Page 13 of Hot Route
Please, Baby Doll, just say yes.
She sniffles, taking several moments to think. I know she wants to agree, but I also know she isn’t used to being givenanything in her life. I want nothing more than to change that because she deserves it, but this has to be her own decision.
Finally, she pulls herself back and I immediately feel the loss of her warm body against mine. I grab a random hoodie from beside me and start folding it to stop my hands from reaching back out to her.
“Okay,” she says, softly. Straightening her back, she eyes me before she continues. “But you have to let me help around the house.” I open my mouth to argue, but she cuts me off. “I’m not kidding, Blaze. If I’m staying here, I want to earn my keep. In addition to my duties as your assistant, you’re also going to let me take care of some household chores. I’ll clean up, cook any meals that your chef doesn’t prepare for you, and I get to do the grocery shopping.”
I try to play it cool even though the knots in my stomach have me ready to laugh and puke at the same time. “Alright, roomie. You’ve got yourself a deal,” I say with a smile. She rolls her eyes playfully, grabbing the hoodie from my hands and shaking it out.
“You’re folding it wrong,” she winks.
Fuuuuuuck. What did I just get myself into?
TWELVE
MADS
Today isthe final pop-up shop for Blaze’s clothing line. As fun as it’s been to work with him on preparing these events, I have to say I can’t wait until it’s over. Between my internship, packing my stuff at Sarah’s so I can move into Blaze’s, and making sure today goes off without a hitch, I am exhausted.
I never thought fighting for a position with one of the country’s top media conglomerates would be the easy part of my days, but the work I’m doing at Tailgate has been a breeze. After a week or so of emailing agents and publicists, I was able to secure some pretty decent interviews. It only took me a few of them to find my groove and shake off the nervousness of being around famous athletes. I suppose being in such close proximity to the biggest one on the planet when I’m not in the office helps with that.
I still haven’t mentioned to Jacob, Janine, or any of the other interns that I am also working for Blaze. I checked and it doesn’t go against any company policies, so I didn’t feel like I needed to divulge that information. The last thing I want is for Jacob to offer me the permanent position because he thinks I have an inwith the Blizzard. I want the job more than anything, but I want it because I earned it, fair and square.
“Where do you want these?” Sarah asks, face hidden behind a giant box. I guilted her into helping me today by reminding her that she’s about to be blissfully indisposed with her new fiancée after the weekend and I’ll likely only see her when they come up for air.
Dramatic? Yeah, probably. But it beats interviewing and hiring a staff for just one day. Blaze’s line will be going back to his website after today.
“Right over here,” I reply, leading her to the racks along the side of the boutique. I thought it would be best to have items along the wall that fans will line up at while they wait to meet Blaze. As a kid, I probably came close to sending my parents into bankruptcy with all the candy and trinkets I roped them into buying while we stood in the checkout line at the grocery store. This is that, but with adults.
As we start unboxing the deep blue crewnecks that sport Blaze’s logo, the bell above the back door rings. I look over to find the man of the hour looking absolutely delicious in a pair of gray sweatpants and a black hoodie.
“You’re drooling,” Sarah whispers, crouching down beside me to untangle our mess of hangers. “I don’t blame you. Those pants are as good as lingerie in my eyes. Like, seriously, Tylerwho?” she jokes.
I frantically wipe my mouth and realize that she was fucking with me. She laughs in response. Kicking my foot out to hopefully shut her the fuck up, I wave to Blaze. He sees me immediately and I take off in his direction because there’s no way I’m letting her speak openly in his presence. Sarah would throw me under the bus in a heartbeat for my reaction to the way he looks today.
“Looking good as always, Baby Doll,” he says with a grin. I give him a quick hug, trying not to press my body to his, even though every instinct in my body tells me I should. As close as we’ve gotten and as good as it feels to have his attention, I’m still trying my best to stay professional.
“Thanks,” I reply, looking around the space proudly. “We’ve been setting up since yesterday and I think it turned out better than last time. I wanted to—” I stop speaking when I realize he’s staring at my shirt. He swallows thickly, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat.
“You’re wearing my hoodie.”
Shit. Is he mad?
I look down nervously. I was so hot from running around earlier that I forgot to grab something warm to put over my tank top. My car wasn’t big enough to transport the rest of the boxes this morning, so I drove Blaze’s truck and he brought one of his other cars after he was done at the gym.
“Uh, yeah. Sorry,” I apologize, going to grab for the hem to take it off. “I found it in your back seat. It was cold out?—”
He reaches out and grabs my hand, lingering for a moment before letting me go. “No. Wear it. Please.”
I smile, looking up to see something in his eyes that I’ve never noticed before. If I didn’t know any better, I’d call it heat. But that can’t be right. I’m his assistant. That’s it. Blaze Beckham can have anyone he wants. I’d be stupid to think he sees me in that way at all, no matter how good it would feel if he did.
BLAZE
I’m doing everything I can to connect with my fans today. As grateful as I am that they chose to spend their Sunday standing in a long ass line just to see me, I can’t stop staring at Mads. The sight of her in my clothes is making me fucking crazy. She looks like…mine.It’s covering all the good stuff and it’s about three sizes too big, but she couldn’t be any sexier to me. I imagine gripping onto the hem, bunching it above her ass as I pound into her from behind.
I snap out of my fantasy just in time for the next fan to reach my table. She’s tall and has legs for days in her tight jeans and formfitting jersey. My number twenty-two stretches across her large tits, which are straining against the fabric. Normally, this is exactly the type of woman I get hard for. But as I look at her bright-white smile and clearly bleached blonde hair, I feel absolutely nothing going on below the belt.Weird.
Thankfully, the woman can’t read my thoughts because she smiles sweetly. She’s a fan, so of course I extend my hand to shake hers.
