Forward Pass

by Desiree Holt

  She had no idea how often he argued with Scott to minimize the publicity. He agreed to including his name on the invitations. He twisted all the arms he could reach for contributions, both auction items and cash. He pushed his contacts in San Antonio to buy tickets to events and bring their wallets with them to bid on high-dollar items. And he always made a substantial cash gift himself.

  But he just didn’t feel comfortable with a lot of media coverage. Listening to Shay, realizing the impression she’d carried of him since she was a teenager, and taking a good long look at himself through her eyes, he was even more convinced he’d made the right decision about media coverage. For the first time he understood he needed to feel good with himself before he could ask others to look at him as a solid citizen. He couldn’t begin to count the number of professional athletes with images they needed to polish who manipulated the media to do it but gave lip service to actual good works or changes.

  Today he had another meeting with Marge Faraday and some of her committee. They would review the list of items for both the silent and live auctions, check the cash contributions they’d received, and go over the guest list one more time. Then he intended to plant himself at a coffee shop out of earshot of Shay. His idea was to call Mike Lazarus and the others he’d exchanged business cards with yesterday and see if he could hook them into the event, too. He knew if he brought some high rollers, Marge would always find a way to squeeze in extra tables. And maybe they were in some industries in a position to contribute merchandise or gift certificates.

  Only six days until Saturday, less than a week to solidify himself with Shay and bring her to the event with him. Despite the amazing mind-blowing sex, despite her willingness to spend time with him and her obvious pleasure, he wasn’t one hundred percent convinced that he’d accomplished his goal.

  Every time he was near her, his cock stood at attention and his balls ached with need. He wondered if she’d be interested in a quick shower—well, maybe not so quick—before she started working this morning. But as soon as he entered the kitchen he heard music coming from the den. He’d discovered when she worked she stuck her iPod in a docking station and set up one of her playlists to run.

  “I think better if I don’t have to force myself to think,” she’d explained to him.

  He didn’t quite understand but he liked hearing the music when he was in the house, knowing she was there even if he didn’t see her. No couples shower on the horizon. He swallowed his disappointment, refilled his coffee mug, and ambled down the hall to where she was working. He suddenly realized that he’d never actually seen any of her creations. Even the red ball cap she’d worn on the plane only earned a passing glance from him. He knew from things Hank said she was considered one of the best graphic artists in the business. Probably the reason her bosses, rather than losing her, had agreed to the current telecommute situation.

  He paused in the doorway, just enjoying the sight of her sitting cross-legged in her padded desk chair, frowning in concentration at the screen. She’d pulled on a pair of sweats, but it pleased him that she still wore his T-shirt she’d dragged on when she got up. He took a moment to drink in the sight of her, wondering how someone could be sexy and adorable at the same time. A few strands of hair escaped the ponytail and drifted onto her face. Her smooth forehead was creased in a frown as she stared at the screen. She was so focused on what she was doing, the music obviously blanking out every other sound, she didn’t even see him standing there until he rapped lightly on the doorjamb.

  She looked up, startled, then smiled at him. At the sight of her mouth lifting so sexily, his cock sent him an urgent message. He sent one back. Down, boy. Save it for later.

  “I didn’t mean to interrupt you.” He stopped and shook his head. “Who am I kidding? Of course I did. I wondered if I could get a peek at what you’ve got going on here.”

  “It’s just a new design I’m working on, for a midsize college.” She pushed pause on the iPod.

  “Is it still top secret?” he teased. “Because, I swear, my lips are sealed.”

  “Um, okay. Sure. I guess for you it’s okay.” Tentatively she turned the screen, allowing him to see it and sat back in her chair, watching him.

  The one the other day had been good but this one was outstanding. The design on the screen was three-dimensional and showed a scowling tiger in a batting stance, ready to take a pitch. He could almost see the animal moving. The colors were so vivid they looked freshly painted.

  “That’s amazing.” He couldn’t take his eyes from the screen. “You have incredible talent.”

  “Thank you.” She looked up at him. “I love creating these things from scratch, making them different than the others.”

  “I can see why your boss wants to keep you happy by letting you telecommute.”

  “If I can manage it today, I’m going to build the Facebook page for Coyotes football alumni. I can get the Coyotes logo and incorporate it into the banner.”

  “You know, you don’t have to do it. I know how busy you are.”

  She shrugged. “It’s no sweat for me and I want to. I genuinely do.”

  “Okay, then.” Juggling his coffee, he bent down enough to brush his lips over hers. “Gotta get going. I’ll probably be out most of the day. How about if I take you someplace casual for dinner? Or would you rather eat in? Maybe I could pick some ribs up from Open Pit Barbecue.”

  “Um.” She rubbed her stomach. “Sounds good.” She hesitated. “So, what time do you think you’ll be home?”

  “Late afternoon. Six at the outside.”

  “A lot of meetings, huh?”

  He knew he should just lay it out there for her, but he was edgy about doing it just right.

  “Yes. And I’m meeting a couple of guys from the party the other day.”

  “Oh, wait. I knew I forgot to tell you something.” She picked up her phone and scrolled through it. “Don’t forget Jason Mackenzie. Remember I told you I ran into Jilly at the store the other day?”

  “Yeah? I wonder if Mike knows Jason’s here?”

  “I’d say no, since he didn’t mention him.” She reached for a piece of paper and a pen, then scrolled through her phone. “Here. I’ll write his number down for you. He’s with some big law firm in town. I’m surprised the two hotshot attorneys haven’t run into each other before this.”

  “So, you plan to get together with Jilly?”

  Shay nodded. “She said she’d give me a call. She’s going to try and get some of our old friends together, too.”

  “That should be fun.” He took the slip of paper.

  “I also called Shana and thanked her again for inviting us to the christening and party.” A blush crept up her cheeks. “She mentioned the women want to get up an all-female football team to take on you guys.”

  Joe laughed. He was happy to see her reaching out to these people. “Maybe you can hire me as a coach.”

  “Are you kidding? We want to beat your ass.”

  “That’ll be the day. Listen, I gotta run but I’ll be home by six.” He glanced at the screen again. “You rock it, Slick. I’m very impressed.”

  And horny. She looked appealing as hell sitting there in his T-shirt and sweats, hair in a messy tail. He wanted to strip her out of her clothes and take her right there on the floor.

  Lotta class there, jerk. Save it for later.

  Which was exactly what he intended to do.

  * * * *

  “We’ve done very well, Joe.” Marge Faraday smiled at him. “Actually you’re the one who’s done it. Without you we’d never hit our numbers. Or have the crowd we’re expecting.”

  Joe thought by this time he should have learned to accept praise graciously. But praise for Joe Reilly, the quarterback was different from Joe Reilly, the private person. What he did here was purely because he wanted to help others, not for any other reason. He took a moment to sip at the excellent espresso Marge had served him.

  “I just see it as a way to g
ive back to the community. Football was very good to me. I had a lot of opportunities and I want to make sure others do, too.”

  “Well, we just want you to know the committee appreciates everything you do for the High School Athletes Scholarship Fund.”

  “I still say that’s a mouthful,” he told her. “You ought to find someone to kick in a nice fat check and name it after him. Or her.”

  She exchanged looks with Lily Volta, her cochair. “We’ve discussed that very thing in committee,” Lily told him. “We’re tossing some ideas around. We might even make an announcement Saturday night.”

  “Yeah?” Joe grinned. “Sounds great.” He pulled out his phone and scrolled to his notepad. “I’ve connected with some other guys on my team. I’m going to hook up with them when I leave here and get them involved, too. If I can convince them to come to the dinner as well as kick in for the auction, can we fit them in?”

  Marge laughed. “For people with money we can always find room.” She leaned forward and touched his arm. “I wish your folks were in town. I know they enjoyed being involved in the other events.”

  “Yes, they did. They really wanted to be here and hated having to send their regrets. In fact”—he reached into his pants pocket for his wallet and plucked out a check—“they also asked me to give this to you.”

  Lily looked over Marge’s shoulder, her jaw dropping. “That’s a very large amount. Are they sure about this?”

  He nodded. “Absolutely.” He chuckled. “Mom said to tell you since I managed to be gainfully employed they can do something with the money they planned to use to support me.”

  Marge gave a hearty laugh. “I don’t think your folks spent one moment worrying about you. Like Hank Beckham, you were always an overachiever.”

  “You know we expect you to say a few words at the event,” Lily reminded him.

  Joe shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “I thought we already discussed that. This isn’t my night. It’s yours. The whole committee. You’re the ones who do ninety-nine percent of the work.”

  “And you and your friends are the ones who make it possible,” Marge pointed out.

  Joe set his cup down and stood up. “Can we please not ruin a very nice meeting with an argument? I get plenty of recognition in my job. The important people here are the donors and the kids who benefit from the scholarships. Let’s leave it at that, okay?”

  Marge rose, also, sighing. “I hear you. Please know how grateful we are for every bit of this.”

  “I’ll call you later this afternoon. I hope to have more big-ticket items to add and some high rollers to attend.”

  “We look forward to hearing from you.”

  When the women both looked as if they wanted to kiss him on the cheek, he quickly maneuvered to shake hands with them. He made a cordial getaway and escaped to his car.

  He did feel good about the things he’d accomplished with his philanthropic efforts. Hooking up with Mike and Rafe the other day had given him an idea. Maybe they could use the Facebook page when Shay had it set up to contact others from that old Coyotes team. At some point he’d like to get the entire team together, if it was possible. Maybe together they could make more things happen.

  As he pulled into the parking lot—if you could call a tiny stretch of pavement a lot—for Java Junction, his cell rang. He lifted it from the console where he stashed it when he was driving and looked at the identification. Scott.

  “Let me guess,” he said. “Marge called you.”

  Scott’s laugh echoed in his ear. “You haven’t lost your skills. Yes, I just got off the phone with her.”

  “The answer’s no,” Joe told him.

  “Joe.” Scott’s sigh was so heavy it vibrated across the connection. “We have to have a talk about this. Wait. We have talked about this. You’re a valuable commodity to them. Let them use you.”

  “I’m just as valuable without making speeches.” He shifted and leaned back in his seat. “I’m not sure you know what a wakeup call it was when I had to retire from the NFL and you made me take a good look at the way I’d been living my life.”

  “Not in a way to interfere with the game,” Scott reminded him. “You never did that.”

  “No, but I sat down one night and Googled myself and found a shitload of photos and stories from the Saturday night parties I thought were such hot stuff. Not to mention what went on during the months between the end of the season and spring practice. I didn’t like what I saw. I made the change as much for my own self-esteem as I did for this job. I won’t do anything to make people think I’m just putting on a show.”

  “But you’re not,” Scott argued. “You’re doing some great stuff. Hey, I know exactly how much money you help raise for these scholarships. That’s not puff stuff. The public at least needs to acknowledge you.”

  Joe opened the car door and stepped out. “I’ll think about it. How’s that?”

  “Think hard.” Then he was gone, as usual without a good-bye.

  Joe rubbed his jaw. Sooner or later Scott was going to push hard enough he’d have to cave, at least a little. He needed to start thinking about how he was going to do that. But first he needed to tell Shay. No more dancing around this. Besides, he had to let her know about Saturday night.

  Things were going really well between them now. His body heated when he remembered exactly how well. Images of the two of them naked did an erotic dance in his brain. But this was about more than sex. A lot more. It was about how much fun they had together, the interests they shared, the way they finally felt comfortable with each other. If they were indeed going to have a future together, he wanted her to understand who Joe Reilly was these days. That all this wasn’t just for show. And he was going to do it soon.

  * * * *

  Shay climbed out of the shower and reached for a towel when her cell phone rang. Damn! She quickly wrapped a big bath towel around her and shoved her dripping hair out of her face before picking the phone up from the vanity counter. The screen readout showed Jilly Mackenzie’s name. Why did people always call at the most inconvenient times? But she pasted a smile on her face, even though Jilly couldn’t see her, and hit the Accept button.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey. Shay. Bad time?”

  Not if Shay didn’t mind dripping all over the place. She sat down on the vanity bench and pulled her towel tighter.

  “No, not at all. What’s up?”

  “I called a couple of the girls we hung out with in high school. One of them lives here and two of them are still in Granite Falls. Anyway, they’re very excited to know you’re back in the area. Are you by any chance free for brunch on Saturday?”

  “Wow!” Shay felt a touch of excitement. “I’d love to, but I need to be home by midafternoon.”

  “No problem. How about eleven-thirty?”

  The thought of reconnecting with women she hadn’t seen for a long time was exciting. She’d have plenty of time to get home, primped, and dressed in case Joe wanted to take her someplace Saturday night. On the other hand, maybe she could prepare a special night for him the way he had for her.

  Really, Shay? You’re already planning?

  It was just hard not to, the way things were going.

  “That would be just great.” Jilly named a restaurant known for its excellent brunch as well as being a great gathering spot. “You okay with the time?”

  “I am. I’ll see you there.”

  After she hung up Shay stared at herself in the mirror, blotting drops of moisture from her skin with the corner of the towel. All she could think about was last night and Joe and how incredible he’d been. She still couldn’t wrap her head around how special he’d made the night for her.

  She closed her eyes as the memory of his touch slid over her skin. Talk about an attentive lover. Every touch, every caress had been designed to give her maximum pleasure. She could still feel his hands and his mouth on her, coaxing and teasing, pushing her from one orgasm to another. And the thing with the je
t stream in the hot tub? Even now she shivered with pleasure as she remembered it.

  It was more than just sex, though, no matter how spectacular that was. Her emotions were all tied up in it. She was truly in love with Joe Reilly.

  That scared the hell out of her.

  Shay had never thought of herself as an insecure person. She was smart, savvy, a respected graphic designer, had good friends and now was renewing old friendships, and hadn’t lacked for dates either in college or New York. She’d even had three long-term relationships. They might not have imploded if she hadn’t unconsciously compared each of them to Joe.

  For so long she’d seen him as unattainable, convincing herself she wasn’t interested in the horny playboy she believed him to be. Believing she wasn’t even on his horizon, what with the abundance of over-the-top females who threw themselves at him, everyone from the cheerleaders to homecoming queens to sophisticated models. Now the game had changed and she allowed herself to trust the idea this was something real.

  It is, Shay. Very real. He is real. The real Joe Reilly. He loves you and you love him.

  She did. She’d made up her mind, finally, to take Joe at his word and now the thought of where this might go filled her with excited anticipation. She had no idea what would happen when Joe had to leave. He hadn’t mentioned anything beyond this time in San Antonio and Shay wasn’t pushing him. It would work out. She was determined to believe it.

  Again memories of the previous night danced through her brain, so sharp and clear a throbbing set up in her pussy and her nipples tightened and ached. She cupped them through the towel and squeezed her breasts, pretending the hands were Joe’s. Electricity sizzled through her and she squeezed her legs together against the thudding pulse between her thighs. Was that slick feeling on her inner thighs from the shower or from her juices sliding from her overheated cunt?