Page 10 of Tight End

No one ever tells you this, but being a parent is like walking around a Lego minefield in the dark with no shoes, desperately trying to find the light switch. Sometimes you’re lucky and you find the switch, and sometimes you get a little piece of plastic embedded in your foot.

Even after three years, I still get frazzled. I still make mistakes.

“I have no idea what I’m doing most of the time. Being a parent is mostly fear, and it’s a rare occasion where you realize you’ve done something right the first time. We’re lucky, though.” I look over at Oliver, a smile stretching across my face. “Oli is a great kid. Smart, thoughtful, and very rarely throws a tantrum.”

“He always this quiet?” Ryan’s brows scrunch together. “Can he talk okay?”

“He has a little trouble withV’s, but trust me, he has his moments where he talks my ear off. He’s more of an observer. Unlike most people, he thinks before he talks.” My eyes widen and I reach out toward him. “Not saying that about you. Obviously I don’t know you and?—”

“June, it’s okay.” He covers my hand with one of his own. His thumb caresses the width of my palm, and a spark of electricity shoots down my spine.

My body is on high alert, my nerve endings zapping like a live wire, and I’m acutely aware of every millimeter of his skin that’s touching mine. His hands are rough, transporting me right back to our night together four years ago.

I loved how they felt on my body, palming my breasts, squeezing my nipples, and gripping my hips so tight I wore his bruises for days. He was rough when I needed him to be, gentle when he curled me into his chest and let me fall asleep—it was perfect—he was perfect. And fuck, he was the only man to ever make me come, to make me scream, to play my body so expertly I had no choice but to shatter around him until I barely knew my own name. He was relentless in his pursuit to give me a pleasure I’ve never felt before, to show me how it should be.

My eyes don’t leave his, and I can’t help but shift in mychair, rubbing my thighs together, trying desperately to give myself even the smallest reminder of what this man can do.

His hand tightens around mine, and his gaze falls to my lips.

I want to feel them on mine. On me.

I want to lose myself in this man, give in as pleasure incapacitates me and I’m no more than putty in his capable hands.

The air around us thickens, charged with an electricity I’ve never felt before. Not even then.

His blue eyes darken, reflecting a tropical storm, a sea of rioting emotions.

He leans toward me. My breath catches in my throat.

“Mom, can I have some water?”

I let out a squeak, pushing away from the table so fast the chair almost flies out from underneath me.

What the hell was that? Am I really that starved for affection that I’m ready to jump the bones of the first man who’s touched me in years? And not just any man, mind you. The father to my child. The freaking father to my child. Holy crap.Holy crap. I can’t do this. I can’t have a repeat of that night with him—even if he’s interested, which I’m sure he’s not.

No way.

If the crowd outside the stadium was any indication, he’s at least somewhat famous. Women want men like him to sign their tits, and mine have little stretch marks on the sides. Real sexy, huh? I don’t even think I own a good bra anymore. They’re mostly old nursing bras ... not that I want him to see them.

Dammit, June, get it together.

I wasn’t ready for a relationship last time Ryan and I were together, and I certainly don’t have time now. There’s barely enough time in the day for me to take care of myself.

Shuffling quickly into the kitchen, I glance behind me, making sure to look toward Oliver and not the tempting man sitting at my kitchen table. “Sure thing.”

I grab his dinosaur cup from the pantry, making sure to grab a glass for myself, and fill them both with water from the fridge. Before turning around and making my way to the living room, where I will inevitably have to meet Ryan’s gaze, I take a drink. And another. And another until my glass is empty and there’s water trickling down my chin.

“You okay, June?” Ryan’s voice is hesitant, and I whirl around, plastering the biggest smile I can muster across my face.

His jaw is tight, and his entire face is an unreadable mask. I have no idea whether everything I felt was one-sided or if he felt it too. It would be better for us both if that whole thing was in my head and my head only. He might be Oliver’s dad, but he’s still a stranger, and my life is already complicated. I don’t need the strings around us to become so crossed, so tight, they trap us both.

My hand tightens around the dino cup and I nod. “Never better.”

He doesn’t say anything, but his eyes follow me the entire way into the living room. I can feel them on me, the awareness prickling along my skin.

Oliver takes the cup with a quiet “thank you” and sets it down on the coffee table. It’s time to turn around and finish our conversation, hoping to all things holy I’ve managed to tamp down the lust swimming through my veins and tainting my brain.

But I don’t get a chance.

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