“Frankie, darlin’.” Mitch’s voice softened, making me feel like he was right there with me, holding me in his arms. “If you don’t do something, you’re hurting yourself. You’ve gotta try. You’ve gotta do something.”
“I know,” I said, so quiet I wasn’t sure he could even hear me. Mitch was the only thing good in my life right now. But doing what he suggested would put him at risk, too.
Since I couldn’t bring myself to do what I needed to do, I did the only thing I could to make myself feel better. Right down the block from the Savory is a small park with an open field of green, edged by trees and benches and a playground off to one side. Though the wind off the lake was a little much at times, I’d been taking yoga classes there at least once a day. Mornings were the worst. The early afternoon classes were my favorite. Not only was the temperature more bearable, but during the week there were less students attending.
Today is more busy than most, probably because the wind is minimal and the sun is out, keeping the chill out of the early spring air. I’m sitting on a bench just off the path, lacing up my shoes after my workout, when I see him.
Corey jogs right past me, then turns off the trail and slows to a stop, looking out over the sun-drenched water. He has his hands on his hips and he turns his head up to the sun, like he’s soaking it in. I sit there watching him, not sure if he’s real or my imagination. Maybe my last shred of sanity has slipped and I’m seeing things. Seagulls squawk in the distance, bikers and runners speed along the path between us, but for me, there’s only him.
A dog starts barking somewhere behind me, and it snaps me out of my trance - a moment too late. It snaps Corey out, too. He turns back towards the path and his eyes immediately fall on me. The laces of my left shoe are still in my hand, my foot resting on the bench in front of me. I finish tying it and grab my yoga mat off the bench beside me as Corey walks straight towards me. He’s wiping his face on the front of his t-shirt, and I catch a glimpse of his chiseled abs and the deep V that runs down into his sweats. I’m half-tempted to make a run for it. My hotel’s right there, I could probably do it. But I’m frozen in place, watching him.
Corey stops in front of me and looks around at the people in the park. When he looks down at me and smiles, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
“You are unbelievable, Frankie.” I’m about to yell at him, to insist I’m not stalking him. The park is right next to my hotel, the hotel I live in. If anyone is stalking, it’s him. But his next words are like a punch to the gut. “Yoga pants and a hoodie, and you’re still the most beautiful woman in the city.”
It takes me a second to recover from what he says. I drag my eyes away from him, looking out at the lake. “Vivian’s right across town.”
“Who?” When I look back at him, he looks serious.
“My cousin. Vivian.” He grimaces. He actually grimaces. “She’s pissed at you, you know.”
“What’d I do this time?”
“It’s more what you didn’t do.” I can’t help the crooked smile that appears on my face. It doesn’t even disappear when Corey sits down beside me, his leg and shoulder close to mine. I turn to him. We’re close enough I can feel the heat coming off his body, fighting against the chill in the air.
“Then tell me what I didn’t do.”
“She’s very beautiful, Corey.” He shrugs, so I continue. “She’s tried twice now to get your attention, and you don’t give it to her.”
“She’s not my type anymore.”
“Your type?” I sit back and cock my head at him.
“Yeah. Model thin, knows she’s beautiful, thinks she can have whomever she wants. More looks than brains. Not my type anymore.”
I want to argue, to defend my cousin. But I’m more interested in him. “And what’s your type now?”
He turns his head and faces me, his deep blue eyes boring into mine. He shakes his head and reaches out to my knee, tapping it with his fingertips. “You are, Frankie.”
For a moment, I’m soaring. Just for a moment, before reality hits me and I come crashing back down.
“You never answered me the other night.” Corey pulls his hand away from me. He looks like he’s braced for a fight.
I study his face. When I respond, my words come out slow and cautious. “What was the question?”
“Can we be friends?”
“Corey…” God, he’s making this so hard on me. I bend over and put my face in my hands. I feel like I could sob. When I push myself up, I go all the way, slipping the strap to my yoga mat over my shoulder and standing up. Corey’s right there beside me, looking at me like he thinks I’m going to run away.
And what I wouldn’t give to be able to do that, to dodge this whole conversation. I turn and start walking down the path, the one that leads down closer to the lake. He doesn’t leave my side, which both thrills me and frightens me. We walk together in silence for a while, letting the sun soak into our skin while the breeze off the lake cools the air around us. I feel like I can be with him here, away from prying eyes. When we come to an empty bench that looks out over the water, I stop and take a seat. I don’t look at Corey as he sits down next to me. I’m too afraid of what I’ll see there.
“I’m not used to depriving myself of what I want,” I tell him as I watch a seagull swoop down to pick at something in the water. “It’s uncomfortable for me.”
“And what are you depriving yourself of, doll?”
I don’t answer immediately, but instead, I find the nerve to look at him.
“You have to understand, I’m trying to protect you.”
He shakes his head with a small smile on his lips. “I don’t need protection.”
“Yes, you do.”
“From who?” he asks, a laugh in his voice and his eyebrow raised.
This is so much harder than I expected. I look away from his deep blue eyes, back across the water. Then, “You know Vivian and Vinny are my cousins, right?”
“Yes.”
“Vivian and Vinny Leonetti.”
“Yes, Vivian and Vinny Leon…Leonetti?” He stutters, his eyes wide as he gapes at me. “As in, Marco Leonetti?”
“Yes.”
“The owner of the team is your uncle?”
“Yes.”
He’s silent a moment before he speaks. “And you think you need to protect me from him?”
“Do you enjoy playing baseball, Corey?”
“You know I do, or I wouldn’t be here.” He sounds so amused. I wish he’d take me more seriously, but I don’t know how to make him. “You think he’ll kick me off the team if we’re together?”
“No,” I say, looking back at him again. “I think he’ll kick you out of the sport. Blackballed for life. He’s very protective of me.”
Corey laughs.
“It isn’t funny,” I tell him. Without meaning to, I reach out and grab his hand. I want to pull away, but I don’t. “You don’t understand my uncle, what he’s capable of. What he’s done before. My mother was his baby sister, and he promised her on her deathbed he’d look out for me.”
“You’re right, I don’t understand.” Corey runs his thumb over my knuckles, making my heart jump erratically in my chest. “Why don’t you explain it to me.”
I try to remember how I explained this to Mitch. I want Corey to believe me, like Mitch does. I want him to understand that by merely being in my presence, his life could be in danger.
“My high school prom date had his car vandalized the week before the dance,” I start. “Tires slashed, baseball bat taken to the head and tail lights. He was a pizza delivery driver. He got out of his car to bring a pizza up to a customer and came back five minutes later to find his car ruined.”
“Your uncle vandalized a car?”
“My uncle would never do that.” I glance up at Corey, then look away. “My uncle has people for that.”
“I’m glad you’re worried about my baby,” he jokes. Ah, yes. His beloved car.
&
nbsp; When he quiets down, I continue. “I never got to go to prom. I never went on any dates in high school, especially after that. I thought I was free of him when I got to college, but somehow my straight-laced boyfriend was found with drugs in his car, his dorm, and on his person, and was expelled from school. My next boyfriend had his apartment burned down. After that, I stopped dating. It’s not worth it to put people at risk.”
“You think your uncle had that done.”
“I know he did.”
Corey leans closer to me, and when he speaks again, his voice is so quiet it makes me want to lean closer to hear him. “Can’t you tell him to stop?”
“I can tell him all I want,” I say. “It doesn’t mean he’ll listen to me.”
We both fall silent. Corey is still holding my hand, running his thumb over my knuckles. I wish he’d stop. I wish I had the courage to take my hand away from him, but I want to hold on a little while longer.
“So where does that leave us?” Corey asks. “Do I have to choose between you and my career?”
“There can’t be an us, Corey. Don’t you see?” I pull my hand away from him and look out across the water, to the boats that are speeding by. “I’m not going to be responsible for you losing everything you have.”
“Shouldn’t I have a say in this? Don’t I get to choose? It is my life we’re talking about.”
I swallow down the lump forming in my throat. “There isn’t a choice for you. I’ve already chosen. I won’t let Marco ruin you.”
Corey grabs both my hands in his and pulls me back so I’m facing him. “See, here’s the problem with that. I’m not used to depriving myself of what I want, either. And I want you, Frankie. You can’t deny we’re good together. And I can’t stop thinking about you. Everything about you. You consume me, and my life without you in it is just a shell. So let him take my car, my job, and my apartment. So long as I have you, I’ll be okay.”
“You don’t even know me,” I say, my head shaking as much as my resolve. “What if the reason you want me is because you can’t have me? I’m just a challenge to you.”
“You are a challenge to me,” he says. He releases my hand and runs his fingers across my cheek. I can’t help but close my eyes and lean into him. “But I don’t think that’s what this is. And I don’t think you believe that either.”
I don’t say anything. I couldn’t if I had a chance. Corey kisses my lips, a long, lingering kiss. I can feel him putting everything he can into it. And it takes everything in me not to respond. When he pulls away, it’s with a heavy sigh.
“I’ll wait for you, Frankie,” he says, his lips brushing the skin near my ear. “One of these days, you’ll realize you want this as much as I do.”
With another brief kiss on my lips, Corey gets up and walks away, leaving me alone on the bench. Alone in the city. Alone in the world. A tear trickles out of my eye and carves a path down my cheek. When it falls off my jaw and hits the bare skin on my chest, I stand and sling my yoga mat over my shoulder. I run back to the hotel, to my car, and slip inside. There’s something I need to do. If I don’t do it now, I may lose my nerve. And I’d never forgive myself.
I ignore the strange looks I get from my staff as I rush into my office wearing my workout gear. It takes forever for my computer to boot up, but when it does, it takes me just a minute to find what I’m looking for. I grab a sticky note from my desk drawer and scribble down an address. I don’t bother shutting my computer off. I grab my car keys and rush out of the building as fast as I can.
Corey
I can’t believe this. I just can’t. Frankie Sarcone is Marco Leonetti’s niece. Of course I’ve heard the rumors. Marco’s a powerful man, and he has ties all over the world, in business and beyond. Good and bad. I know what he’s capable of. But that doesn’t mean I’m willing to give up. I don’t understand why Frankie keeps fighting this. Surely she can talk some sense into her uncle. Surely he’ll understand she’s got to live her own life eventually.
The worst thing is, I bared my soul to this woman, and she completely ignored me. She sat there without moving while I tried to portray the depth of my feelings for her through that kiss. That’s what’s killing me. That’s what’s got me pacing the floor of my apartment, wearing a path in the hardwood floors.
I need to shower. My run to the stadium and back had me sweating bullets. But I’m working up even more of a sweat with my pacing, and I can’t bring myself to stop. I want a chance. I want to show Frankie how good we could be together. She drives me crazy, gets my heart rate up just by thinking about her. She’s worked herself under my skin and into my heart without even trying.
I’m about ready to scream when there’s a knock at the door. I’m tempted to ignore it. It’s probably Madison - who is exactly the last person I want to see. What I said to Matt the other night is true. I’m over her. There was nothing there but mediocre sex anyway, and all her craziness is too much for me. But when a second knock comes on the door, I realize it’s not Madison. She’s not the kind to keep trying if I don’t answer. She’s more likely to stand down the hall near her apartment, waiting for me to either come or go. I’ve been ambushed more than once before.
I look out the peephole, only to be awarded with a view of the ceiling, since I still haven’t called management to have them fix the damn thing. I throw open the door and am caught off guard by the sight in front of me. There’s a woman there, but it’s not Madison. She’s too short, has too many curves, though she’s got part of the wardrobe right. Black cropped yoga pants, topped off with a blue and black hoodie Madison wouldn’t be caught dead in. When she turns around, my heart jumps to my throat.
It’s Frankie.
She’s got her hood up over her head, like she’s hiding from someone. But her beautiful hazel eyes are peeping out from under the sweatshirt. There’s silence in their depths. I want them to be screaming, to tell me what it is she’s doing here, because she’s not talking.
I step back from the door and, after a beat, she brushes past me. She stops in the foyer, her back to me, as she stands there looking around the room. I look around to see what she sees. My apartment is bare, with few personal touches. A framed picture of me and my family at Jen’s high school graduation sits on the fireplace mantle. A dark brown leather sofa sits opposite a flat screen television hanging above the fireplace. There are a couple matching chairs, some end tables with nothing but coasters on them, and a large window looking out on the city.
Even my bedroom, which she can’t see from where she stands, has few personal effects. I’m gone most of the summer, flying around the country for games. The rest of the year I try to spend time with my folks, and of course with Jen. This is a place to call home, though it doesn’t feel that way.
A home is something more than a place to lay your head. And that’s all this place is. My heart doesn’t reside here - although it feels like it’s finally back in the room with me.
I close the door, then walk up behind Frankie. I want to touch her, but I’m afraid. Afraid she’ll run away again. Afraid she’ll take my heart with her.
She turns around and faces me, standing so close. She looks broken, but beautiful. Her hoodie is unzipped, baring a tight workout shirt that reveals the swell of her breasts, her waist, and the seductive curve of her hips. She’s more beautiful than anything I’ve ever seen.
“I can’t do it anymore.” Her voice is so quiet, so full of pain, it makes me want to cry.
I tense in front of her. “Do what?”
“Deny myself what I want.” She looks up and searches my eyes, and my heart starts hammering in my chest.
I lift a hand to her cheek and place the other on her hip as she slides her hands to my chest. She tips her head up as I bend down to her. When our lips meet, there is no sensual dance like we’ve shared in the past. Just soft lips, moving together as one. We stay this way for what feels like hours, maybe even days, before I slip my tongue into her mouth. I have to taste her. The minute my t
ongue touches hers, she tenses up. I pull away from her, looking down into her eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m scared.” Her voice trembles out on a quiet breath. “I’ve never done this before. I’ve never done relationships.”
“Trust me.” I run my thumb across her lips and plant a gentle kiss at the corner of her mouth.
“I’ve never done trust.”
“I won’t let you fall, Frankie. I’ll take care of you. Just give me a chance.”
I slide my hands down her shoulders, down her arms, and lace my fingers with hers. I pull her to the couch and sit down with her next to me. She shivers as I run my hands back up her arms to her face, cupping her cheeks in my palms. I kiss her lips, then pull back.
Frankie’s got her eyes closed, and worry creases her forehead. I rub my thumb over her forehead, one over her eyebrow, along her cheekbone, along her jawline. As I slide my hands down her long, delicate neck to her collarbone, I lean in and kiss her again. She relaxes into me and slides her arms around me, hugging me to her.
This is heaven.
I pull away from her lips and tuck my head into the crook of her neck as I wrap my arms around her. We sit here, holding each other for the longest time.
Frankie
“Corey, please!” I gasp and dig my fingernails into his shoulders, panting.
“Not yet, doll. You know what I want.” Corey returns his mouth to my body, licking and kissing every inch of my skin. He’s been at it for an hour, and it’s sweet torture, what he’s doing to me.
“You know we can’t, baby.” I squirm under his touch, so ready for him it hurts.
Corey held me in his arms on his couch for hours. It wasn’t until the sun started going down that either of us thought to move. It felt so right, being there with him. Like there was nothing in the world that mattered but being right there. Our growling stomachs had other thoughts on the matter. Corey wanted to take me out on a proper date.
“There’s a fantastic restaurant not far from here,” Corey said, pleading his case. “They have the best lobster tempura you’ll ever have. Then we can walk up the street and get some popcorn from Garrett’s.”
Playing with Fire - A Sports Romance Page 10