Playing the Game by Jl Paul Page A

like
a carousel at the end of a ride. Anger percolated again. What the
hell was my problem? He told me he didn’t want me yet he kisses me
senseless every time I’m near him. And I let him!
    “ Jess, you need to stop
kissing me like that,” I said in as firm a tone as I could
muster.
    He cocked his head. “Wasn’t it good for
you?”
    “ That’s beside the point,”
I said, turning my eyes slightly away and hoping to hide my blush.
“You don’t like me that way. You said so.”
    “ Nah, Aubrey, you’re sadly
mistaken.” He leaned on the table encroaching on my personal space.
“I never said I didn’t like you. I do happen to like you. That
way.” He winked. “I just don’t wear my heart on my sleeve like you
do.”
    “ But why…?”
    “ I said I couldn’t date you. It’s not
fair.” He unwrapped one of my hands from my water bottle and twined
his fingers with mine. “I haven’t decided what to do with you
yet.”
    “ I am not a stray puppy
you found on the side of the road,” I pouted, a little outraged
still.
    He laughed. “You sound like Kendra. No
wonder you two got along.”
    I ducked my head and admired the complicated
grain of his beautiful kitchen table. Anger intermingled with hurt.
Was he pushing me away or telling me he wanted to give us a try? I
definitely wasn’t going to ask. I was too afraid of what his answer
would be.
    “ Aubrey,” he groaned. I
peered at him through my lashes. His hold on my hand tightened. “I
explained this to you.” He released my hand and grabbed my chin,
forcing me to look at him. “Yes, Aubrey, I have feelings for you –
always have. But do you possibly think things between us would
work?”
    “ How do you know they
wouldn’t?” I asked, anger resurfacing.
    He let go of my chin and sat back in his
chair. “I don’t.” He stared into my eyes and I didn’t flinch. I
could do this. I could stand up to him. But his gaze didn’t waver
and my eyes began to water.
    When the doorbell rang, Jess grinned.
“Pizza.”
    He leapt gleefully from the chair and
sprinted off to answer the door. With a hopeless sigh, I heaved my
body from my seat. I opened cabinets until I found plates as he
dropped the pizzas on the table. Lifting the lid of the top box, he
inhaled deeply, eyes closed. His groan was orgasmic and it made
those sparks of desire fire up in my gut.
    “ Use a plate,” I ordered,
aiming my concentration on his bad table manners and not on his
sexy face.
    “ Yes, dear,” he said in a
wicked tone. He took a plate from my hand and crammed three slices
of his disgusting pizza on it. “Sorry. I have no manners.” He set
his plate down and moved his pizza to the side. He opened the other
box, selected two slices, and placed them on my plate.
“Better?”
    “ Sure,” I mumbled.
“Thanks.”
    “ Not a problem, sweetheart ,” he said,
impish glint in his eyes. He devoured three quarters of his pizza
while I nibbled on the two slices in front of me. Usually, I had a
healthy appetite. Well, for the most part, anyway. But my nerves
had my stomach jumping more than an ice cube in a blender and I was
afraid anything I ate would come right back up. I couldn’t deal
with that.
    I took the opportunity to study him while he
ate. I’d nearly forgotten my reason for coming to see him. He
didn’t seem in the least concerned about his shoulder and didn't
appear to be in any discomfort. But I knew Jess. I scrutinized him
closer. A little pain was etched around his eyes and it touched my
heart. I couldn’t mention it outright, however, so I held it in for
now. I needed a chance to figure it out before I proceeded.
    After we ate, I decided I needed to get
home. Jess walked me to the door without argument. He kissed me
again, taking me by surprise.
    “ We’ll play it by ear,” he
muttered against my lips. I smiled against his in response and it
took the entire ride home to get my heart under any kind of
control.
    As I tossed and turned in my bed that