Page 24 of Tempting the Player
I gawp at him like he’s crazy. “You want to go shopping?”
“I want to go wherever you are, and if that’s the Trafford Centre, then so be it. We can shop for a while, and when you’re done, we can go for something to eat before we have to pick the girls up.”
I smile at him, “I’d like that. Can we call at my house so I can change? My dress or your t-shirt would not work at the Trafford Centre.”
He checks out my legs, which are exposed in his t-shirt. “You look sexy as hell in my top, if I had my way, you’d stay like that forever . . . but yes, we can swing by your house, seeing as I’d punch someone’s lights out if they looked at your legs while we were out.”
I shake my head at him and laugh.
He suddenly grabs my hand across the kitchen table. “I'm so happy that you decided to give me a chance, babe. I won’t let you down - I care about you and I'm going to make you smile like you’re smiling right now, every single day. Let me woo you . . . you deserve to be wooed.”
“I like the idea of being wooed, it's never happened before.” I grin at him. “I'm glad I gave you a chance, too. Come on,” I say, patting his thigh. “We’ve got shopping to do.”
I put on my dress again and cover it with one of his t-shirts so that I don’t look like a total hussy, and he gets dressed indark jeans and a black t-shirt with a motif on it. He looks hot, like he does in everything, and today he’s going to be seen with me! Him and me together. Women will be ogling him, and he’s mine! I love that, I’ll be able to hold his hand and put my arm around him.Love it!
He waits downstairs in my house while I get changed. It’s a sunny May day, so I wear my knee-length denim Capri pants and a white vest top, brush my hair, and pile it up on my head in a loose ponytail. I put on my favourite yellow sandals, and add a little bronzer and lip gloss. I check out my reflection – am I good enough to be seen with a hot rugby player? I’ll have to be because this is as good as it gets. I'm not going to be anything other than me, I’ll never be a glamour girl, the type that puts on her makeup before she leaves the house every morning - not that there’s anything wrong with that, if anything I'm always rather envious that they look good first thing in a morning on the school run - but I’m not programmed that way.
I run downstairs, and when I get to the bottom, he’s waiting for me there. I give him a big smile.
He places his hands on my waist, holds me at arm’s length. “You look beautiful, Kate.”
I put my hand on his chest. “Behave.” I’ll never be able to take a compliment well.
“No, I mean it, babe.” My stomach does that fluttery thing when he calls me 'babe'. I get that it’s a term that many men and women use, and it means nothing, but when he says it to me, I love it, it makes me feel like I'm his.
He carries on, “I can’t stop smiling that everyone seeing us together today, will think we're a couple... stupid, I know.”
My heart drops. Thinking we're a couple?Stupid me, I thought we were one.
He must see the disappointment in my face. “What did I say?” he frowns.
“Nothing,” I say, giving him a small smile. “Come on, let’s go.”
“Hey, tell me what I said. I'm sorry, am I going too fast for you?”
I shake my head. “No, it’s not that. I just thought that we were a couple... sort of . . . or trying to be.”
“We are, I meant that people would assume we are and that I like it.”
He lets go of me to run his fingers through his hair. He looks back up at me softly. “Cards on the table here, I want to be with you. You know that, and everyone around here knows that after the idiot I made of myself last night. The fact that you want me to refer to us as a couple? Well, that makes me happy . . . really fucking happy, I'm not just saying that, it really does . . . it’s all I want. I'm really into you, I want this to work - but I'm scared of screwing it up again.”
I bite my lip. I've created that fear in him because I've messed him around so much, he doesn’t have a clue where he stands. I slide my hand around the back of his neck to pull him towards me. He responds, and his mouth meets mine. It’s a slow, languid kiss full of promise of fantastic things to come.
“Come on,” he says, grabbing my hand. His voice sounds rough. Emotion? Lust? Maybe both, I don’t know him well enough to figure it out yet, but I smile to myself when I realise that Iwillbe getting to know him well enough to know what every sound he makes means.
I smile at him, “Let me get my bag.”
He nods. “I’ll wait in the car.” He pecks me on the cheek and walks out.
I slide into his gorgeous black Land Rover, which is totally him, squirming in my seat as I watch him drive, feeling hot! He senses me watching him and looks up, grinning, then gives me a wink, which makes me worse.
Moaning and groaning is expected when I tell him I have to go to The Disney Store, but as it turns out, it doesn’t matter if you’re a man or woman, you have a four-year-old daughter, you’re a regular at the Disney store - he doesn't seem fazed by it at all. I browse around and pick up what I need for Jess’s birthday. I could spend hundreds of pounds, but I have to restrain myself. I drag him into a couple of other shops. Halfway around, he grabs hold of my hand, and it's lovely.
There are so many places to choose from when we go to eat, but I'm in the mood for tapas – I'm always in the mood for tapas – so he takes me to La Tasca. He insists on paying for everything, and the food is delicious.
On the way home, he rests his left hand on my thigh when he doesn’t need it . . . it’s comforting. As we're nearing our neighbourhood, I should bring up our ‘thing’, whatever that is, and what’ll happen at school and in front of the girls.
“I'm kinda nervous about seeing you at school tomorrow.” I shift my body so that it’s half facing him.
