Change Up

by Ann, Natalie

  “What did you want in return? Maybe I need to know that. I could be getting myself into something I don’t feel all that comfortable with.”

  “We aren’t talking about Christian Grey here.”

  “You know about Fifty Shades of Grey? Now I’m nervous.”

  “I know the title, the main character’s name, and that he had a room full of secrets. That’s not me. No worries there. Do I love sex? Hell yeah. Do I want it with you? Absolutely. Am I going to wait for you to ask for it? You bet that sweet ass of yours.”

  The grin never left his face as he said those words. Her face flushed, she opened her mouth, closed it, and then waited, finally saying, “Well then.”

  “So I shared. Your turn. Why are you single?”

  “Maybe I’m just waiting for the right guy.”

  He swore she threw that out there to test him. He was going to pass. “Do you think it’s me?”

  “I think that is up to you. It’s up to me. It’s up to both of us.”

  “And not really an answer other than saying time will tell.”

  “That about sums it up.”

  He focused more on the road, passing a car on the Northway now, wanting to get there faster and move on with their day. “Do you want to go on the boat first, then get some lunch?”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “You’re being open and I’m not. The truth is, with my name it’s hard to tell if someone wants me for me or the name or for the money attached to the name.”

  He nodded his head. “If anyone can understand that, it’s me. Why not just say that?”

  “And come off as cocky?”

  He smiled again. She had the best personality and wasn’t afraid to give him shit. “I’m not as cocky as half my teammates.”

  “So tell me about them. If you want. We’ve got time.”

  Did he want to talk about that life? He wasn’t sure but figured it wouldn’t hurt to start and try.

  “Johnny Reed is probably my closest friend. We lived in the same building. He always busted on me saying I was the star and he was my wingman, but the truth was he had the ladies all over him. Maybe they came on to me first, but they left with him.”

  All those nights they’d go out to the bar, get a drink, have some fun. Yep, the women came to them both, but many times more than one left with Johnny while Harris went home alone.

  Even last week after the press conference, he’d let Johnny talk him into going out to eat with a few other teammates. He hadn’t wanted to, but since he was staying the night at Johnny’s he figured he might as well.

  It would at least get his mind off of what he’d just done. He even thought of getting drunk. But when fans noticed him and kept coming to the table he knew it was time to get the hell out of there.

  Johnny and a few others shielded him from it the best they could, asking people to give them space, signing some autographs in another room if they’d left them to eat in peace. When they finished with their meal, a few women had come over to talk.

  One in particular wanted to offer her condolences. He wasn’t in the mood for it then any more than he was a year ago when he was hit on.

  Johnny normally would have taken her home but went back empty handed too, the two of them hanging out in Johnny’s place, talking and throwing a few beers back.

  They were reminiscing about games but nothing serious. Johnny hadn’t asked him about his plans for the future and Harris hadn’t offered.

  The thing about Johnny, he knew Harris would talk if he wanted to and he hadn’t. Not about women and not really about baseball. But it was baseball or Harris’s life and that was off the table too.

  “I’m sure he can get any woman he wants and that you brought one home a time or two.”

  “I’d be lying if I didn’t say I had. That was earlier on in my career though. The past few years I’ve matured. It was all about the game. Baseball, that is.”

  “I believe you,” she said.

  “You don’t want to though, do you?”

  “No, that is where you are wrong. I want to believe you and I actually do. The funny part is, I haven’t believed a lot of men in my life, so you should consider yourself lucky.”

  * * *

  When Harris only grinned at her after those words, she knew he wasn’t insulted. It wasn’t her intent anyway.

  She didn’t mind they were talking about their personal lives. She didn’t mind he asked her questions.

  But what she didn’t want to do was go into too many details about her relationships.

  Yes, she’d had a few serious ones. Men she thought she was in love with, saw herself settling down with and having a family.

  Josh Minor cheated and she kicked him in the balls before she kicked his butt out of her life. Evan and Christian almost kicked his ass to Russia and back when they found out, which was why she tried to hide it from them.

  It seemed it was hard to hide anything from her family though. She was the baby and they watched over her.

  They hated her heart was broken and the way it had gone down.

  She’d felt like she’d been played and looked like a fool. She swore to never let that happen again.

  It did though. Liam Rose stole her heart, he made her believe, and then when she found out his true motivation she learned that it was possible to have your heart crushed and barely start to pump again.

  After Liam, she’d kept her distance from men in general.

  She dated. She had fun. She kept it light.

  She didn’t sleep with many and it didn’t last more than a few dates.

  Yet here she was giving someone like Harris a chance when two years ago she wouldn’t have even considered it.

  Maybe she’d done what he said. Maybe she matured too.

  Or maybe she just was sick of being alone like him.

  She had friends. She had family. She went out and had a good time.

  But she went home alone and there were times she was just over it.

  She wanted a man to be romantic with. Wanted to hold hands with someone. To tease them.

  Not just verbally tease them, but physically.

  Like rubbing her hand up and down his leg and watching his reaction.

  “I’ve always thought I was a pretty lucky dude in my life,” he said.

  “I think you still are.”

  “I guess it all depends on what we consider lucky. If I beat you at mini golf, then, yes I’ll be lucky.”

  “Please,” she said, letting out a snort. “You’re the pro athlete and you think I’m going to beat you at anything sports related?”

  “It’s mini golf. A nine-year-old or a ninety-year-old could get lucky enough to beat anyone.”

  “That’s true. So do we put a friendly wager on this?”

  “What kind of a wager?” he asked.

  “Not money,” she said. “No need to get into our net worth, but I don’t stand a chance at betting money.”

  He squinted one eye at her. “You could figure out my worth easy enough. Or close enough. My contracts are public knowledge, or parts of them.”

  She knew that and when she was looking him up online she’d seen his last contract was for five years and sixty million. She guessed he got it paid in full even though he was hurt. She’d seen that most with his talent had stipulations like that.

  But that was only his last contract. Not the ones before, which weren’t nearly as lucrative, but he had sponsors too. Yeah, his wealth wasn’t much of a mystery, and though her family had money and she did too, it wasn’t Harris Walker kind of money.

  “Parts of it is and the parts that aren’t, I don’t care about. We established both of us shared the same fear that someone would want us for our money. But my family money isn’t anywhere close to yours.”

  “I’m pretty sure your family money is nothing to sneeze at.”

  She grinned at him. “I don’t work for the family, but I’ve got a stake in it. It’s still not up to yours and this is a tacky conversation. I
’m completely sorry it came up.”

  “It is tacky, but I don’t feel uncomfortable talking to you about that. Maybe because you’ve got your own, and even if you didn’t, you’re not the type to come after me for that. At least I hope not.”

  “Nope,” she said. “I’d rather go after your body.”

  She slapped a hand in front of her mouth, shocked those words slipped out. What the hell was wrong with her today? She was acting and saying things she’d never done before.

  “You just made my day with that statement. So our bet? Does it have something to do with my body? How about yours? Oh, a massage. I’m so into that. Winner gets a massage from the loser.”

  As wonderful as that sounded, she was pretty sure there wouldn’t be a winner at the end of that massage regardless of who was on the giving or receiving end. Not unless she jumped his bones like she wanted to do and that wasn’t happening today.

  “Maybe another time. How about the winner picks the next date?”

  “That’s no fun.”

  “It is if the date isn’t what the other would want.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Like what?”

  “Don’t know. Guess you need to win to not risk it. I could be pretty good at mini golf. Are you willing to take that chance?”

  “I think you’re sandbagging me. But I’ll take that bet.”

  And four hours later after their boat cruise and lunch, they were tied going to the eighteenth hole. She really was trying to win, not because she wanted to pick their next date but more for bragging rights.

  She was sure he was shocked she was keeping up with him, but they were having a great time, laughing and giggling like two teens on their first date.

  It was their first actual date, but they were far from two teens.

  And not once had someone recognized him. Not on the boat where they stayed off to the side and not in the restaurant. A few times she was sure someone did, or was going to say something, but they either lost their nerve or figured it couldn’t be Harris in little old Lake George.

  “Down to the final shot,” Harris said. “Which one of us is going to take it home?”

  “Me,” she said, moving to the line and getting ready. “I’m going to sink this in for a hole in one. I haven’t gotten one yet and you’ve got two. It’s my turn.”

  “Big talker,” he said. “Show me what you’ve got.”

  She lined up, took a deep breath and pulled the putter back, pushed it forward and hit the hot pink ball. She watched and she waited, and before her eyes the ball went down the slope, it followed the curves, it went under the bridge, and she lost track of where it stopped.

  “Your turn,” she said, waiting to get to the bottom and see how close she was.

  Harris hit his ball, the blue orb following the same path, and then they made their way down the stairs and to the bottom. Harris’s ball was about four feet from the hole. Hers nowhere to be found.

  “I bet you went off the course,” he said. “You hit yours harder than me. I must have made you nervous.”

  She walked closer to the hole, leaned over and looked in. “Nope. It went right where I thought it would.”

  He moved closer to her and looked down. “You little shit. You did sandbag me.”

  “Next date is mine,” she said. “Better be prepared.”

  He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the final hole. “I’m just waiting for you, sweetie. It’s all in your hands.”

  12

  Sneak A Touch

  And in her hands was exactly where she wanted him to be.

  She’d thought it was a joke and an arrogant move on his part to say she would have to ask for sex.

  But here she was about three weeks after she’d first been alone with him and she was ready to not only ask for it, but take it any way she could get it.

  Yesterday had been nothing but a tease in her eyes. The boat ride, his hand holding hers, caressing her arm, her back. Anytime he could sneak a touch, he did.

  They sat next to each other in the booth rather than across.

  He was always touching her during their mini golf match. Afterward, they walked hand in hand down the boardwalk, got ice cream cones, and went into the shops.

  It might have been one of the best dates she’d been on. And it did remind her of being a kid and so carefree.

  He seemed to have fun too.

  She was really trying to think of something good for their date.

  But when it was all said and done, she realized that he moved back home to a place he was familiar with. Comfortable with.

  He was doing things and acting differently than he had for years, or so he’d told her. She wanted to do something he probably hadn’t done in years.

  She was taking him to the movies.

  She pulled into his driveway, got out, and went to the front door. He had it opened before she could ring the bell, pulled her into his arms and laid his lips to hers. As far as welcomes went that was pretty damn good.

  “Hey,” she said. “It makes me think you’ve been waiting for me.”

  “I have. And since I was the big loser yesterday I’m waiting to hear what you’ve got planned for us today.”

  “Oh, I don’t think you’ve been a loser much in your life. Nor do I think you’ll feel like one when this day is over.”

  “Really?” he asked. “That sounds promising. Come on in or are we leaving?”

  “We’ll leave in a few minutes. I just wanted to say hi to Nicks,” she said, bending over and rubbing her hand on the puppy’s head. “He seems to be growing so fast.”

  “He is. Clumsy too. Trips over his own front paws or slides into the furniture when he gets running around. Good thing I don’t have him going up and down too many steps right now though I should at some point to get him used to them.”

  “I’m sure he’ll be fine. Are you going to get some furniture soon?” she asked.

  “Maybe I’ll put some beds upstairs with dressers in case I’ve got guests at some point.”

  “Family or friends?”

  “Family is here, so friends if they even wanted to come this way. Doesn’t matter, but it seems silly to have it all empty up there. I’ll get more furniture downstairs, a pool table, some exercise equipment. I’ve been doing a lot of online shopping.”

  Staying out of the public eye again. That was going to change.

  “Hate to lock you up, Nicks, but Daddy and I are going out for a few hours.”

  “Just a few?” he asked.

  “For now,” she said.

  “Nicks,” he called out, the dog following him to the mudroom where the crate was located. He came back a minute later. “So am I dressed appropriately?”

  “Yep. We’re going to the movies.”

  He started to laugh. “Building on my teen date from yesterday?”

  “Pretty much.” He went to grab his hat. “Nope. No hats. You’ll end up blocking the person behind you.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “You did that on purpose.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. Does it really matter?”

  “I suppose not.”

  They went to the garage and got in his SUV, then pulled out, him driving them to the mall. She’d seen him hesitate when he got out, but she just kept walking. It was busy enough and she was sure there was no place better to hide than a crowd.

  She bought their tickets, shooting him the stink eye when he started to argue. It was her date and she could pay for the stupid tickets. He didn’t have to pull his wallet out for everything and she was going to make darn well sure he knew that later.

  Once they had their popcorn and candy, they found seats in the back. She’d been waiting for him to make a comment about being able to get away with his hat, but he never did.

  Over two hours later, the lights flipped on and they stood up. They’d watched most of the action movie, only kissing twice. She’d thought it was funny when he leaned over and whispered in her ear that it was part of the ritual to make out
at the movies.

  There was no reason to dispute it, not when she was hoping he’d do it. That this was part of the fantasy for her too. Helping him go back to a time before he was the big star.

  “Where to now?” he asked.

  “We could walk around the mall, but even I don’t like doing that too much on a Saturday. It’s a little after five, so why don’t we get some dinner and go back to your place?”

  “Dinner out, or pick it up and eat there?”

  “Sick of people already?” she asked. You’d think he’d be used to bigger crowds than this.

  “Not really. I just want to get back home and spend more time with my mouth on yours.”

  That shit-eating grin of his was pretty contagious.

  “Since I don’t mind your mouth on mine and would like it in a few other places, I think we can pick up dinner and bring it back to the house. Pizza work?”

  “Pizza works just fine.”

  “Then let me order it now and we can stop and get it on the way back to your place. I’ll even let you stay in the car while I run in to pick it up.”

  “You don’t need to do that, but I appreciate it just the same.”

  They walked out of the mall, through the parking lot, and to his SUV. She pulled her phone out and placed an order. “I get it might be like baby steps for you.”

  “I need to get over myself like so many people are telling me to do.”

  “You went out yesterday,” she pointed out.

  “I did. And today I did again and no one recognized me. I’m not as much of a big shot as I thought.”

  She laughed, leaned over to place her lips to his gently in the car. “I think you’re a big shot and that should be enough.”

  “It is.”

  “And the truth is, people were looking at you a lot. I saw it, but no one seemed to want to take the step and ask if it was really you. Most wouldn’t think you were here.”

  She’d seen more than a few people looking at him, and hoped that no one approached. She’d been waiting for it to happen but didn’t want it to turn into a spectacle either on her date. At least not yet.