I cracked two eggs and they sizzled against the hot pan. Using the spatula, I flicked some of the bacon grease on top of them, hoping Jenny liked her eggs the same way I did. What a fucking night.
“Hey.”
Jenny walked into the kitchen in nothing but one of my button-up business shirts. Her hair was pretty much perfect, like she just woke up that way. She rubbed her eyes. “What time is it?”
“Ten a.m.”
“What?” She looked left, and then right, and then down at her outfit. “I’m late for work!”
It was quite the morning entertainment, watching her freak out for a minute. She was gorgeous and cute when she first woke up.
“Don’t worry. I already called and told them you wouldn’t be in today. And they still think I’m out of town.”
She looked like she was still half asleep, trying to figure out the daytime. “You can do that?”
“Umm, yeah.” I nodded and scooped the eggs onto a couple of plates. “I’m kind of the boss.”
Jenny stared inquisitively for a brief second, then shrugged. “Okay.” She walked to the refrigerator and pulled out some orange juice as I set the plate on the island bar in the middle of my kitchen.
“Glasses?”
“Oh, got ’em.” I retrieved two glasses from a cabinet and we sat down next to each other on a couple of barstools.
“This smells good. Never thought you’d know how to cook.” Jenny gave me a nudge with her elbow and flashed me a grin.
How was she so beautiful right after she’d woken up? I watched her as she cut up the eggs on her plate and then I looked around at the house, and then back at her. The place was different when she was there. It felt like a home and not just somewhere to sleep when I wasn’t working.
“So, what do you want to do today?” I stabbed a piece of egg with my fork.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I think we should do some more of what we did last night.”
I leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “I agree.”
This was nice. I could get used to it. I’d have been lying to myself if I said it wasn’t a relief to have finally moved past all the uncomfortable shit between us. I didn’t have to ask her out for the first time or relive any of that first date horseshit I’d gotten myself into by being a jackass. I was sure I’d screw things up again at some point in the future so I needed to just be honest with her from then on. After the amazing night we had I’d finally realized that we were stronger when we were together as opposed to being pitted against each other.
I glanced over at Jenny and I couldn’t help but wonder what she thought about all of this. Was she excited? Nervous? Did she think she’d made a mistake? I wanted to know more about her—her past and what made her tick.
She set her fork down and looked over at me. “What were you like as a kid?”
I sat there for a few long seconds trying to regain my thoughts. “What?”
“You heard me. What were you like as a kid?”
“Why do you ask?” It wasn’t like my childhood was an off-limits conversation, I just didn’t talk about it much and it took me by surprise.
Jenny ate like a man, shoveling bacon and egg into her mouth. It was fascinating, and made her all that much more intriguing to me—mainly because she seemed relaxed, more comfortable around me.
“Because I want to know more about you, silly.”
Add talking with her mouth full of food to the list of things I liked about her.
“Okay, well, most of my childhood was spent with my dad and my grandmother. And most of it was playing baseball or doing regular kid stuff. I grew up in the city. What about you?”
She stared for a long moment. “What happened to your mom?”
“She left when I was very young. I haven’t seen her since.”
Jenny clutched her fork so tightly I could see the whites of her knuckles. What the fuck? She glared. “Is this some kind of joke? One of your games? Because it isn’t funny.”
Jesus.
“What’s your problem? You asked about my childhood and I told you.”
“I don’t believe you.”
I sat there in a daze. Things were going so well, and then she turned to Mr. Hyde. “I’m not sure what to tell you.” I picked up my cellphone and swiped the screen.
“What are you doing?”
“Calling my grandmother so you can ask her.”
She set the fork down and took my phone out of my hand. “Seriously? You’re telling the truth?”
“Umm, yes. What is your deal?”
She looked down at her plate. “I’m sorry. I thought you were just trying to get to me.” She looked back up. “You just put me on edge sometimes. I’m sorry.”
“Why would that put you on edge?”
“My mom left me and my dad too.”
It explained a lot more than her reaction. No wonder we were so much alike, both walking around with that chink in our armor. “So that’s why all the baseball knowledge?” I chuckled.
“Raised by a single father.”
“I know how that goes.” We both smiled and I raised my glass of orange juice. “To dads.”
She laughed and we clinked glasses. It was childish and silly and I loved it. Maybe, just maybe, Matt was wiser than I thought he was, because I found myself mesmerized and caught up in Jenny Jackson in a way I never thought possible.
“So, maybe we do some more cardio during the morning, and then an afternoon lunch date?”
She resumed shoveling breakfast into her mouth at a breakneck pace. “Sounds good. I just need to call my friend Kelsey and make sure she can stay with my dad. And only if you promise to talk dirty to me.” She glanced over and shook her head, mouth still full of food. “Your filthy mouth does things to me down there.” She pointed below her waist with her fork.
I leaned in next to her ear and cupped one of her soft tits through my shirt, which she was still wearing, tweaking her nipple between my fingers. Her head flew back and a light sigh escaped her lips. “How about I do some dirty shit to you right now in the kitchen?”
“Shit,” she said on a breathy exhale.
Jenny and I sat across from each other at the Italian place where the fake first date went down. We decided it would be funny. Both of us were starving after fucking in just about every room of my place, in every position imaginable.
“I’m not going to be able to walk tomorrow.”
“Yeah, about that—sorry not sorry.” I tossed her a playful wink.
We’d stopped by her place earlier to drop off her car and she changed into what I assumed was her out of work attire. She truly was like night and day. A Texas Rangers gray tee clung tight to her and a pair of jean shorts reached halfway down her thigh. And of course flip-flops. She looked comfortable, like her clothes were her transformation from Work Jenny to Carefree Jenny.
“Such a dick.” Her words were playful and she smiled. “You know we have to go back to work tomorrow.”
“I think we should just do this every day.” I reached out and grabbed her hand. My thumb brushed back and forth across her knuckles.
“It’s pretty nice, isn’t it?”
I nodded.
“So how’d you end up a sports agent?”
“Crazy story really. Or not. Matt and I were teammates in college. I was a pitcher and he played outfield like he does now.”
Jenny’s face lit up. She really did love baseball, and that was completely awesome about her.
“But you knew that already. Of course.” I waved a hand forward to accentuate my statement. “Anyway, we were both projected to be first-rounders after our senior year. Halfway through the season I heard a pop in my elbow. Never played again.”
“Brutal. Tommy John?”
“Yeah, they did the surgery. Still didn’t bounce back. I was a finance major already.” I tapped my index finger on my temple. “Had to have a backup plan because nothing is guaranteed, obviously. So, I finished up my degree and took on Matt as my first client. And thus”—I held my hands out—“Mason and Associates was born.”
“Interesting. Do you miss it?”
I hadn’t thought about what it was like playing baseball in years. It all rushed back with her little four-word question. “I try not to think about it—”
“I’m sorry.” She dropped her head down to stare at her place setting.
I leaned over and lifted her chin with my index finger. “You didn’t let me finish.” I smiled into her innocent blue eyes. “Yes, I do. There’s nothing better than staring down a hitter right before you strike his ass out.”
“It’s a great game, isn’t it?”
“It really is. I need to get out to the ballpark more often. I spend all my time in meetings and staring at contracts.”
“And back-talking me.”
Her deadpan delivery did me in. I nearly choked on my water. “You were definitely a surprise.”
“Never had a woman give the shit right back to you, huh?”
“I’ve never had anyone give the shit right back to me.”
“Well, maybe if you weren’t such a dick all the time, people wouldn’t be so afraid of you. You’re a pretty great guy outside of the office. You know that, right?”
I straightened up. Jenny must’ve noticed.
“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be rude.” She sunk into her chair a bit.
“No, sorry. Force of habit. I just—I do things a certain way, run my business a certain way—I have my reasons.” I glanced out the window at the cars flying by in the street.
“Which are?”
Her persistence was annoying and cute at the same time. “You’re not letting this one go, are you?” I grinned.
She twirled a lock of brunette hair around her finger and shook her head slowly at me, smiling from ear to ear.
“Fine. Look, my—”
“Are you folks ready to order?” The waiter appeared seemingly out of nowhere at the side of our table.
“Yes,” I shot back at once.
Jenny laughed. “Saved by the waiter.”
We ordered our food. I took far longer than needed, hoping she’d forget all about her question, which she did. She was smart but I was still a master at distracting people.
We finished up lunch and I held her hand and had my driver take her to her house. I rode in the back, of course, and walked her to her door when we arrived.
“Today was fun. It was nice to get a break from reality.”
Ouch. Was she talking about dealing with her father’s illness? Or did it mean today was just a fling and tomorrow we’d be back to butting heads at the office?
I ran my hand along the side of her face and pushed a few strands of hair over her ear. She leaned her cheek into my palm.
“I want to do it again.” I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers. She always tasted sweet, like some kind of watermelon lip gloss. The kiss started to heat up, and I had her pressed up against the door.
She placed her hand on my chest and pushed me away. “I do too.” She grinned. “But I have to go.”
I held her hand and stared at her for a few seconds too long.
“What is it? Do I have something on my face?” She tried to move her hand but I gripped it tighter.
“No. I just want to look at you a second more.”
Her face flushed with pink, and then she leaned out and kissed me one more time. “Okay, you got your look. Now go, before I end up yanking you into my house.”
“Well, now, there’s an—”
She shoved me once more, playfully of course. “Go!”
“See you tomorrow?”
She opened her door and nodded to me. “At work.”
“Fine. Make us work.” I started down her steps. “Ruin all the fun, Jenny. Always so serious.”
I turned back to get one more look at her smiling. I even got some teeth. She waved and then her door closed. I missed her already.