Yours or Mine (4 page)

Her mom, looking
irritated, said, “Marty, how could you forget? I typed your papers
for you. It was the American Lit class.”

“Your mom’s
apartment had fire damage,” her dad said. “Her roommates decided
to move back home and commute. Luckily for me, Sally needed a place
to stay close to campus.”

“He told me I could
move in with him, and he’d sleep on the couch and I could have his
bedroom. He didn’t trust the other guys in the house so didn’t
want me to take the sofa.” A brief smile crossed her face. “Your
dad said we’d have a platonic relationship.”

“Okay, I think
there’s more to this story.” She stared at her parents. “You
don’t have to give me any intimate details, but is there anything
else you’d like to share?”

Her dad winked at them.
“I didn’t sleep on the couch for long.”

That was a bombshell.
Her conservative and religious parents lived together before
marriage. She needed a drink and not iced tea. “So does this mean I
should buy the duplex house with Blake?”

“No.” Her mother
shook her head. “It just means that saying you’ll have a platonic
relationship is one thing, but what actually might happen is
something else.”

Her dad nodded. “Just
be prepared for anything, if you buy the house with Blake.”

“Well, it will be a
tad different from your experience.” She glanced at her mom. “You
had to move in with a houseful of horny college guys, and if I buy
the house with Blake, he has a seven-year-old son to consider.”

Libby cleared her
throat. “Even single fathers get horny and children do have
sleepovers. But I think that’s what has you worried.”

“I’m not worried
but wish Blake wasn’t so attractive,” Sydney said.

“Don't let Mark's
rejection influence you about Blake,” her mom said.

She sighed. “I
should've seen the breakup signs with Mark. The last couple of weeks
he cancelled several dates with me, and he acted weird. I thought he
was under pressure at work, but now I realize he wanted to stop
seeing me.”

Libby shrugged. “I
never thought Mark was right for you. It's just as well that you and
Mark only lasted six weeks.”

“Is Blake divorced?”
her mom asked.

“His wife, Caroline,
died three years ago from cancer,” Sydney said. “Other than the
fact we both love the house, Blake thought it might be nice for
Carter to have a woman around.”

“You’re a smart
woman. I’m sure you’ll learn as much about Blake as possible
before making any decisions.” Her mother passed the bowl of potato
salad, and said, “Have some, honey. I made it just the way you like
it.”

Sydney stared at her
parents.
Interesting, they aren’t going to tell me not to buy
the house with Blake. Maybe they don’t think I will anyhow.

What had he done?
Blake exhaled a deep breath.
How could he tell a stranger that
they should buy a house together?
He knew why and that was the
problem. From the first moment he saw Sydney standing in the
driveway, he’d been interested in her. Her smile alone won his
heart. Okay, maybe he’d notice other things first about her. She
had one sexy body with curves in the right places. While she ran on
the treadmill, he’d noticed Sydney’s dark brown hair bouncing
around her face. When she fell against him, heat radiated through his
body. Feeling pleasure from a woman’s touch was something new for
him. No woman had excited him like this since Caroline died.

He desperately wanted
the house, but realized how much he wanted to see Sydney again. It’d
been obvious from the beginning that Sydney definitely wanted to buy
the brick duplex. Her efforts to convince Karen the home should be
hers had been fun to watch. But would Sydney want to date him if he
bought it? Would she blame him for losing her dream home? Although he
didn’t want to lose the house, he couldn’t forget his desire for
Sydney. After they finished the tour, he thought how they could buy
the duplex together. It’d be a great solution for both of them. The
residence was made for two families. As crazy as he’d been to
suggest it, he’d been pleased when Sydney accepted going to dinner
with him to discuss his plan.

Just that morning,
they’d had a phone conversation to learn more about each other.
Sydney mentioned how Carter might like to play on the Little League
baseball team she coached with her brother. He glanced at Carter,
thinking that would give his son a new interest. Did Sydney wear
baseball pants while she coached the games? Probably not, but he’d
enjoy seeing her cute butt in tight jeans. Sydney being athletic was
going to be great. He’d like to jog with her in the morning but not
sure that would be possible with Carter’s school schedule.

Another problem might
occur if he couldn’t keep his hands off her. He definitely wanted
to kiss her, but what if he couldn’t stop with a simple kiss? Would
that ruin their business arrangement? When he’d told Sydney that
their relationship would be platonic, he’d been truthful. But now
he realized that deep down, he wanted to make love to Sydney. No, he
couldn’t allow his desires to get in the way. He had a young son to
consider; he would just have to behave.

“Carter, finish your
sandwich. We’re going to the store to buy a baseball glove for
you.”

“Are we still going
to look at that house?”

He nodded. “And I
want you to meet Sydney today.”

Carter gave him a
serious look. “Is she why you’ve been smiling a lot?”

“I always smile a
lot.”

Shrugging his small
shoulders, Carter said, “Not really. You’ve been sad for a long
time, but now you act happy.”

Crap!
His son
might be a little too perceptive to what was going on. He’d have to
do a better job of hiding his feelings for Sydney around Carter.
Rushing into anything with her would be a mistake for everyone. He
would have to learn to keep his raging hormones in check.

* * *

Sydney met Blake and
Carter at the park. Carter was an attractive boy with blond hair and
a sparkle in his blue eyes. After Blake introduced Sydney to Carter,
she learned he liked the house and especially liked the idea of
having a big yard for Cub Scout meetings and campouts. Another Smith
enamored of her house, she thought.

She wasn’t sure
buying the duplex with Blake was a good idea. Financially, it might
be sensible, but it seemed ludicrous when she’d only known him for
two days. Actually, she’d know him better by the time they had
closing with another thirty days before occupancy. But she couldn’t
look at Blake without her heart thumping hard. He looked hot in his
shorts and T-shirt. How could she live on the other side of a wall
when just being with him in a park gave her a high? She’d probably
have a heart attack at the age of twenty-eight if she decided to
share a duplex.

Directing her attention
onto Carter might calm her racing heart. “So, Carter, do you think
you’d like to play on the baseball team?” She wanted Carter on
the team but only if he wanted to be on the team. She didn’t want
Carter to do it because Blake talked him into playing. She hated it
when parents decided which sports their kids should play.

He nodded. “Daddy
took me to the store to get a glove.”

Blake put a hand on
Carter’s shoulder. “Tell Sydney how you already know someone
playing on the team.”

“We’ve only had one
practice so I’m still learning the names. Who is it?” she asked.

Carter grinned at her.
“Aaron Smith.”

She laughed. “I can’t
believe it. It’s a small world. That’s great you know my nephew.
Are you in the same class too?”

“Yes.”

“Boys, let’s play
ball.” They were in an open, vacant spot and after pitching the
ball to Carter several times, she stopped. “Carter, you’re a
natural ball player. I’m thinking of trying you at shortstop. We
need someone with good ball skills and eyes for that position.”

“Thank you,” Carter
said.

Blake, looking pleased,
said, “You’re doing great, son. Sydney, what position did you
play?”

“In high school and
college I was a pitcher. I was lucky and had a scholarship.”

“A writer and an
athlete.” Blake said. “I’m impressed.”

They continued tossing
balls to each other. After several minutes of running to catch long
and high ones from Blake, Sydney said in a casual tone, “My parents
loved the house.”

“Did you mention
about buying it together?” Blake threw to her.

She caught the hard
ball. “Hey, that was a forceful one. I see Carter’s inherited
your ball genes.” She gave Blake a smile before pitching to Carter.
“Yeah, I did. My dad laughed at the platonic remark, but we can
talk about that later.”

“Daddy said that you
might live in the same house with us, but on one side.” Carter gave
her a serious look. “Does that mean you’ll be my mommy?”

“No, but I’ll
definitely be your friend. You can always talk to me when you need a
woman’s advice. Would it be okay with you if I live close to you?”

Carter nodded. “You
make my dad happy again.”

Why did she make Blake
happy? Was it because he could share the mortgage with her or because
he wanted her close by? Geez, she was feeling hot again and it wasn’t
due to the warm weather. Probably not good that she had lustful
thoughts about Blake.

After the park and
pizza, Sydney called her brother, Zach, and asked him if Carter could
play with Aaron for a couple of hours. They chatted for several
minutes at Zach’s house before Blake drove Sydney to her apartment.

Once inside her place,
Blake said, “After living in this tiny apartment, you might want to
share the duplex with me and Carter. You’ll get lonely in it
without us.”

Lonely might be better
than being on edge all the time. Blake did things to her body that no
man had for a long time. And this was just from looking at him.
Breaking my sexy mood fast might be a good idea.
She laughed.
“Since it’s so small, everything is convenient. I only have to
take a couple of steps from my sofa to be in my kitchen.”

He picked up a picture
of her family. “I thought I was tall until I stood next to your
brother. I see where he gets his height.”

“Both dad and Zach
are six-foot-five.” Opening the refrigerator, she asked, “How
about a glass of wine?”

“Sounds good.” He
returned the photo back to its spot. “So tell me what your parents
think of us buying a house together.”

She handed him a drink
before sitting on the sofa. “I got the impression dad didn’t
think our relationship would stay platonic. Apparently, he had some
experience with my mom needing a place to live during college. He
told her that he’d take the couch and she could have his bed. He
didn’t stay on the couch for long.”

Blake shrugged and
stared at her for a moment. “Our situation’s different. We have
to behave because of Carter. Plus we won't be living together.”

He never said that
there wasn’t any attraction between them, but only mentioned his
son being the difference from her parents’ romantic interlude. What
she suspected deep down was true. He desired her as much as she did
him. But she needed to play this very cool because her goal was to
move out of the apartment. She couldn’t afford to worry Blake. If
he suspected how hot and bothered she was for him, the whole sharing
thing would be off. “And we’ll have our own beds so that’ll
help.”

Blake looked deep in
thought so she sipped her wine. She sensed he wanted to kiss her. So
much for trying to keep their feelings from bursting into flames.
Oh
man, kiss me and get it over with.
“I don’t think we should
ignore the physical chemistry between us. It’s safe here in my
apartment with no Carter around to pop in on us. Maybe we should just
do it and see if we even like it.”

“I’m pretty sure
I’ll like it, but I’m surprised you’d suggest we have sex.”

She gasped. “No, I
never meant we should have sex. I was referring to kissing each
other. I figured you didn’t want Carter to see us kiss. But forget
it now. I need to learn to keep my mouth─”

Blake’s lips touched
hers before she could finish her sentence. His mouth tasted sweet and
wonderful. Probably from the red wine. She was good at picking out
full-flavored sweet wine. Except, without alcohol on his lips, she’d
still want to kiss him. As his kisses became more intense, she slid
her hands up the front of Blake’s T-shirt, feeling his hard muscled
chest.

His tongue exploring
her mouth thrilled her, but didn’t last. He moved to her neck,
planting little kisses all the way down to the point of her V-neck
shirt. When his warm lips caressed the spot between her breasts, she
shivered with anticipation. While clutching him tightly, she heard a
knock on her door. What the heck? Who dared to interrupt them? Desire
pumped throughout her body. She didn’t want it to stop and her
boobs definitely wanted some attention next.

“Sydney,” her best
friend yelled through the door, “it’s me, Libby.”

She moaned. “I better
let her in.”

After she opened the
door, Libby stared at her for a long moment. “You look weird. What
have you been up to?”

She ignored Libby’s
question and introduced her to Blake.

“Hi, Blake,” Libby
said. “You must be the guy wanting a nonsexual relationship. Sydney
and I are best friends. I don’t want her to get hurt so don’t
take advantage of her.”

“I would never do
that,” Blake said.

Libby arched her
eyebrows. “Oh, I noticed your red face so thought something already
happened between you two.”

Sydney shrugged. “Okay,
so you caught us. And kissing is still in the realm of platonic, I
think.”

“Hey, I’m not
judging,” Libby sat on a green chaise. “You two should get to
know each other better. And if Blake should be wanted for any crime,
we’d know it. I’m sure Zach’s already been on the police
internet to check.”