The Game Changer: A Novel by J. Sterling Page A

and I was just the first stop. “Oh. Well, did you want to do that first?” I tried to hide my disappointment, but my tone betrayed me.
    His thumb traced along my jawline before resting beneath my chin. “Not really. Anything that involves leaving you I’d rather put off until later.”
    Relief washed over me. My lips pressed into a tight smile as I closed my eyes. “Then don’t leave,” I whispered.
    “I don’t ever want to leave you again,” he admitted, as the warmth of his lips brushed across mine.
    “You could live here.” The words spilled out before I consciously thought them.
    Jack’s face relaxed, a peaceful calm spreading across it. “Yeah? You want to live together?”
    His questioning inflection contradicted the happy look on his face, causing me to silently curse myself for being so vulnerable. “It was just an offer. Don’t get all full of yourself over it.”
    He choked back a laugh. “Nothing would make me happier, Kitten, than to know my home is where you are.”
    My heart jumped and thumped against my chest with such force I was surprised I didn’t topple over. “Really?”
    “Really.” His grin widened. “I wasn’t going to leave, anyway.”
    “Oh yeah?”
    “I didn’t move all the way across the country to live alone. I moved here to be with you. And that’s what I’m going to do. Be. With. You.” He stared into my eyes with conviction.
    My insides trembled with desire, heat spreading between my thighs at his confident demeanor. “What if I told you no?” I teased.
    He pressed his forehead to mine, his eyes piercing right through me. “But you didn’t. You want me here just as much as I want to be here, and I know it. I’m not leaving and you won’t make me.”
    “You’re so fucking arrogant.”
    “Is it really arrogance when you’re right?” His lip curled up on one side before crushing his mouth against mine. He swept his tongue teasingly across my bottom lip before he pulled away.
    After all the heartache he’d put me through, nothing could compare to the way I lived in Jack’s presence. The cracks and chips in my heart slowly dragged themselves together whenever he was around. My soul pretended the past damage didn’t matter, as it tugged and pulled itself whole again. I had been shattered and broken, but my body insisted on mending itself for him.
    For Jack.
    Because being with him, no matter how illogical it seemed considering he was responsible for my internal carnage, completed me. We made sense together. Melissa couldn’t have been more right when she described us as “the perfect mess.” I realized her assessment held more truth now than it ever had before.
    “Pizza?” I suggested again, longing for a change of location.
    “Will you at least put on some clothes?”
    I rolled my eyes, knowing it would piss him off. “You first.”

Best Friends
    Jack
    I grabbed Cassie’s hand in mine, locking our fingers together as we walked outside. I glanced around the city, noting the buildings and how different they were from everything back in Southern California. New York looked as old as it was. But it was cool as shit. Even in the chilly air, the city buzzed with an energy I’d never experienced before. New York had swagger. I liked it here already.
    “There it is,” Cassie said with a smile, pointing toward a small green awning up ahead.
    That was quick.
    “Cool.” It looked small as hell. I hustled in front of Cass, pulling the door open before ushering her inside, my hand firmly placed on her ass.
    The smell of fresh bread, cheese, and sauces overwhelmed my senses. My stomach growled as I perused the menu on the wall, the old man behind the counter studying me. I’d gotten used to being stared at, but I convinced myself this guy couldn’t possibly know who I was already. Sure, the trade was reported in the papers and online, but I hadn’t started playing with the team yet.
    “What are you getting, babe?” I asked my girl, mesmerized by the