Double Trouble

by J. R. Madison

  “I… can I give you my card?” He frowned.

  I laughed. “Well, sure you can,” I said. I was pleased, though I wasn’t sure whether I could risk showing it. As much as I had an incredible night, I wasn’t about to let these guys think they could get familiar with me. I was fully aware that one word from them to the press—or one word of them in the press—and my reputation might as well go up in flames. I wasn’t risking it.

  “Okay,” he shrugged. “Here.”

  He handed me a card. It was simple and straightforward—Jake Trent, professional football player. There was a phone number underneath. I nodded and put it on the desk.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  I didn’t offer him my card, or offer to share my number with him. I wasn’t really sure I wanted that yet. It was one thing for me to be able to contact him again if I chose to. It was another thing to trust him with anything of mine.

  I was just putting on my socks when Tyler came out.

  “Your turn,” he said to Jake, who nodded.

  “Okay. See you for coffee.”

  I had forgotten. A good black coffee was what I needed—wake me up, that would. And clear all these weird, conflicting feeling and sensations out of my head.

  I looked at Tyler, who flushed pink. I shrugged and went through to the kitchen.

  I was making myself coffee when I heard someone move one of the chairs. I looked up to see Tyler in my kitchen, staring right at me.

  “What?” I shrugged, feeling irritated.

  He went red. I felt bad. He was so handsome, such that I couldn’t actually discern whether I preferred him in his suit or out of it. He smelled like mint—my shower gel—and I felt my body ache.

  Stop it, Ryanne. I told myself. I wasn’t going to let myself get distracted now.

  “You drink coffee with milk?” I asked.

  He smiled. “Uh, thanks. Yeah,” he added, going red again. I shook my head, not sure whether to be annoyed or flattered. He was acting a bit shy with me and I remembered the previous night, how he’d touched me, how he’d been so deferential, hanging back for Jake.

  “Milk’s in the fridge,” I said, turning away. For some reason I found myself feeling annoyed around Tyler. “Third shelf. At the top. On the left.”

  “Thanks,” he said.

  I turned to my coffee machine and set about making another cup. One of my favorite things in the morning was my coffee. I had invested in a proper Jura machine—something that enhanced my day. I breathed in the rich, roasted smell and felt my tension drain.

  That was my morning smell.

  I could forget about them for a moment, and let myself simply relax and get back into schedule.

  “Anyone seen a sock?”

  I heard Tyler laugh and Jake, who still looked bewildered. I set about making a third coffee and watched them interact with each other. I noted, with some surprise, that they seemed shy.

  There was little eye contact between them this morning, and no talking.

  “So,” I said brightly, feeling my excitement return as I watched the strange interaction today. “Who takes sugar?”

  Tyler shrugged. “Usually have one,” he said. “Thanks,” he added.

  “Two, please,” Jake said confidently. I smiled.

  “A man who knows his tastes,” I nodded, giving him a wry smile.

  He laughed.

  “Sure get a lot of sweetness here.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him.

  “That’s a matter of opinion,” I said tightly.

  He laughed. “Well, in my opinion, there’s someone sweet around here. Don’t blame you if you have a different opinion,” he added. “We’re not so sweet, hey?”

  I pulled a face at him, making him laugh.

  “I won’t say anything to that,” I said, putting the coffee and sugar on a tray and putting it on the kitchen table, then drawing out my own seat. “You’re fishing for compliments.”

  We all laughed. Tyler’s brown eyes held mine in a way that made me feel almost as if he touched me. I flushed warmly.

  “Come on,” I said strictly. “Coffee. Then home.”

  Jake rolled his eyes and grinned. “Aye, aye.”

  I frowned at him. “Flattery gets you everywhere,” I said with a teasing voice. “But not with me.”

  “Oh?” He smiled. “Well, what does?” he asked.

  I felt the heat return to my cheeks as the playful element of the previous night returned.

  “People who sit still and drink their coffee,” I retorted sharply.

  He laughed and made a pantomime of sitting up straight, his coffee in one hand, like a uncooperative boy. I had to laugh.

  Tyler was watching us and I caught a strange look in his eye, almost wistful. I felt my heart go taut and then I shook my head in impatience.

  “I’m almost finished already,” I announced, taking a big sip.

  “It’s hot,” Jake protested, teasing me.

  “Well, it shouldn’t bother either of you,” I retorted.

  Jake caught the joke and laughed.

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  Tyler smiled, his cheeks pink again.

  “I see you’re not bothered either.”

  I laughed.

  We finished our coffee in silence. I let my mind wander, my thoughts drifting back to the night before. It had been easily the most exciting thing I’d ever felt. I could easily spend a whole day just remembering it, moment by moment, if I let myself.

  I stood, letting my chair grate a little on the floor as I pushed it in. I didn’t want them to feel too comfortable in my house. I wasn’t easy, yet, with having strangers, particularly guys, in the place. It was too soon since having one abusive guy leave. I wasn’t about to give anyone free reign to stampede through my heart again.

  “Well?” I said briskly, “I’m going jogging. Shall we leave?”

  Jake grinned. “Aye, aye.”

  I pulled a face at him. “Yes,” I said. “And you can salute when you say that. I’d appreciate it.”

  He raised a brow, teasingly. “Oh? Well! I could try that… if it works for you?”

  I felt my stare grow flinty. “It’s ten A.M. on a Saturday morning,” I said. “I have work to do.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he teased again, standing with his arms at his sides, like a marine on parade. I couldn’t help smiling.

  “Okay,” I said softly. “Let’s go, guys.”

  We all went downstairs. I hung back a little, not wanting my neighbors to necessarily know what I’d been up to. All I needed was a scandal. I followed the guys at a discrete distance until we reached the bottom floor. Then I turned to them.

  “You can get yourselves back okay?” I said. Somehow I felt weird maternal feelings for them.

  Jake shrugged. “Sure. We’ll call a cab. See you?”

  I frowned. “That,” I said cryptically, “remains to be seen.”

  He grinned at me, but Tyler raised a hand.

  “Thanks,” he said as he waved.

  I shook my head impatiently as my chest contracted. I wasn’t used to this fast fairground ride of emotions. I just wanted an easy life, I thought, as I waited for them to go and then got into my car, ready to head off across town for my exercise session.

  CHAPTER 4: TYLER

  I jogged. I worked out. I took a long stroll in the park. I screamed internally I couldn’t shift the thoughts of her. It was terrible.

  I had no idea why either. It wasn’t like I was not experienced. Far from it. I had to admit, though, that I had never had anyone like her.

  She is different.

  I shook my head and leaned back in my chair. I was at home, having lunch. I had spent the whole morning in self-distraction, trying to forget her. The more I tried, the worse it got.

  I looked down at my plate where the remains of enchiladas clung onto the blue-and-white china surface, trying to banish the memories of her soft butt pushed against my groin, my hands clasping her trim waist, the scent of h
er skin; a mix of roses and spice. I sighed.

  “Dammit, Tyler! Get your act together.”

  I knew it was useless, though. I was pretty much hooked.

  What was wrong with me? She was a beautiful girl and we’d had a nice evening and that was all it was.

  “Not a girl, Tyler. A woman.”

  That was the thing: She captivated me because of how different she was. I was used to women who were either there for the thrill of having slept with an NFL player or girls who were fairly naïve, playful, and lighthearted.

  I had never met anyone like her: no one who had that strange blend of detached experience and intensity. I recalled the moment when she’d tensed, afraid, in my arms. Here was a complex person, a person who had needs and wounds; a story to tell.

  I wished she would trust me with it.

  “Tyler Blake,” I said to my reflection where it stared out at me from the glass front of the closet over the sink, “stop being silly.”

  My reflection looked back at me blandly. I stared into my own brown eyes. I had never considered myself particularly good looking. Jake was the classic heartthrob; and Blade, our quarterback, was easily the most rough-and-handsome guy I’d ever seen, with shoulders like my kitchen table and a big, craggy face. I was just, well—ordinary. At times like this, I felt impatient with myself.

  I took stock. Firm jaw, pointed chin—my mom called it “determined” for some reason—and a brow that gave me deep-set eyes. I had a long, straight nose, which I liked, and a high brow, my face a triangular shape that had limited appeal, at least in my eyes.

  “Why would she tell you anything?”

  With her, she would be most likely to tell me when and where to take a hike.

  I chuckled shakily and washed my dishes and then put them in the dishwasher for a proper clean. Stretched out my aching shoulders and tried to remember what the heck I was supposed to be doing this morning.

  The laundry. The dishes. Taking that parcel back to the post office.

  I rolled my shoulders and sighed. I really shouldn’t have spent all that time this morning—it was time I didn’t have to spare—but I needed to try and shake this crazy feeling. I needed to get her out of my thoughts. I should go out.

  But who with?

  I would normally call Jake, but that would have felt odd right now—and that bothered me.

  Jake and I were best friends. Like, serious best friends. We met in high school, when we were sixteen. We went to the same college—football scholarships—and we started playing pro football within a year of each other. We were the running back and the fullback. We worked as a team.

  It was absolutely unthinkable that we would not be friends, or that anything would come between us. I’d known him just under half my life.

  “Come on, Tyler. Just call him.”

  Ridiculously, every time I saw his profile photo I thought of seeing him last night, with her. It wasn’t just the surprise of having seen Jake nude or having sex. I’d almost walked in on him by accident once, so it wouldn’t have been a horrible shock on its own.

  It was having seen it with her.

  Come on, Tyler!

  I had only just met her! I had known Jake fourteen years. Of the two the loyalty I felt should be for him, and I shouldn’t feel jealous.

  I had an idea and picked up my phone, dialing a number.

  “Dax?”

  “Hey!” I heard our cheerful center on the other side. “Tyler! How’s the weekend? You coming to train later?”

  I felt my eyebrow raise. “Okay,” I agreed. “Then maybe we can go out somewhere afterward?”

  “Hell, yeah!” he nodded. “Great.”

  “Should we go to that new place?” I asked.

  “Sure,” Dax agreed. “It was great. Good portions.”

  I laughed. “If you ever lose your appetite, remind me the world’s about to end,” I quipped.

  Dax chuckled. “Yeah. That would be pretty rough. What’s up, Blake?”

  “Why?” I frowned. “Do I sound weird?”

  “A bit,” he said. “You’re not stressed, are you?”

  “I am a bit,” I confessed. “You know how it is.”

  “Girl trouble?” he chuckled. “You bet I know. I tell you what Gabi said?”

  “No,” I said. “And, it’s not girl trouble, but anyway,” I frowned. I hadn’t actually had a stable girlfriend for years. “What were you saying?”

  He chuckled. “Fine. Didn’t mean to put my issues onto you. I was having a fight with my girl last night. I’ll tell you when I see you. I’m at the usual place.”

  “Great,” I nodded. “I’ll be there by…um…two?” Depending on the traffic, it could take me half an hour to get there.

  “Sure. See you then.”

  “See you.”

  I hung up.

  As I drove, I found my mind filling with images from the previous night. It was all things I really didn’t want to think about.

  Jake on top of Ryanne, the way she gasped and screamed in pleasure as he entered her. Ryanne in my arms while he kissed her neck, her chest. I also remembered how it had felt as she pushed against me, that hard butt shoved against my cock. I didn’t want to think about it anymore. I put the radio on.

  “And everyone is gearing up for the big game tonight…” the presenter said.

  I listened with half an ear. There was a big game coming up and if I had any sense I would be there watching it. I wondered if Jake was going.

  Maybe I should call him and ask.

  I reached the sports club, still undecided, and headed in.

  “Dax!” I grinned, finding him near the entrance.

  “Hey!” Dax replied. “Good to see you. Ready to run?”

  “Yeah!” I nodded.

  We headed to the lockers. While I changed, he told me about his news.

  “I had a big fight with Gabi. It’s that damn dining room table.” He sighed, rolling his big shoulders experimentally.

  “Table?” I couldn’t help feeling a little mystified. “What table?” I shrugged my shirt on over my head.

  “This table she wants—she says we need it for entertaining. I say it won’t fit in the room. She was so, so mad at me. As it happens, she was right,” he added with a shrug. “Stupid, huh?” He grinned. “I should know better not to argue with her now.”

  “Well, everyone has dumb arguments sometimes,” I admitted. “I dunno why.”

  “Yeah. I guess we get so caught up in being right.” He shook his head. “Love’s more important than dumb things like that.”

  “Yeah,” I nodded.

  As we headed out onto the track, I thought about what Dax had said. Why was I feeling so resistant to Jake and Ryanne? It was one night with someone neither of us knew. My friendship with Jake should matter so much more. In my own way, I loved Jake as my brother.

  I was thinking so hard about it that I barely noticed that we were jogging.

  “Okay. Whew! Twenty minutes. Great!”

  I stared at Dax, uncomprehending. “Wow.” Had we really just done our usual three miles?

  He chuckled. “You sound surprised.”

  “Yeah!” I nodded. “I was thinking so hard I forgot where I was.”

  He laughed, his skin shining with sweat. “Hell! That’s good. I love it when that happens.”

  I laughed. “Yeah. Makes training a lot less strenuous.” I rolled my shoulders, feeling that great feeling of having worked out. We headed off to the next section of the complex.

  I was just settling down on my mat to do some sit-ups when I saw someone I recognized. Jake.

  He was in the doorway, his mat rolled up under one arm. His handsome face looked thoughtful. He saw me and came over with his mat.

  “Hey,” he said, shy.

  He looked a little embarrassed. I felt embarrassed too. It was hard to look up at him without all the memories of yesterday overwhelming me.

  “Hey,” I nodded. “Having a good day?”

  He gri
nned. “You bet. Want to meet up later?”

  I frowned. “Maybe. I said to Dax we’d go to that new place for dinner.”

  “Oh?” Jake shrugged. “Sounds good. Can I join?”

  “Sure,” I said. I looked down at my hands, absently rubbing at a callus on my palm.

  He settled down on the floor beside me, laying out his own mat and then lying down for the sit-ups. I found myself too awkward to speak.

  “You planning to follow the game later?” Jake asked, looking up at the ceiling.

  “Um…I guess.”

  “We could maybe go to the sports bar instead?” Jake suggested, sitting up experimentally, grunting. “Ow, man…My back hurts.”

  He had a particular grin on his face, and I knew he was thinking precisely why it hurt.

  “Oh,” I said, nonchalantly.

  I didn’t know what to say; how to act. Should I say something, or just act like it never happened?

  The previous night filled the space between us and I couldn’t see him without thinking of it.

  I sat up and found that my back, too, hurt. It had its funny side.

  “I also have a sore back.”

  Jake looked up at me, and then we both laughed. He sat up.

  “That was awesome,” he said.

  I nodded. I noticed Dax giving us a weird look, and it occurred to me that he must know at least a bit about what happened—he had surely seen us leave. I schooled my face to neutral.

  “It was,” I said in a low voice, lying down again. “And weird.”

  “You bet,” Jake nodded. “The great kind of weird, though.”

  “Uh huh,” I said. I lay down and started my sit-ups in earnest. I wondered about his statement. It had been great, and weird. But I wasn’t sure if the greatness outweighed the weirdness—not for me, anyway. And it wasn’t because it was the first time I’d shared a girl with someone before.

  It’s the first time I’ve ever even thought about being jealous of Jake.

  I decided by sit-up twenty that I was being stupid. Like Dax said, there were some things not worth fighting over. And this was one of them.

  Wasn’t it?

  I did my forty sit-ups and collapsed back. My abs were a mass of agony. I lay there, heaving in long, slow breaths.