Infamous: A Bad Boy Sports Romance Novel (20 page)

But I did wake from the incredible amount of pressure on my bladder. My eyes flew open and I shot up, barely registering it as he jumped in surprise.

“Where are we?”

“Not far out of the city. You okay?”

I looked around at my surroundings and shook my head. There was no way I’d make it home.

“I need to pee.”

“I’ll pull off at the next gas station. I got to fill the tank back up anyway.”

After I distractedly nodded, I pulled the seat back into sitting position and drew my knees closer to my chest, concentrating on anything other than how badly I needed to urinate.

I was thanking all the gods in heaven for my good fortune when I spotted a gas price sign only a few miles later.

“There!” I shouted, startling Jared once again as I frantically pointed at the sign. “Station. Right there. Pull off.”

He chuckled and even as he turned the signal on to change lanes said, “Eh... I don’t know if I want to stop here. I bet you can wait until—”

“Finish that sentence and I will slap you,” I growled.

He laughed, but said nothing. He pulled up to a pump and started to say something but I was charging out of the car and into the convenience store before he could get a full sentence out.

Once I emptied my bladder and washed my hands, I exited the store with a relieved smile. Jared was standing next to the car shaking his head at me, but with a wide grin stretched across his face.

“You know, I was going to offer you some cash to buy snacks or something.”

I raised my hands in the air and shook my head. “No, no, no. The last thing I need is something to drink. Otherwise I’ll be needing to stop again before we get home.”

He gave me a funny look and cocked his head to the side, but before I could question it, his smile was widening and he reached out to tug me closer to him. He slung one arm around my waist and we watched the price on the pump rise in silence, his thumb circling over my navel as we stood together. It was yet another moment with Jared where everything just felt... right. Perfect.

And just as I was entertaining the thought of what it would be like to really be together, my perfect little world came crashing down.

A flash of light drew our attention at the exact same moment and we swung our faces to the side just in time to watch as an unknown man snapped another photo with his cell phone. Jared stepped away from me and started to move to approach the man, shouting, “
Wait!
” as the guy hopped into his car and sped off. Jared cursed loudly before returning back to the car and taking the nozzle out of the tank.

“Oh my god,” I muttered numbly. “We—He’s—Jared, what—”

“It was a cell phone, April,” Jared pointed out as he placed his hands on my shoulders and turned me to face him. “It wasn’t a pap shot.”

“Then why did he take off like that?” I asked, looking between his eyes and shaking my head. “We’re right outside the city, Jared. You damn well know it was photographer. He just didn’t have his camera ready.”

Stubborn as always, Jared shook his head.

“Get in the car, April. It’s going to be fine.”

“But—”

“Get. In. The. Car,” he said, harshly stressing each word. “We’ll talk about it after I get you home. Okay?”

Considering I really didn’t have a choice and I was still stunned from the feeling of getting caught so early in our quasi-relationship, I dumbly nodded and walked to the passenger side. Jared followed behind me and opened the door, waiting until I was buckled before gently closing it.

The rest of the ride was spent in total silence. I realized that Jared understood the severity of the situation when he didn’t comment about the heavy lunch-hour traffic.

Regardless of what he said, we both knew it was going to be far from ‘fine’.

I
carried
our bags up to April’s apartment, paying close attention to how she numbly unlocked the door and stepped inside without so much as a glance back at me. Once the door was closed, I began the conversation I’d been mentally planning during the ride home in an attempt to ease her worries.

“Baby, listen—”

“I need you to go home.”

“
What?
Look, I still think—”

April held up a hand and I snapped my mouth closed at the look on her face. I expected anger or panic but instead, she just looked... resigned.

“Jared, you know that picture is going to show up somewhere—if not in a tabloid, then on social media. Which Lauren monitors. Believe me, I would know. It’s over.”

For a long moment, I was struck silent. I swallowed hard around the lump in my throat and asked, “What’s over?”

I hoped she couldn’t tell how afraid I was of her answer. We hadn’t even gotten a chance to fucking start. She couldn’t possibly be referring to us.

I hoped.

April smiled sadly and I could tell that she knew. She raised a hand a gestured between us, shaking her head when my eyes widened with disbelief.

“This....
whatever
,” she said, unwilling to define our relationship, “It was only a matter of time before it got out. Once I started to show, Lauren would’ve put two and two together herself.”

I waited for further explanation and when nothing came, I asked, “So you aren’t cutting me out of your life?”

“Of course not. But for right now... I need you to go. I have to figure out how to handle this.”

“I can—”

“
Alone
,” she stressed, giving me a pointed look that warned me against calling Lauren myself and pleading her case. A moment later, her expression softened and she said, “I’m not mad, Jared. At you or the photographer or anyone else. I just need space.”

I nodded absentmindedly. “Are you going to tell her?”

April looked petrified, but hardened her jaw. “I think so. I think it’ll be better if I just come clean before those pictures possibly start circulating.”

I stepped closer to April and cupped her cheeks, staring down at her seriously as I said, “If she fires you, just remember that you’re smart as fuck and that you
will
find another job. And until then... I’ll take care of you. Both of you.”

I slid one hand over her stomach and smiled when she placed one on top and curled her fingers between mine.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “Now go. I need a few hours to myself to figure out what I’m going to tell Lauren and my parents.”

“I’ll go on one condition.”

April groaned. “More sex?”

I laughed and lifted an eyebrow. “Well, if you’re offering, I wouldn’t say no. But that’s not what I was going for.”

“What is it?”

“Lee’s getting married next weekend and I’m the best man. Since you’re going to tell Lauren about us... I was hoping that you’d be my date,” I said nervously, clearing my throat before I added, “I’d pay for the plane ticket and you’d be welcome to stay with me. Or I could get you a hotel room. Whatever you want.”

April blinked a number of times, her eyebrows slowly unfurrowing as a lazy smile spread across her lips. I wasn’t entirely sure what was causing her reaction was coming from until she finally asked, “Your date? Funny, I was under the impression that you didn’t date.”

“I don’t,” I argued, gritting my teeth together when she raised a mocking eyebrow. “Or... I didn’t.”

April wasn’t smiling anymore; she was wearing a smug-ass grin.

“You want to
date
me now? Be my white knight and hold my hand?”

Mocking tone aside—that didn’t sound half bad. It took me a long moment before I finally recalled saying those words to her on one of the first days we met. When I claimed that those were things I didn’t want.

“Don’t mock me,” I growled when I realized she was laughing. “I still want to do all those others things to you as well.”

“You have, and you do them quite well. I can admit that.”

She was clearly extending the branch, so I sighed and said, “Then I’ll admit that maybe I was wrong.”

“Maybe?”

“Can you just—You know what? Never mind. Yeah, I was totally wrong. I
do
want those things. I want to take you out and fucking hold your hand while we walk through the goddamn park. Are you satisfied?”

“Not yet,” April said, gesturing for me to continue as she barely contained her laughter.

“Damn it, woman.
Fine
. I want it all—everything I said that day and everything I didn’t say. All of it. I want it all with
you
.”

It was startling to discover that, in my frustration, I had managed to say something right. Because April’s laughter came to an abrupt stop and she stepped close enough to wrap her arms around my back. I curled mine around her out of habit while I mentally ran through what I’d said, trying to figure out which part had caused such a good reaction.

“Jared?”

“Yeah?”

“I think I’d like to be your girlfriend.”

That was an entirely new concept to me and the effect her words had on my rapidly beating heart made me forget about trying to figure out what I’d done right.

Because it really didn’t matter.

“I’d like that, too, princess.”

“Stop calling me princess.”

“Whatever you say, kitten.”

* * *

H
ours later
, I was staring out the window and watching the city as it progressively got further and further away. Once the plane got high enough to pull through the clouds and remove it from my sight entirely, I leaned back into my seat and closed my eyes.

“Mr. Moore?”

My eyes flew open and darted to my right at the sound of my name in a semi-familiar voice. It took me a second to recognize her, but when I did, I just barely managed to stifle my groan.

Horny, aggressive flight attendant chick giggled before she asked, “Remember me?”

Unfortunately.

“Sure. Can I get a beer?” I asked, keeping my tone polite, but dismissive.

Just take the hint
, I silently pleaded.

But she leaned in over the empty seat beside me and suggestively said, “You can get anything you want.
Anything
.”

I reared back as she got way too close for comfort, the back of my skull colliding with the window. The view down her top was as pleasant as I remembered, but I couldn’t have cared less.

The grip I had on my irritation slipped the closer she got to me and when I glanced around and realized that a helpful coworker wouldn’t save me this time, I let go of the leash on my mouth.

“Listen, sweetheart. The only thing on this plane that I want…” I said quietly, trailing off and leaning my head in a little closer like I was going to tell her a secret. “Is that fucking beer I asked for.”

As she reeled back in anger, I reached under my seat for my bag and dug out my notebook. I could feel her eyes boring into the side of my skull—still not fetching me my requested beverage—so I turned and gave her an irritated, “
What?
”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “The whole asshole routine is annoying. Just stop toying with me.”

“Toying with you?” I asked incredulously, shaking my head. “Let me spell it out for you: I’m. Not. Interested.”

She scoffed and lean back in, lowering her voice so the other passengers wouldn’t hear.

“Come off it. I know all about your reputation and I also know that I live up to your standards.”

“Maybe in the past,” I admitted with a shrug, taking a final glance down her shirt before fixing her with a flat look. “But not anymore.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because I’ve got a girlfriend,” I said, smiling both at how it felt to say those words and the absolutely stunned look on her face. I opened the notebook and looked away before I asked, “Now how about that beer? And keep them coming—I’ve got a speech to write and I’d prefer to not be coherent while I do it.”

I watched her move away from the corner of my eye and a minute later, she returned with my beer. I popped the cap and took a long swig, grateful when she immediately walked away to check on the other passengers.

There were far more pressing matters for me to worry about than random fame-hungry women. The blank page in front of me being the most important one, at least for the moment.

I closed my eyes and gulped down the rest of the beer, holding the bottle out in the aisle to signal for another one while I brought the pen to the paper and scrawled out anything that came to mind.

It wasn’t until halfway through the flight that I scanned through what I had written and realized that sandwiched between the memories I shared with Lee and kind words for him and Marline... I had unknowingly written a love letter to April.

With a smile, I tore the page out and started again—this time with a clear goal in mind.

T
he elevator ride up
to Lauren’s office felt twice as long as normal, thanks to the ridiculous amount of dread that had started setting in the moment Jared left my apartment the day before.

“I can do this,” I whispered to myself, taking a moment to smooth down the wrinkles on my skirt. “Everything will work out like it’s supposed to.”

The words were recycled from what Jared had told me before he left, but I firmly believed them.

I just wished that keeping my job was a part of how things were supposed to turn out.

The doors slid open and I took a step out, freezing in place when I saw Mike leaning against the wall with his arms folded over his chest and a smug smile on his face.

“Lauren wants to see you.”

“Okay,” I said, swallowing hard and holding my head high as I moved past him. “I’ll report in right after I—”

“No, no, no,” he said, chuckling as he fell into step beside me and blocked the door to the break room. “She wants to see you
immediately
. Take your stuff with you.”

Hello, dread? Meet panic.

“Fine,” I whispered. “I’m going.”

Mike let out a short laugh and spun around, heading for the elevators. I watched him leave, thankful that he wouldn’t be around while I got reprimanded and likely fired.

With a heavy heart, I made my way down the familiar path to Lauren’s office. I reminded myself of Jared’s words over and over again—along with his promise to take care of me if I lost my job. Even if this meeting hurt as much as I expected it to, it would be all right in the end.

When one door closes, another one—

My thought was cut short as Lauren’s door quite literally flew open. She took one look at me and the scowl deepened. A hand came into the air and one perfectly manicured fingernail beckoned me inside, then pointed to the chair in front of her desk.

I sat down and watched as she walked around to take her own seat. Even though I knew it was coming, it still felt like a surprise when she reached into a drawer and pulled out a glossy photo and placed it on the desk. The quality was sub-par at best, but the two of us were unmistakable.

“So,” she started, her voice eerily pleasant as she gave me a tight smile. “How was your weekend?”

“Lauren, I can explain.”

“Let me tell you how
my
weekend was,” she said, leaning back in her chair and completely ignoring me. “I got a call late last night while I was having dinner with my husband essentially blackmailing me into buying shitty cellphone photos of my biggest client and his new squeeze. Imagine my surprise when I saw that the new girl was
you
.”

“I’m so sorry, Lauren. I... I wish I could tell you that it wasn’t what it looked like or that I had a valid excuse, but I can’t.”

Lauren scowled. “I don’t want a fake excuse. I want some fucking
honesty
, April. Explain yourself.”

I figured that the truth was the least I owed her, so I dove right in to the story. I picked up with what happened after my last talk with Lauren when she was in Paris and continued on, making sure to stress that we hadn’t been sleeping together the whole time, despite what she may have thought.

It wasn’t until those final few days that I had given in. I explained that when she showed up unannounced, I had every intention of letting him go, even though the thought hurt more than I wanted to admit.

“So why didn’t you?” she asked when I stopped mid-story, unsure of how to continue. “Were you talking behind my back the whole time?”

“No,” I quickly assured her. “I still had his number, but he didn’t have mine. We didn’t speak again until I went with you to the stadium.”

She blinked and held up a palm, staring at a spot on the wall as she thought hard about... something. I wished I could have even fathomed a guess of what she was so focused on, but I couldn’t.

So I really didn’t see it coming when she finally lowered her hand and looked at me and asked, “You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re positive it’s his.”

I gulped and nodded. “Yes.”

“Because you aren’t the kind of girl who has one night stands,” she angrily said, an echo of words I had told her once before.

“Lauren, I’m really not. I just—Jared is—”

“Convincing?”

“No, he’s...” I trailed off, staring down at my hands and I struggled to think of a good way to phrase it. “
Special
. Even when he’s aggravating as hell—which is pretty much constantly—there’s just something about him that’s so
different
than other people. We got along like cats and dogs but I was still sad to think of him leaving because I enjoyed his jokes and teasing and just his company in general. So yeah... I slept with him. I’m not sorry for that but I
am
sorry for lying to you.”

Lauren was quiet for a while and the silence was making me even more nervous than her rage-filled stare had. After a few minutes of watching her inspect her nails, she began to lightly laugh, shaking her head along with it.

“So you didn’t just sleep with him, did you?”

My brows furrowed in confusion. “I don’t follow.”

“You silly girl,” she chided, finally meeting my eyes as she leaned over her desk. “You fell in love with him, didn’t you?”

The question was straightforward enough, but it was startling because I had been asking myself the same thing for a while and found myself too afraid to come up with an answer.

But after the weekend we spent together, there was no hesitation in my response.

“I guess I did.”

Lauren’s lips pressed together in a fine line and she slid the photograph back to her side, sighing down at it.

“Judging by the look on his face, I’m assuming you aren’t alone?”

I could feel a blush creep up my cheeks. “He hasn’t really said anything to give that impression.”

One disbelieving eyebrow rose high on her forehead. “No? So what’s going on here?” she asked, gesturing to the picture with her nail. “Do you have any idea what you are to him besides a baby momma?”

“Yeah. We’re—We’re kind of dating now. So I guess he’s my boyfriend.”

“Well then there’s your answer. Even if he hasn’t said anything, Jared Moore taking a girlfriend is a serious fucking thing,” she pointed out with finality, like she had figured out a mystery. “He loves you.”

My heart skipped a beat and I shook my head, not wanting to believe it to be true until I heard it from the man himself. Instead, I focused on what was really important at the moment.

“I guess I’m being fired, right?”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Lauren said with a sigh. “My marriage might have made me a little... soft. I haven’t decided what to do with you yet.”

“You mean—Is there a chance I can keep my job?” I asked with wide eyes, unable to contain my excitement. “Because I’ll do anything, Lauren. Whatever you want—”

“Hold the fuck up,” she interrupted. “Yes, there’s a
chance
. But I’d like to hear more about what’s going on between you two first and what’s going on with the baby in your stomach. Then I’d like to have a conversation with the both of you about how to handle everything.”

“Anything you want to know. Fire away,” I offered, holding my hands out to the sides in a gesture of my compliance.

“We can go over the details after you answer the most important question of the moment.”

“And that is?”

“When are you going to see him next?”