t just that the story was important to her; she liked spending time with Gabe. He was funny, and sweet, and generous. And she wanted no part of going back to New York when she could be here hanging out with him. Or kissing him. Yes, she decided she’d definitely like to kiss him again.

  But she couldn’t shake the fact that having any sort of a romantic relationship with Gabe was, ethically speaking, a poor idea. She’d told him that she was here as her first stop on a profile of professional athletes, which was a lie in itself. And the more she thought about it, the guiltier she felt.

  But there was no way she could tell him about her real subject of her story. She needed to find a reason to be in Philly that she could share with Gabe. Her mind had gone in circles trying to come up with the perfect solution, but in a few hours, she’d come up with absolutely nothing. Plus, if she didn’t find a solid lead soon, she knew that soon enough Rick would tell her to call it quits and head back to New York with or without the information she’d come here for. All Access certainly didn’t have unlimited funds. But it wasn’t Rachel’s style to give up so easily. Something would come to her eventually. She was sure of it.

  And as she turned on the TV with the hopes of giving herself a break from thoughts of Gabe and the article, that something was staring her right in the face.

  ***

  When Gabe saw Rachel’s name come up on his phone, he rose from the couch immediately and headed toward his kitchen to answer. “Hey,” he said, doing his best not to sound as thrilled as he felt that she was calling him. They’d gone out the previous night, and if he expected to hear from her, it wasn’t this soon.

  “Hey,” she replied. “What’s going on?”

  Gabe glanced over his island at the guys who were lounging on his dark brown leather couches. “Nothing really. I’m hanging out with Jace and another guy who used to play for the Premiers.”

  There was silence on the other end of the line before Rachel spoke again. “Oh, well, I was calling to see if you wanted to grab a bite to eat or a drink or something. I had an idea I wanted to run by you, but don’t want to interrupt—”

  “No, you’re not interrupting anything. We’re just watching college basketball.”

  “Oh, okay.” Her voice sounded lighter, and he thought he recognized excitement in it. “Well, would it be weird for me to come over and hang with all of you for a little while? It’ll be like I’m one of the guys, I swear.”

  Gabe laughed thinking that he would never be able to think of Rachel as another dude, even if she did have a passion for sports. “It’s only weird because you asked if it would be weird.”

  “Oh, um…”

  “I’m kidding,” said Gabe. “Come on over.”

  “Great! I’ll see you in a little while.”

  “Rachel?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Don’t you need my address?”

  “Yes, yes.” She laughed softly, and he could tell he’d gotten her a little flustered. “I need your address. That’d probably be a good idea.”

  “I’ll text it to you as soon as I hang up,” he assured her. “I’m glad you’re coming.”

  He hadn’t given much thought to his last statement before he’d said it, but he was happy he’d told her. And when she responded with a “Me too,” Gabe smiled more brightly than he had in a long time.

  Gabe must’ve still been smiling when he came back to the family room because Manny raised an eyebrow at him before asking, “Why do you look like that?”

  “Like what?” Gabe asked, doing his best to play it cool.

  “That was probably his girl,” Jace said before Manny could describe the goofy grin that Gabe was sure Manny had been referring to.

  “She’s not my girl,” Gabe said, thinking about how Camille had referred to Rachel the same way. He wished it were true. Picking up his beer bottle from the table, he settled back into his favorite chair.

  “So you’re hanging out with someone else’s girl?” Manny asked, his eyes widening. “You better hope whoever he is doesn’t find out.”

  Gabe rolled his eyes. “She’s not anyone else’s girl either. I mean, I thought she was with this one guy, but then Camille told me he wasn’t on our team, and—”

  “He’s a ballplayer too? What team does he play for?” Manny asked,

  “The gay one,” Gabe answered, feeling vindicated that he wasn't the only one who was confused by the reference. He'd have to tell Camille about it later.

  “Oh, gotcha.” Manny slapped his thigh and fell back in laughter. Manny had always been a bigger guy, and since he’d gained more than a few pounds after his retirement three years ago, his stomach bounced with every chuckle. When he finally calmed down, he asked, “So you gonna hit that, or what, man?”

  Gabe rolled his eyes, causing Manny to say that he guessed Gabe already had.

  “A gentleman never kisses and tells,” Gabe said.

  Manny stared blankly before looking around and declaring that he didn’t see any gentlemen there.

  Gabe punched his friend hard in the shoulder. “She’s coming over soon, so you better not ruin this for me.”

  “We won’t,” Manny promised him. “You’ll probably ruin it for yourself before we get the chance.”

  Chapter Ten

  The second he’d realized his place was a mess, Gabe had scrambled to straighten it up. He didn’t want Rachel to think he was a slob, so he’d grabbed all the empty beer bottles and tossed them in the recycling, quickly put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher—even the ones he’d have to take back out to wash by hand—and rearranged the snacks he had out. Then he grabbed some plates and napkins and set them down.

  Jace lifted his feet from the table enough for Gabe to finish scooping the crumbs off of it. “It looks great, Martha.”

  “Fuck you,” Gabe spat, but he had to admit it was funny. He’d never cared this much what a woman thought of him—or in this case his place—and he wasn’t sure what to make of it.

  “Who’s Martha?” Manny asked him.

  Gabe shook his head at having to clarify the joke that wasn’t even his. “Stewart.”

  “Oh,” Manny said, pointing at Jace. “Nice one.”

  “Get it all out now,” Gabe warned, “because if you fuckers even think of doing anything—” A knock interrupted Gabe’s threat, so he just gave his friends a two-fingered “I’ll be watching you” gesture and headed for the door.

  Gabe always thought it was as corny as it was awkward for people to say, “Hey, you,” but that is exactly what came out of his mouth when he saw Rachel standing in the hall. She looked casual in black leggings that stopped just above her ankle and a long burgundy sweater that came just below her ass. Gabe thought it was unfortunate that she’d chosen to cover such a perfect area.

  She looked beautiful despite the comfortable outfit choice, and Gabe found himself thinking how she’d look beautiful in anything. She certainly looked beautiful without any clothes on. “Everyone’s in the man cave,” he said, gesturing for her to walk down the foyer hallway.

  Walking beside her, he had the urge to put a hand on her back, or anywhere on her really, but somehow he managed to restrain himself. When they got into the family room, two pairs of eyes transferred their attention from the game to Rachel. It made Gabe feel more uncomfortable than it seemed to make Rachel feel.

  Jace waved at her from the couch and told her it was nice to see her again. She gave him a friendly smile back and said hello.

  “This is Manny,” Gabe said, causing Manny to ask why wasn’t important enough to be introduced by his last name.

  Manny lit up when Rachel told him she knew it anyway. “Manny ‘Big Quick’ Gomez,” she said. “You�
�re a Premiers legend. It’s so great to meet you.”

  Manny rose to shake Rachel’s hand and then settled back into his spot on the couch.

  Gabe told her to make herself comfortable and headed to the kitchen to get her a drink. He returned with Rachel’s beer and sat down next to her. “Rachel’s in the city doing an article. It’s like a behind the scenes sort of thing about teams on the east coast,” Gabe said to Manny.

  “You’re a reporter?” he asked her, and Gabe realized that he hadn’t actually said what Rachel did for a living.

  “Yeah, nothing too exciting yet. Mostly little stories here and there.”

  “Okay, okay,” Manny replied. “This is cool. Let me know if you wanna interview me. I’d be happy to help. I’ve got a winning personality.”

  “But clearly not a modest one,” Gabe said.

  Rachel laughed and thanked Manny politely. “That’s actually what I wanted to discuss with you,” Rachel said, turning to Gabe. “I had another idea. It’s a bit different than the original one, but it’ll allow me to stay in one place instead of hopping from city to city.”

  Gabe felt his smile brighten. “You wanna focus on only me, don’t you?”

  “And I’m the one who’s conceited,” Manny laughed.

  “There’s no way she wants to focus on you,” Jace said. “That’d be the most boring article in like… the history of articles.”

  “That was eloquent,” Gabe said.

  Jace shrugged. “It’s the truth. No one would want to read a whole article about you, let alone write one. You always think that things are about you.”

  “Actually,” Rachel said, “I was thinking that—”

  “Don’t say it,” Jace and Manny said nearly in unison, and Gabe could almost feel how scared they were at what Rachel was about to say. It was in direct contrast to Gabe’s growing excitement.

  “I was thinking,” Rachel began slowly, “that an article that included Gabe might be—”