Play Me (7 page)

“I know. I’m sorry,” Kiersten said, grabbing Chris’s shoulders and pulling him close. She latched gazes with Garrett over Chris’s head. “But Garrett is going to move in now. We’ll be like a…like a family.”

“A family?” Chris pulled free. “You mean like we were supposed to be with Pete? That worked out really well.”

“Yeah.” Garrett paced in front of them, biting his thumbnail. “But minus the leaving part. Chris…I’ll be here for you and your mom. And for the baby, too. I promise. Anything you need, I’ll be here.”

“I need you to turn back the clock, keep your hands off of my mom, and stay out of my house,” Chris snarled. “Can you give me that?”

Kiersten’s eyes went wide. She’d never heard him so angry before. “Chris!”

“It’s okay. He’s mad.” Garrett held up his hand. “But I’m not going anywhere. And you’re going to have to accept that I care about both you and your mom.”

Chris seemed to deflate. He sank down on the couch and flopped back dramatically. “Are you two getting married?”

“No.” Kiersten sat beside him and rested her hand on his knee. “But we’ll still be a family, even without a piece of paper to make it official.”

Chris’s knee relaxed under her hand. “I guess it’s kind of cool, as long as my friends don’t make fun of me.” He gave a little shrug. “I’ve always wanted to be a big brother.”

Her heart clenched. He wanted to be a brother. She hadn’t even known that about him. And the way he always saw reason once he calmed down and thought about whatever had upset him in the first place never failed to impress her. In fact, he reminded her of Mike in that way. They shared the same temperament. A big, heavy weight lifted off of her shoulders. She could do this. “Well, now you will be.”

He hesitated. “Do you know what it is yet?”

“No. Not yet. That’s not until…” She broke off, realizing she had no clue when that was. She had a doctor’s appointment next week, but she doubted she would find out then. Did she even want to find out, or did she want to wait?

Garrett swooped in. “The fifth month. Twenty weeks.
If
we find out then.”

That was right around the corner. Holy crap.

“Cool.” Chris nodded, but was still avoiding Garrett’s gaze. “Can we stop talking about this now? I want to play my game again.”

“S-Sure.”

He un-paused his game and went back to ignoring them, even if he did grip the remote too tightly. She wanted to press him some more, make sure he was really okay, but she sensed he needed time. Time and space. He was a lot like her in that respect. Kiersten motioned for Garrett to follow her upstairs. Once they were alone, she leaned against her closed bedroom door and took a shaky breath.

Garrett grinned and leaned next to her. “That went well, huh?”

She laughed somewhat hysterically. “Yeah, I think so. But he’s still mad.”

Garrett nodded. “Yeah, but I think he’ll be okay.”

“I don’t know.” She shook her head, because she really didn’t know. “This is all such a freaking mess.”

Garrett pulled her against his body and hugged her close. “It’ll be okay. You’ll see.”

“Garrett…”

She placed her hands on his chest. She should push him away. Send him back to his apartment for the last night he’d live there. But instead, she curled her fists into his shirt and tugged him closer. He flexed his fingers in her hair, and his other hand fell to her waist. His lids dropped, and he stared at her mouth as if he were starving for her.

As much as she was starving for him.

She tilted her chin up, and he was on her, his mouth devouring hers. Their tongues intertwined, and she clung to him as if he was the only thing keeping her on Earth. As if she couldn’t stand without him. And she was starting to fear she couldn’t. Even though she kept trying to push him away, it seemed he kept getting closer and closer. He was like a knight hammering a door with a battering ram. The door would break eventually…and then what would happen?

She would be completely vulnerable.

His hands swept over her hips and he hauled her against his body, her belly brushing against his hard erection. She moaned into his mouth and cupped his butt. He grinded up against her and lifted her until her back was against the door. She wrapped her legs around him, and he groaned when he pressed against her heat. Reaching down, she yanked his shirt over his head, breaking contact with his lips for as long as it took to rip his shirt off
of him. Then she was kissing him again, even hungrier for him than she’d been moments before.

“Fuck,” he growled, his fingers scraping down her thigh and creeping toward her core. When his fingers brushed her inner thigh, he stopped. His harsh breathing filled the silence of the room. “We can’t do this. Not like this.”

Her heart stumbled to a stop, and then sped up painfully. He was right. They couldn’t do this. What had she been thinking? That’s exactly the problem. She hadn’t been thinking. She’d been feeling. And feelings were…God, she had been over this enough times. They were stupid. That’s what. “Put me down,” she whispered, letting go of him.

He gently set her on her feet and then stepped back, running his hands down his face. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

She swallowed hard. He’d actually meant it. He was done with her. He didn’t want her anymore. If he did, then he wouldn’t have stopped. They’d be having sex right now, and he’d be buried inside of her where he belonged.

Except he didn’t want to belong there anymore.

“It’s okay,” she managed to say through her clogged throat. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Of course not.” He shot her a hard look she couldn’t read, then grabbed his shirt and yanked it over his head. “It never is, is it?”

“Never.” She hugged herself and averted her eyes. Trying to insert a light tone into her hollow voice, she said, “You should go home now. It might be Friday night, but you should go to bed early. Big day tomorrow.”

He stood there for a minute, looking as if he wanted to say something to her. She held her breath, waiting for him to open his mouth and say something that would show her he didn’t want to be apart. Something to indicate he still wanted her, like Brianna said he did.

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

She finally looked back at him, then wished she hadn’t. He looked so confused and lost. And sad. That one hurt the most. “Yep. I’ll be here. Working.”

“On a Saturday?”

“Yeah.” She shrugged. “Deadlines. I’ve got three books due back to the authors by the end of next week.”

“Okay. I’ll try to be quiet.” He opened his mouth, closed it, and then nodded. “Bye.”

He turned on his heel and walked out of her room. And once again, she wanted to chase after him…and yet push him away at the same time.

Chapter Eight

The next morning, Garrett paused on the threshold of his new house and took a calming breath. Today was the day he moved in with Kiersten. The day he could start trying to win her over. But if he wanted to do that? He needed to keep his hands to himself, or he would lose the battle before he’d even begun. He couldn’t kiss her. Couldn’t forget his role in this new family of his. If he won her heart, he wanted to do it the right way. Through his actions…not through the bedroom.

He wouldn’t fight dirty.

No matter how hard it was to keep his hands to himself around her. And man, it was hard. He pulled his key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. Chris was sitting on the couch playing PlayStation, and Kiersten was nowhere to be found. She was probably at her desk, which was now in her bedroom. He was getting her former office, and the other room would be for their baby.

Their baby
. Even thinking it made him tremble. He still couldn’t quite wrap his head around the fact that he’d gotten Kiersten pregnant. That they’d made a life with their one night together.

He walked into the living room. He hesitated at the threshold, uncertain how the boy would react to him after last night. “So, this is how you spend Saturday mornings?”

“Yeah. Pretty much.” Chris paused the game but didn’t put the controller down. “You gonna keep talking to me, or are we done?”

Garrett sighed. “Yeah. I’d like to talk for a minute. I’m waiting for your uncle.”

“Gotcha.” Chris set the controller down on the table. “So, this is the day, huh?”

Garrett nodded. “Whatcha playing?”

“Call of Duty. Zach’s online with me.” Chris looked at him. “You play?”

“I do. I have a bunch of other games, too.” He shrugged, trying to look as if Chris’s answer didn’t matter. “You can play them if you want.”

Chris hesitated, torn between his desire to look mad and his interest in the games. “Got the new NBA one?”

Garrett snorted. “Of course I do. I preordered it months ago.”

Chris’s eyes lit up. “Sweet.”

“Yeah.” He rubbed his head. “Maybe we can play together. You know, once I’m moved in.”

Chris looked away from him. “Yeah. Maybe.”

He picked the controller back up and resumed playing. Garrett walked away, feeling a little bit more confident of his welcome here. Well, with Chris, anyway.

“You’re here,” Kiersten said, coming down the stairs. She looked gorgeous and fresh faced, even though she just wore yoga pants and a pink T-shirt that said,
Warning: I’m an editor
. “I thought I heard the door open.”

“Yeah.” He tossed his keys back and forth in his hands, feeling like an idiot for standing there looking up at her with nothing to say. Things were so damn awkward between them now. Apparently getting your friend pregnant messed things up. Go figure. “You can keep working. I brought reinforcements to help.”

He pointed over his shoulder just as Mike pulled up into the driveway. She looked outside, then nodded. “Right. I’ll, uh, get out of the way.”

She stared at him for another second, then headed back up the stairs. He watched her go, then called out, “Kiersten?”

She stopped, her hand gripping the banister. “Yeah?”

“This’ll get less weird, right?”

She gave a soft laugh, turning back to him. “My God, I hope so. Because we’re about to be around each other every day.”

“Yeah, we are. Morning and night.” Sounded like heaven to him. “So we might as well stop being so weird around each other. You’re pregnant. It happens all the time to people all over the world. Right?”

She cocked her head and blinked at him. He loved when she did that. It made her look adorably elfin. “I think most of them are couples. Or if they’re not, then they don’t move in together.”

“Do you want to be in a relationship?” He climbed the stairs, holding his breath.

Her gaze skated away from his. “I think we should stick to the plan.” She hesitated, looking back his way. When her eyes met his, his stomach twisted. For once, she looked uncertain. “Don’t you?”

He covered her hand with his, squeezing gently. “I think I’d love to be everything to you—if you wanted all of me. And could give me all of you. Otherwise, I can’t be anything except our baby’s father, and your friend.”

She bit down hard on her lip, nodded, and fled away from him. The sound of her door shutting upstairs made him flinch.

“So, guess that was a no?” he asked quietly, to no one in particular.

“Give it time. She’s starting to cave,” Mike said, his voice soft. “I can see it.”

Garrett jumped. He hadn’t heard Mike come in. “I highly doubt that.”

“Did you see the look in her eyes?”

“The panic and fear, mixed with the desire to flee?” he drawled. “Yeah, I saw it.”

Mike snorted. “Behind that. There was…uncertainty. That hadn’t been there before.”

“Since when are you the Oprah Winfrey of Vegas?”

“She retired.” Mike smirked. “Someone had to take her place, and I look damned good in heels.”

“TMI, dude. TMI.”

Mike laughed. “At least I’m not having a baby with your
sister
. I didn’t need to know everything worked down…there.”

Garrett ignored him and looked up the stairs, contemplating what Mike had said. Was it true? Was she starting to cave? If so, he hoped she would hurry up. Because if she didn’t give in soon…he just might break.

“All right, let’s get this stuff going.” He hopped down the stairs, his heart a little bit lighter than it had been moments before. “My room is her old office.”

“Got it.” Mike followed him outside. “And the baby will be…in the closet?”

Garrett grinned. “In the spare room, douche. Now let’s go get this place filled up with my junk.”

“Yeah, most of it is definitely junk,” Mike said, clapping him on the shoulder. “But, hey. Welcome home.”

Home
. He’d finally, finally found a home. Their situation might be a little awkward…

But it felt pretty damn amazing, even so.

…

When Garrett flopped down on the couch beside her, Kiersten scooted over as far away from him as she could get. As if that would keep her safe or something. Chris was in bed, and it was just the two of them. All afternoon long, she’d watched him carry box after box up the stairs to his new room, and tried not to get all excited at the sheer determination he showed in being a part of her life…even before the baby came.

“Damn,” he moaned, laying his head back on the couch and closing his eyes. She took advantage of his closed eyes to look her fill. “I don’t think I even have enough energy left to shower.”

His bare chest was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, and she longed to help him shower and wash it all off. Then, after they made love, he could hold her all night long, and never let her go. She snapped herself out of her fantasy and back into reality. She preferred the fantasy, thank you very much. “Yeah, you look pretty tired,” she agreed.

“I’m fucking beat.”

“I’m not, since you didn’t let me help,” she said. “You realize I’m pregnant, not useless, right?”

“Of course you’re not useless. You’re making a baby as we speak,” he said, grinning at her as he shot her a look out of the corner of his eye. “My baby girl.”

She touched her gently rounded stomach, in turn feeling her heartstrings tug. Damn her heart. But the way he’d said
my baby girl
sent waves of pleasure rolling through her—and not the kind she usually felt. No, it made her want to curl up in his lap and hug him. Tell him all of her fears, hopes, and dreams.
Trust
him. She cleared her throat and met his eyes, taken aback at the new feelings she was experiencing. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones? “It could be a boy, too.”

“Could be, but it’s not. She’s a girl, and she’s gonna look just like her mommy. Adorable and irresistible.”

His gaze dropped to her stomach, and his fingers twitched as if he wanted to touch her. But he held himself back this time. Why? “You can touch him if you want.”

He grinned and reached out, his eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. He laid his hands on her stomach, his touch gentle and barely there. “She’s perfect.”

Kiersten swallowed and looked away, warmed by the tender look in his eyes. Could he be any sweeter than he already was? She could only hope the child took after him when it came to the emotional part of his genetic make-up. Not screwed up in the head like her.

“Turn around. I’ll rub your shoulders for you.”

He stared at her, the warmth in his eyes turning to fire and his hands still on her. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“I promise I won’t do anything to sacrifice your virtue.” When he still didn’t move, she narrowed her eyes and spun her finger in a circle. “Spin. Now.”

He huffed out a breath and followed her order. She closed her fingers over his tight, damp shoulders and rubbed. He groaned and let his head drop forward, his entire body going lax. “Jesus, that feels amazing.”

“I know.” She grinned. “I’m good at this.”

“If I knew that, I’d have been begging for them every time we hung out.”

“I couldn’t let you know. It’s my best kept secret.”

He chuckled. “I’ll take it to the grave.”

And he would. She knew that. She could trust him. He would never—

Wait. What had she just thought?
She could trust him
. If she could trust him with something so trivial as a secret, without a doubt in her mind, why couldn’t she trust him enough to try to be his girlfriend? To try to be in a relationship? Yeah, Pete had fucked her up. No, her
life
had fucked her up. But there had been one thing constant through all of the heartache, betrayals, and tears.

Garrett.

Always Garrett.

Didn’t she owe it to him to be the same? To try to be what he wanted her to be?

Her hands must have stilled. He looked at her over his shoulder, his brow furrowed, and started to turn back around. “You okay?”

“Stay there.” She resumed rubbing, and
clucked
her tongue. “Yeah. I’m fine. Sorry. Just got lost in thought.”

“Care to share?”

“Yeah, maybe someday.” Without thinking, she asked, “Why did you want to move in with me, really?”

Oh, God. Did she really just ask him that? Talk about opening a can of worms. She knew—because he was a great guy. A guy who deserved someone that was much better than her. A guy who deserved love.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Because I-I—”

The doorbell rang and Kiersten hopped to her feet to open it. Saved by the bell. Her neighbor, Ellie, stood outside with a package. “The mailman delivered your stuff to my house again. Sometimes I wonder about that guy, even if he is ridiculously hot.”

“Oh, thanks,” Kiersten mumbled, hugging the package close to her chest. She stayed mum on the topic of the hot mailman.

“What was with the moving truck?” Ellie asked. “You’re not leaving, are you?”

“She’s not. That would be my truck,” Garrett said from behind Kiersten. Holding his hand out, he smiled and said, “I’m Garrett, Kiersten’s new…roommate.”

Ouch. That hurt. She had thought maybe…that maybe he would introduce himself differently. As more than her
roommate
.

“Oh.” Ellie blushed, her gaze dropping to Garrett’s bare chest before she shook his hand. Kiersten’s heart dropped to her stomach as she watched the newly divorced Ellie size up Garrett. And Garrett, the jerk that he was, ate it all up. “Nice to meet you. Roommates, huh? How do you two know—?”

“Thanks for the package.” Kiersten slammed the door in the face of her friend, and glowered at Garrett. He, in turn, looked at her as if she’d sprouted two heads. “What? Stop looking at me like that.”

He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. “Okay, I’ll bite. What the hell was that all about?”

“You were flirting with her,” she accused. “Right in front of me.”

“I was not. I told her my name and shook her hand,” Garrett argued. “How is that flirting?”

Then he cocked his head and studied her, and she knew instantly what a mistake she had just made. He’d think she was jealous. Which she wasn’t—why would she be
jealous
? Women had been swooning over Garrett for years and it had never bothered her before.

“You know what? You’re right. I don’t know what that was,” she said quickly, waving a hand in the air. She hoped he would take the hint and drop the subject. As she passed him, she fanned her cheeks. “Man, it’s hot in here, huh?”

“Oh, no you don’t.” He captured her elbow, his touch burning her skin. “Not so quick, there.” He grinned, his eyes alight at her obvious attempt to distract him. “You’re jealous, aren’t you? Admit it.”

“I…I’m not,” she managed. “It must just be the hormones. Does it say anything about that in your little book?”

“There can be mood swings, yes,” he said slowly, dropping his hold on her. Was that…disappointment in his voice? It made her want to tell him that hell yeah she was jealous. Because she was. It was stupid…but she was. “But is there something else bothering you? It seemed like you were upset.”

She backed away from him, needing the distance. Should she take a chance and tell him she was starting to think about wanting more from him? Tell him she wanted to maybe try? The mere thought of opening herself up like that was terrifying. “Y-Yes.”

“Okay.” He waited, and when she didn’t speak he motioned her onward with his hand. “…and it is?”

“I’m…” Nope. Not ready. “I’m tired,” she blurted out, skirting away from him. “I need to go to bed now.”

“So go to sleep. I’ll be fine on my own,” he said. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

She wiped her hands on her jeans and stepped closer. “Are you sure this whole living together thing is going to work out?”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine.” He shrugged and walked to the couch. “You’re worrying too much. The hard part’s done. Now we just have to raise a baby.”