The List

by Alice Ward

  “You were screwed,” I finished for her.

  She nodded. “Pretty much. So now I’m working and saving every penny that I can. I’ll also apply for loans and scholarships. I have expensive clothes and purses,” she pointed at the one beside her, “that Alize bought, and I’ll try to sell. I have options. It will just take me a little longer to get started.”

  “Did you ever consider moving to Tennessee and staying with your grandparents? You could go to school there.”

  Her eyes filled with tears. “I’d love that more than you’d ever know. I stayed with them every summer. I wanted to live with them full-time and go to high school there, but Alize thought people would feel poorly about her if she didn’t bring me back.”

  Right. Image is everything.

  “My grandpa was a vet, and I got to be his ‘assistant’ when I was there. They were both so wonderful, and they were going to fight Alize for custody, but there was a fire, and…” She shook her head sadly, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulders again.

  “Why homeless animals?” I asked in order to change the subject.

  She sniffed hard and her forehead wrinkled. “One day about a year ago, I was passing by an alley and heard this man screaming and a dog barking like crazy. It turned out that somebody reported the man to the local humane society, claiming there was no way he could take care of the dog on the streets. The man, his name is Joseph…”

  Ah. Joseph and Target.

  “He was devastated and crying so hard, it cracked something inside me. I went to the shelter and adopted Target and took him back, promising to feed him every day. After that, I noticed more homeless dogs and…”

  “You take them all food. Treat them for fleas. Stuff like that.”

  “Yes. And if I can’t for some reason, my roommate, Zoe, does. She’s going to vet school too. She actually did get to start this year, so I help her study which helps me better prepare for when I get started. It works out great.”

  “And you’re able to pay for all this on your own? Grooming dogs?”

  She smiled. “Long Islanders are crazy about their pooches and pay a crazy amount to make sure Fluffy’s fur is perfect. The business is incredibly lucrative.”

  The pride in her eyes made me smile too.

  “You seem very determined.”

  “I am. And I actually like that I get to do it on my own. One less thing I’ll feel indebted to my mother for.”

  “And when you graduate?”

  “I’ll open my own clinic and offer free services to homeless dogs. Then I’ll get to do more than provide a meal.”

  “I’ll talk to Katrina Delaney about what you’re doing. She’s the Beasts’ PR director, and I’m meeting with her this afternoon. She’s always looking for stuff the players can do for the community.”

  Dammit. I hated thinking about my stupidity of last night, the real reason I was meeting Katrina.

  Eliana’s smile lit up her face. “That would be wonderful.”

  An idea sprang to life. “What time do you get off work?”

  “Not until about nine tonight. One of my dog moms needed a late appointment. Why?”

  “Well, I was going to leave you a ticket at the will-call booth. If you were able to come to the game tonight, I’d introduce you to Katrina. Hell, I would have introduced you to Ace Newman too. He does a bunch for homeless vets, and I heard him talk about pet therapy for vets with PTSD. I’m not sure, but there might be some way shelter dogs could be trained to help?”

  “That’s brilliant!”

  “Maybe another night? I’m leaving tomorrow for a nine-game road trip. There will be a couple home games before the gala. Maybe you’ll come then?”

  “Yes, I’d love that. I’ll go online and look at the schedule to see if something works. Could I bring Zoe too?”

  “Of course. Just text me, and I’ll leave you both tickets. Don’t eat beforehand because there will be tons of food available in the suite.”

  “Suite?”

  I grinned at her. “Yeah, it’s where all the players’ wives and fake girlfriends sit.”

  She bit her bottom lip, and I realized I was jealous of her teeth. I wanted to be biting it, sucking on it, slipping my cock... Shit. My ability to concentrate was whacked.

  “And…” she said, looking worried, “if I’m able to come to a game, we just go in? Start munching on the buffet?”

  “Yep. Eat, watch the game, then I’ll introduce you to Katrina and Ace afterward.”

  “That actually sounds like fun.”

  It was my turn to preen. She laughed. “Good. Then we can work on our ‘how we met’ story before we hit the red carpet.”

  I hadn’t even noticed that the waiter had taken my card until he brought it back with a ticket for me to sign. I paid for our meals but wasn’t yet ready to say goodbye.

  “Well, I better go, dear,” she said. “I have a labradoodle in twenty minutes.”

  Reluctantly, I slid from the booth and extended my hand to help her out. Our fingers linked together as I walked her to the door. At the entrance, an older woman was smiling at us both, and she gave Eliana a long wink. “You two have a good day.”

  “Thanks, Helen. You too.”

  On the sidewalk, we were still holding hands, and I was still reluctant to let her go. “So… see ya soon?”

  She nodded, another blush creeping onto her cheeks. “Yes. And thanks again. For everything. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you for what you did in there.”

  I took a step closer and bent down, placing my lips to her ear. “Get that Brazilian at the spa.”

  She gasped and giggled and coughed all at once. Pulling back, she looked up at me. Even in the heels, the top of her head only came to my shoulders. “I didn’t think fake boyfriends got to even see things like that.”

  My cock twitched. “Maybe we can break the rules?”

  Her eyes darkened until the sky turned into the sea. “Well, I’ve heard that’s what’s supposed to happen to rules.”

  “I’ve heard that too.”

  She lifted herself up to her tiptoes and pressed her lips to mine. “I’ll let you know next Saturday.”

  Then she was gone, leaving me with a hard-on and a view of that swaying, very sexy, ass.

  And I knew I was totally screwed.

  ***

  Yep, I was totally screwed.

  Katrina Delaney was tapping her nails on her large mahogany desk as I stepped into her office. She didn’t even smile when I flashed her my most brilliant one.

  She pointed at a chair. “Sit.”

  I liked Katrina, although I didn’t at first.

  Rhett had hired Katrina just before spring training began, then sent her down to Florida with the team to babysit us, which essentially meant that she was supposed to keep us out of the tabloids.

  Yeah, her job sucked from the very beginning.

  But she turned out to be a hard worker, which had been a surprise considering she was Bobby “Spaceman” Delaney’s daughter — another kid born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

  Turned out, her silver spoon had gotten lodged up her ass when her baseball icon father lost it all at the gambling table, forcing her to find work for the first time. But it turned out alright. She and Todd Morris, our catcher, ended up falling in love and were now disgustingly happy.

  She wasn’t happy now.

  Still giving me a blank face, she reached into her drawer and pulled out a box of Clorox wipes. When she tossed them to me, I caught them, my eyebrow raised in question.

  “Scrub.” She pointed at the wipes. “Scrub your hands, your mouth. Everything you touch in this office. Hell, take them home and scrub your…” she growled but didn’t finish.

  I rolled my eyes and she growled again.

  “I didn’t know she was in porn,” I began my defense. “She—”

  “Divine? You didn’t have some inkling that a 44DDD bleach blonde with artificial everything and a name like Chelsie Divine might possib
ly be in the business?”

  Well, when she said it like that…

  “I didn’t know her last name,” I said, grasping at straws.

  She tapped her fingernails again, and I deflated.

  “Okay, I know what you’re going to say. I shouldn’t be having relations…” I nearly snickered as I coined Nana’s phrase, “with women whose last names I don’t know.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Well, that’s a start.”

  Her fingernails were going a mile a minute now, driving me crazy.

  “Did you even bother to google Chelsie Divine?” she asked, but didn’t give me time to answer. “No, of course you didn’t because you were probably never properly introduced to anything other than her…” She snapped her mouth shut and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

  “Katrina—”

  “Hush it. I’m not done.” I tipped an imaginary cap, not daring to laugh. She narrowed her eyes at me. “This isn’t funny, Kane. Over the past three years, Miss Divine has created nearly two thousand films. Want to know what the last one was?”

  No! No, I do not.

  “It was a bisexual production where she had sex with two guys who were having sex. And you know what…?”

  Please God, don’t let her tell me.

  “One guy is screwing another guy in the ass, and he pulls out, and she gives him—”

  I jumped from my seat, my hands held out like I was trying to stop a truck. “Stop it.”

  “Head!”

  I slumped back down.

  “Apparently, ass to mouth is big in the business. Did you kiss her? Huh? Huh?”

  I pulled a Clorox wipe out and scrubbed my mouth, then my tongue. I was going to be sick.

  “I really didn’t know,” I said lamely, “but you’re right, I should have thought it through.”

  Katrina pushed her hand through her hair and sighed. “Kane, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said all that, but it freaked me out when I saw your picture with her in the paper. I like you. I want what’s best for you.”

  “It’s okay. You’ll be a great mom someday. I feel about nine years old right now.”

  A smiled played on her lips. “Any suggestions on what we can do to help restore your good name in society?”

  I thought immediately of Eliana.

  “Actually, I met this girl today.” Katrina’s eyes narrowed, and I went on quickly. “A good girl…”

  By the time I’d finished my story about following and meeting Eliana, Katrina was smiling.

  “We should hook her up with Ace and see if there’s anything we could do about matching homeless dogs with vets. Ace mentioned that dog therapy was important.”

  Katrina nodded. “Yeah, for amputation victims and PTSD.”

  “Right. Those dogs probably need special training, but I was also thinking about just having a pet. Isn’t there some research or something that talks about the healing quality of just petting a dog for ten minutes or something?”

  Katrina’s fingers begin flying over her keyboard. “Yeah, healing physically and emotionally. Kane, I think you’re on to something.”

  “So… am I forgiven?”

  With a long exhale, Katrina opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a card. She slid it over to me. “Make an appointment and get a full STD screening and I’ll forgive you.”

  I thought about Eliana again. Her sweetness and innocence. No way would I do anything to harm her. No way could I stay away from her.

  I tucked the card in my pocket. “Consider it done.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Eliana

  I could feel his eyes on me as I walked down the sidewalk and it took everything inside me not to go running back and fling myself into his arms.

  Sexy had an entirely new definition for me now — Kane Steele.

  And I’d get to see him again.

  I was ten minutes early when I rushed through the door of the grooming center, and thankfully, the pampered pup wasn’t already there. I went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face and neck. I was burning up. Not just from my semi-sprint in these stupid shoes, but from my memories of that kiss.

  It had awakened something inside me I thought was dead. Or maybe had never really began to live.

  It was awake now, roaring with life. I pressed my legs together to ease the ache growing there.

  A Brazilian.

  Did I dare?

  Yes, the devil on my shoulder whispered.

  I wasn’t a virgin, but I’d had very few lovers. A fumbling high school boyfriend was my first, then the selfish star quarterback in college left me with a bad taste in my mouth about men in general. He’d been a real jerk, cheating on me with the lead cheerleader. Then there had been Winston Hampton the Third. After I’d fought him off, I was done with any penis-owning human.

  Until Kane.

  Kane had a penis. A big one. I saw the hard outline of it through his shorts. I wanted to touch it, taste it, feel it in my mouth and… the bell over the door jingled.

  I needed more water.

  Drying my face and hands after splashing myself again, I stepped out to where the huge, fluffy dog waited for me. She was wearing a diamond encrusted collar that could have fed every hungry mouth in New York, but that was the owner’s fault, not sweet Princess Sophie’s.

  “Hi, Sophie, how is my good girl today?” The dog’s entire body wiggled with excitement at seeing me.

  “The usual, my dear.” Mrs. Tomlin’s stiff, upper crust voice always made me smile. “And please use purple polish to match her new collar.”

  “Yes, ma’am. It will be my pleasure. See you in two hours.”

  The time passed quickly as I washed and clipped this beauty. She was a very good girl, sitting still while I perfected her standard poodle cut. I shaped and polished her nails, and finished with a matching bow on top.

  “Now, who’s the most beautiful girl in the entire world?” I baby talked her, offering her a well-deserved treat, then smiled as Sophie and Mrs. Tomlin reunited as if they’d been separated for weeks.

  Accepting the extra hundred she slipped into my hand with a wink and sly smile, I thanked Mrs. T for her generosity before giving Sophie a last stroke on the head.

  Bruno, the Chihuahua from hell, was next, and I nearly groaned when the bell jingled again.

  “Hello, Mr. Lancaster,” I yelled over the incessant yip-yip-yip of the dog.

  “The usual,” the old man yelled back and handed me the leash. Jingle, jingle, and he was gone. I didn’t blame him for bailing.

  With practiced agility, I sidestepped the snapping teeth. “If only I was this graceful on the dancefloor,” I muttered to the little dog and dodged another lunge before getting the wiggling, growling canine under control.

  “I promise I’m not Satan’s mistress, Bruno,” I sweet talked the still yapping dog and carried him to the grooming station. There, I tied him to the overhead loop and gave him a treat.

  Like magic, the yipping stopped, and I quickly started on his bath.

  “Hmm, that doesn’t look good, Bruno,” I said as I expressed his glands and the nasty smelling fluid came out a reddish brown. “You need a trip to the vet.” At the mention of the v-word, the yipping started again. I stuck another treat in his mouth and silence reigned supreme, although the sharp barks continued to ring in my head.

  On it went. More dogs. More owners. Even with the Brunos of the world, I loved them all. I held Mr. Lancaster’s hand as I told him to make an appointment to see the vet and gratefully accepted the extra forty dollars he left as a tip. By the time my last appointment arrived, I’d made nearly three hundred dollars in just tips, which didn’t include a meager salary.

  Better than stripping, I thought with a grin and accepted the loving licks the enormous Rottweiler, Susie, offered me. Better benefits too.

  As I was bathing Susie, I glanced at the clock and realized the Beasts were playing. Flipping on the little TV, I found the channel. I’d never watched a baseball g
ame before, but soon learned they were in the second inning and losing by one run.

  Squinting at the little screen, I recognized Kane on first base. The other team hit the ball with a loud crack. Instead of going high in the air, it rolled on the ground and a Beast player dove for it. Coming to his feet, he launched the ball to first, and I held my breath. Kane stretched his arm out, his legs nearly in a split, and… caught it!

  “Out!” the referee guy said, and the crowd went wild.

  Jumping up and down, I cupped the excited dog by the face. “He caught it, Susie. Wasn’t that great?”

  The dog seemed to agree with me, and we watched the game together until her owner came at nine.

  ***

  “You look like you just gave a bunch of dogs a bath,” Zoe said drolly as I fell into our apartment.

  Thankfully, Mom hadn’t taken all my furniture when she cut me off, and I plopped on the comfortable sofa with a long sigh. Reaching for the remote, I clicked until I found the game, but turned the audio down low so as not to interrupt Zoe’s studies. It was the sixth ending, and the Beasts were winning by two!

  “Who are you and why do you look like Eliana?”

  I laughed. “What’s the problem? I’m just watching baseball.”

  “That is the problem,” she said with a perfectly arched brow. “The Eliana I know only watches Animal Planet. Get out, or I’m calling the police.”

  I hugged a pillow. “Well, I’m officially not watching a baseball game.” I pointed to the television as Kane stepped up to the plate, swinging his bat from side to side with impressive strength. “I’m watching him.”

  Zoe squinted at the screen then reached for her glasses. “Kane Steele?” She sat her book down. “Well, in that case, I’ll watch too.”

  Holding my breath as the pitcher threw the ball at him, I was mystified when Kane just stood there and did nothing.

  “Why didn’t he hit the ball?”

  She shot me a look. “Because it’s a ball.”

  I rolled my eyes at her. “I know it’s a ball. Why didn’t he hit it?”

  Zoe snorted. “Because it wasn’t in the strike zone, so he let it go.”