Page 48 of Vegas Heat

Stacy never once brought up my father, and Gabby is bringing him up a week after knowing me. She’s asking about him…asking aboutme. She cares aboutme, the guy who works with kids and might move to Vegas to accept a job offer. She wants to be withme, not the All-Star MVP third baseman.

It’s a breath of fresh air.

Sheis a breath of fresh air.

And I don’t want to stop breathing her in.

CHAPTER 21: GABBY

This place is pretty sweet for a guy who works with a kids’ fitness organization for a living.

I know that’s not what he does, exactly, but I can’t imagine he’s making big bucks from his current place of employment. At least not enough to finance this fancy apartment—and he knows I’m smart enough to figure that out.

I decide not to ask. He’ll tell me when he’s ready. I’ll tell him I already knew, and then we’ll just move forward from there.

I have to admit, though, I’m curious as towhenhe’s going to admit what he used to do.

I get the sense he likes keeping it in his past, though I’m not exactly sure why. From what I gather about his ex-girlfriend based on snippets here and there, I can’t help but wonder whether she was with him because of his job, not because she actually loved him.

I imagine that happens far more often than it should in his former industry, and my heart breaks for him that someone would treat him the way she did. He’s such a good guy. He didn’t deserve that.

He ordered up lunch from the restaurant inside his apartment complex, and we eat out on the balcony. I’ve been here at his place for an entire hour already, and neither of us has even brought up sex yet since we’ve been so busy talking.

The snarky voice inside my head reminds me to tell Mia that we made it past the first hour without sex, but even if we didn’t, it wouldn’t have made a difference to me.

That flame burns bright, and each passing second we spend together, it gets more and more dazzling.

Once we finish lunch, we take a walk and end up at a cute little area with restaurants, shops, and bars that Cooper refers to as the Gaslamp Quarter. It’s only about a ten-minute walk from his place, and we find ourselves strolling along, hand-in-hand as we duck in and out of shops. He wears his hat pulled down low as usual, we steal kisses on the sidewalk, and we stop in one dive bar for a drink before we head back to his place.

On the walk back, he nods in the direction we just came from. “Another few miles that way is my office.”

“Have you talked to your boss yet?” I ask.

“Oh, Jesus. I forgot to tell you.” He snaps his fingers—the ones on the hand that isn’t holding mine. “It was that day we had phone sex, and then the week just got away from me. But yes, I talked to her. I told her I’m moving to Vegas, but I’ll still be able to help out from there.”

“How will you be able to help from Vegas?” I ask. He hasn’t told me much about what he does, just that it’s some organization and he gets to work with kids and help them become stronger and more athletic.

“It’s a long story.”

“I’m here all weekend,” I joke.

“When I first started working at StrongFitKids, the company partnered with the San Diego school district to promote healthy and active lifestyles for kids. I had a co-programming director, but she relocated to Vegas. When she moved, she proposed this idea to rework the program we were using in schools to get it into fitness clubs—so kids could go there while their parents worked out in the adult area. Her husband owns a chain of fitness clubs in Vegas, and she started it there. It’s been really successful so far, but Kaylee’s gotten really overwhelmed with all the work. Plus she just had twins in January, so she could use some help in Vegas since it’s growing so quickly. And Carla could use some help here in San Diego, too.”

“I’m looking for an internship for next semester,” I say. “I might be able to help out with your Vegas friend if there’s any sort of marketing angle to it.”

He considers that for a beat. “I’ll talk to her. I have a buddy whose daughter might be interested in helping out, too, but I’m still waiting to hear back from him.”

“Let me know. My advisor told me on Monday it’s never too early to start looking for opportunities. I think my dad might have something for me, but it doesn’t hurt to come up with a few options to make Dr. Foley happy.”

We arrive back at the building and head upstairs after a quick stop to a corner market so he can pick up some Slim Jims because, according to him, the four he has left feels like a really small supply, and as soon as we get inside, he kicks the door shut behind me and backs me up into it, his eyes dark with lust as he stalks his prey.

His lips slam down to mine, and we kiss in his foyer until I’m completely breathless. He is, too, and we both pant as his lips drag from mine down to my neck. His scruff is rough against my skin, a reminder that this isn’t just some dream but I’m really here with him.

His hips drive against mine, and I feel his erection against my side.

“I need you,” he says, his voice low and gritty and full of longing. “I love every second I get to spend with you,” he says, kissing my neck some more as I lean my head back to give him more space to work with. “Clothed or naked. Talking or silence. Laughing or not. But you’ve been here six hours, and right now, I need to fuck you like I need to take my next breath.”

Whoa.

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