Josh sat up next to me wrapping his arm around my shoulder. “Dude, what the fuck?” he scowled.
If it was possible, Caleb’s smirk grew bigger as he said, cryptically, “Karma, my friend. Karma.”
Josh shook his head, and looked down at me. “Well played, dickhead.”
I watched Josh and the smile he was trying to hide. He was as annoyed as I was about being caught but there was something else too, something I was missing. I could see it in the looks passing between him and Caleb. I’d get Josh to explain later. I looked at my watch. Crap! It was almost midnight and I had practice early tomorrow.
“It’s all right, I need to get home anyway.”
Josh’s hand tightened on mine. “You don’t have to go. I’m sure Angie and Caleb have something else to do,” he hinted.
“You don’t have to go, we were just headed to bed,” Angie winked. She grabbed Caleb’s hand and started to pull him down the hall, before turning and calling over her shoulder, “Call me tomorrow, Lauren.” Then they were gone.
Josh leaned in to capture my lips again. The feel of his firm lips against mine was almost my undoing and it took every ounce of strength I had to pull away from him. The feelings that sparked between us when he touched me made it so I never wanted to leave the warmth of his arms, but I knew that I had to get some sleep before practice. Placing my hands on both sides of his face, I moved my mouth away from his. “I’m sorry, but I really do have to go.”
“Stay for just a little longer.”
He gave me a look that I knew I would always have trouble refusing if things worked out between the two of us. I’d probably agree to almost anything he asked if he did it with that sexy pout of his lips. Maybe just a few more minutes…
I shook my head to clear it. With the changes to the team I really needed to be at my best, and that meant going home to sleep.
“I have practice tomorrow morning and I need to work on building a rapport with the new catcher,” I said regretfully.
“When can I see you again?”
Just hearing him ask that, warmth spread through me. I wanted to see him again, and I had to know if this was more than just a physical attraction. Tonight had been a good start, but I needed more of that before I could trust completely again.
“How about tomorrow night?” I offered.
His lips pulled up at the corners into a beautiful smile. “That sounds perfect. I’ll text you tomorrow with a plan.”
I stood up and put my hands on my hips. “Who says I’m letting you decide what we’re doing?” I asked.
He stood up and pulled me into his arms and, leaning down, he took my lips in a sweet, soft kiss that left me breathless. After pulling away he touched his forehead to mine. “Because you know you’ll love whatever I decide,” he whispered.
The feel of his breath on my face sent a tremor through my body. “You’re right,” I breathed. I reached up to press a quick kiss on his lips. “But for now, I really need to get home.”
“Fine,” he pouted. “Just remember, tomorrow night you’re all mine.”
“Good thing I don’t have practice on Sunday then,” I flirted.
As I turned towards the door I noticed Josh following me. When I looked over at him and gave him a questioning look he said, “I’m walking you to your car.”
“I’ll be fine. I walked up to your door by myself.”
He snorted and I shot him a glare, making it clear that he was only pissing me off. He moved his hand up to cup my cheek. “That was earlier in the night.” When I still hadn’t budged, he continued. “Look, a year ago I would have thought nothing of letting you walk out to your car by yourself. After what happened, please don’t be mad at me for coming with you.”
When he put it that way, I couldn’t argue with his logic. Feeling the annoyance drain out of me, I reached down and took his hand in mine. “Lead the way,” I said with a smile.
When we reached my car he opened my door for me and I slid into the driver seat. He leaned down into the car to give me one last kiss and, just like the first kiss of the night, it sent tingles all the way to my toes.
“Until tomorrow, Jersey” he promised, standing up and closing my door.
I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as I watched Josh walk back into the apartment. Crap, I hadn’t talked to Morgan since this morning when I left for class. Wow, so much had happened since then. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as I watched Josh walk back into the apartment. Hearing a noise coming from inside the car I peered inside the center console and saw my phone. Damn it. I’d been so nervous that I hadn’t even realized I’d left it behind. Scrolling through the messages on the screen I noticed a reminder for this afternoon.
Meet Morgan re: English Lit
Crap, I hadn’t talk to Morgan since this morning.
Deciding to skip the messages and call her, I palmed my phone on my hand. She answered on the first ring. “Where in the hell have you been?” she hollered without even saying hello.
“Okay, Morgan, calm down—”
“Calm down? Calm down? I’ve been trying to get hold of you all day. I had no idea where you were. We were supposed to study together for English Lit, and then you don’t come back to the apartment after class and I’m the one who’s supposed to calm down?” she ranted, barely stopping to take a breath.
Damn, no wonder she was so pissed. “I’m so sorry, Morgan. So much has happened today that I completely forgot. Look, I’m on my way home so can I explain when I get there?” I asked contritely. She had every right to be pissed and I would probably need to do a little groveling before the night was over.
“Whatever,” she snapped and hung up on me.
Exhaustion had begun to set in, and without the adrenaline from Josh’s kisses running through my body my limbs felt heavy. The thought of having to navigate one of Morgan’s infamous tantrums filled me with dread, but there was no avoiding it. This day was never-ending.
A few minutes later I pulled into the parking lot outside our apartment. Making sure I had everything I needed I got out of the car and walked quickly to the apartment, knowing that the sooner I got this conversation over with, the better.
Walking into the apartment, I expected to see Morgan sitting on the couch waiting for an explanation. Instead all the lights in the apartment were off. There was a small crack of light coming from under the door to her room. When I closed the front door, the light quickly went out. Was she really going to play this game?
Opening the door, I flicked on the overhead light. Morgan was lying in her bed with her back to the door. “I know you’re not asleep, so you can stop pretending,” I said.
When my comment was met with silence, I decided to tell her what had happened today, knowing full well that she was listening to every word I said.
“Morgan, I’m really sorry about not texting you earlier. I was at Josh’s apartment and I forgot all about our plans to study tonight.” I noticed her twitch slightly, but she still refused to turn around.
“I got a text from Angie this morning asking me to lunch. What I didn’t expect was for Josh to show up in the middle to try and convince me that he wanted more than one night with me.”
Like a bolt of lightning, Morgan flipped over and watched me with a look of absolute shock across her face. “Come again?”
“Josh wants us to date.”
“You… you mean as in giving up a different girl every night?” she stuttered.
“That’s what he said,” I sighed.
Flopping back onto her bed I threw my arm over my eyes. This whole situation was a still a little surreal to me. Could Josh really give up all of the other girls and be faithful to me? Everything had seemed great when we were together earlier, but now that I was no longer worried about a pissed off Morgan my nerves began take over.
The bed shook as Morgan moved over on next to me. “You don’t sound so sure about it. Tell me what happened.”
Pulling my arm down, I turned my head
so that I could look at her. I told her everything that had happened from the time Josh showed up during lunch, up until I left his place.
“So far, I don’t see what the problem is?”
“It’s just that, I’m not sure he’ll stay with me,” I replied sadly.
The room was quiet for a few moments before Morgan spoke.
“Let me ask you a question.”
“Okay, shoot.”
“Do you think Josh lied to you?”
“No, I don’t think Josh lied. Angie believes in him and I trust her completely. But I’m just not sure he’s got it in him to only be with me.” I rubbed my temples with my fingers. The whole conversation was giving me a headache.
Morgan reached over and took a hold of my hand. “Can I be honest with you?”
My eyebrows pulled in. “When aren’t you honest with me?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m always honest with you. It’s just this time I’m not sure you want to hear it.”
Morgan knew all there was to know about me. If she wasn’t sure about telling me something, then I probably wasn’t going to like it.
“Tell me anyway,” I insisted.
She squeezed my hand a little tighter. “I think that you’re afraid of getting your heart broken again.”
Maybe I was, and so what? I didn’t need any more guys breaking their promises to me. I’d had enough of that growing up. When I huffed out a breath she continued “And I think you’ll do anything to protect yourself, even if you’re protecting yourself against something that could be amazing.”
Just like always, she’d seen right to the heart of my issues. I didn’t want to be hurt. But I hadn’t done anything to protect myself this time. Against my better judgment, I’d given Josh a chance.
“I haven’t done anything to ruin this, yet. For crying out loud, tonight was the first night we did something that had nothing to do with sex!”
“Except, I know you well enough to know that you won’t put your whole self out there, so you can protect your heart.”
When I looked skeptical she shook her head at me. “Weren’t you listening to the words that came out of your mouth? You and Josh spent the whole night together alone and did nothing but kiss. Now does that sound like the type of guy who is only thinking about sex and can’t settle down?”
Lying there, thinking about her question, I realized she was right. Josh hadn’t pushed me at all tonight. In fact, he’d spent most of the night trying to get to know me, instead of trying to get back in my pants. I knew what I’d felt the night of the party, but I’d let Ryan’s nasty remarks have an effect on me. It was insane, but I was starting to wonder if he’d thought I’d stick around even after he’d cheated on me.
There was no way I was going to let Ryan ruin this for me. Josh wasn’t Ryan and he deserved a real chance, one where I was willing to open up to him even if I was scared of getting hurt. A broken heart was a possibility in any relationship, but that was a risk we all had to take. After all the turmoil of the last week, I finally felt like things were going to get better. And, starting tomorrow, I was going to give Josh what he wanted. A chance—a real chance.
Morgan must’ve noticed the difference in me because when she looked at me she smiled. I allowed her to pull me up to sitting and she wrapped her arms around me. “I’m so glad you’re going to give this a real chance.”
Even after all of this time, it still amazed me how quickly she could read me. When she pulled back, I leaned my head on her shoulder. “I’m sorry about earlier. I should’ve called and told you where I was going.”
“It’s Josh Walker,” she squealed. “Trust me, if he’d asked me to come over, I’d have forgotten you too.”
We both laughed. I lifted my head and looked at her “Thanks for listening, Morgan.”
“Always. Now go to bed. It’s late and you have practice tomorrow.”
Morgan got up and crawled back under her cover, while I headed to my room to change into my pajamas. Climbing into bed, I snuggled up under the covers. “Night, Morgan, I called across the hall.
“Night, Lauren. Sweet dreams about your sexy new boyfriend.”
Boyfriend.
In all my dreams I never imagined I’d call a guy like Josh my boyfriend, but I guess there was a first time for everything.
The next morning I woke up to the sound of my alarm going off after one of the most amazing dreams about Josh. I was excited about seeing him again tonight, but first I had to drag my butt out of bed for practice.
The worst part about playing a spring sport was how cold it was early in the season. I mean, I trained all year, but usually it was indoor conditioning. By the time spring came around we usually moved to outdoor practice, unless Coach Gardner was in a good mood, in which case we’d practice indoors for the day.
On my way to the field I decided it didn’t matter if I froze my butt off for a few hours because afterward I would get to spend the night with Josh. Once I got to the field I grabbed my bag out of the car and headed into the locker room. Changing quickly, I met the team on the practice field.
Thoughts of Josh were still racing through my mind when I heard Coach Gardner call my name.
“Pierce and Rogers, head inside to Coach Daniels for some conditioning for the first half of the practice.” We nodded, grabbed our gear, and made our way inside.
Practice ended up going better than I’d thought it would. After we finished our conditioning exercises we spent the rest of the time working on control and accuracy, which helped Kendra to get a better feel of the timing of my pitches. We were so busy that I had very little time to think about Josh. However, once practice was over and I made it to the locker room I could think of little else.
The first thing I did was check my phone for any messages from him, and sure enough there were three. Opening my phone I read through the messages, feeling giddy over the fact that Josh Walker was texting me.
Josh: Dinner?
Okay, dinner, I wasn’t really surprised by that. Last night Josh had made it sound like he would plan the whole night. Then again, all I really wanted was to spend more time with him, but as long as we were spending the night together I was happy.
Me: Sure. Is that all you planned?
All of my nice shower stuff was back at the apartment so I put my phone down and grabbed my stuff, deciding to shower when I got home. Most of the team did the same thing after Saturday morning practices. Even though I loved the sport, I still couldn’t wait to get home after practice on a Saturday. The worst part was the fact that you knew all of your other friends were still in their nice warm beds. Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I heard my phone vibrate on the bench next to me.
Josh: There’s more but we can chat at dinner.
Me: So what should I wear?
Conditioning sessions always took their toll on my body and when I made it back out to my car and dropped into the driver’s seat, my arms were like jelly.
Josh: Is that a trick question?
Me: Get your mind out of the gutter.
Laughing, I started the car and headed back to the apartment. As fatigue set in all I could think about was how a long, hot shower and a nap would do me good. As I pulled into the parking lot my phone started to ring. Looking at the caller ID, I smiled before answering it. “Hello.”
“Oh Jersey, how is my mind in the gutter when I’m talking about someone as sexy as you?”
Being on the phone didn’t stop the blush that stained my cheeks. “So, you want me to go out to dinner with you without clothes, but you don’t think your mind is in the gutter?” I replied sarcastically.
The chemistry I’d felt that first night at the bar was back. I mean last night had been fantastic but I loved our flirty banter.
“Who said we were going out?”
I rolled my eyes. “Then how do you plan on dinner?”
“I do have a kitchen, you know,” he answered.
“Yeah, but do you know how to use it?”
“Of course I know how to use it. I thought you would’ve noticed that the other night,” he chuckled.
“Oh my God! I meant the kitchen,” I squealed. How did I keep walking into that stuff with him? I could hear him laughing on the other end of the line. “See what I mean about your mind being in the gutter?”
“All right, all right, I know you meant the kitchen. It’s just so much fun to mess with you,” he laughed. “No, I don’t know how to use it that well, but don’t worry, I’ve got it under control.”
Getting out of the car, I made my way up the steps to the apartment. “Really? This I need to see. But it still doesn’t solve the problem of clothes.”
“True, but for now I’m gonna behave and say that you should wear something you can go out in later.”
I waved to Morgan, who was sitting on the couch watching TV, on my way to the bedroom. “Josh?” she mouthed at me. When I nodded she made a dreamy face and batted her eyelashes. All I could do was roll my eyes at her.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going later?” I asked him and, dropping my stuff on the floor, I grabbed clean clothes to change into after my shower.
“Nope, I want to tell you in person. You’ll just have to wait for dinner to find out,” he said and I could hear the smile in his voice.
A surprise? I could handle that. Unfortunately, that still didn’t help me with what to wear, but I was sure Morgan would help me find something universal. Growing up, my dad couldn’t be bothered making the effort to surprise me, and usually sent his secretary to shop for my birthday presents. So I guess, in a way, he did like surprises, because he was always as surprised as I was to see what he’d bought me. He only chose the presents himself if he’d really messed up, or he needed my help with something. Then they weren’t presents, so much as bribes. I shuddered as I remembered why he’d bought me the car that Josh loved so much.
Redemption (Forgiven Series) Page 13