4th & Girl

“I’m surprised Alma hasn’t built a stage in her house for you. She’s a real pusher.”

She scoffed. “I’m not that good. And she doesn’t know. It’s not like I spend my days singing for her.”

“Well, you should,” I said, and she rolled her eyes. “Hell, you should be singing for anyone within a one-thousand-mile radius, Gem. Your gorgeous fucking voice should be serenading me through the goddamn radio,” I added seriously, but she just brushed it off.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Her soft laugh was dubious. “I mean, I know I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing, but I’m pretty damn certain I’m not star material.”

I completely disagreed. She had the voice and she had the look in spades, but I didn’t see much point in arguing about it with her.

Instead, I asked another question piqued by her uncertainty. “Why don’t you know what you’re supposed to be doing? You mean, career-wise?”

“Yep.” She nodded. “I don’t have a fucking clue.”

“You’re not interested in doing anything specific?”

She shook her head. “I was in school…well, I was almost done with school.” She chuckled self-consciously. “I almost had my degree. The one in engineering my whole family expected me to get.”

“Engineering wasn’t for you?”

“Uh…no. I realized I wasn’t happy. Like, at all. And as I pictured myself getting closer and closer to graduation—and the job I’d be expected to get—it all started to seem terrible. I mean…doing something I hate for the rest of my life? No thanks.”

“I can understand that,” I said, and I could. “Your family doesn’t?”

She shrugged. “It’s not what they planned.”

I nodded silently, wondering what it would have been like if my family hadn’t been supportive of my career.

Hell, they definitely could have snubbed it. It wasn’t like the dream of playing professional football was one without risk. Most people with that goal never made it.

As if she read my mind, she turned the conversation on me.

“What about you? Have you always wanted to play football?”

“Definitely.” I nodded and smiled. “I’ve been into it since I was a kid. Bonus was that I turned out to be pretty good at it. Passion is great, but I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without a little luck.”

“Yeah, but I’m sure you worked hard.”

“Every day. Conditioning, training. I made sure I had the best shot possible.”

She sighed. “I wish I had that kind of drive.”

“I’m sure you do,” I said easily. “Maybe you just haven’t found the right thing yet.”

“I guess not,” she said and picked at an invisible piece of lint from her blouse. “That’s why I took the temp job. I figured something would spark my interest at some point.”

“So being a medical tech wasn’t your dream job?”

“Not quite.” Her laughter was music to my ears.

“Thank God. I’d feel really bad about costing you it if it had been.”

“That wasn’t your fault. I dropped it.”

“I bobbled the handoff,” I said easily, and she just giggled.

“Trust me, Leo, that whole fiasco was my fault, not yours.”

Pulling up in front of her apartment, I shut off the engine, hopped out of the car, and rounded the hood before helping Gemma out of the passenger side.

Quietly, we walked hand in hand toward her apartment building, and when we stopped just beneath the awning covering the front entrance, her gaze locked with mine, and once again, her face bloomed into a breathtaking blush.

Fuck, I loved that blush of hers.

“I’ve gotta be honest, Gemma…” I paused, and her throat bobbed a bit as she swallowed nervously.

“Yeah?”

“Tonight was probably the best date I’ve ever had.”

“Really?”

“Really,” I confirmed, easing forward slightly to prepare to make my move. “There’s just one thing that will ensure it holds that title forever.”

“What?” she asked softly.

“This.”

Smooth but swift, I leaned toward her, sank a hand into her beautiful hair, and sealed my lips to hers. She gasped in surprise, and I took the opportunity to slide my tongue inside.

Sweet melons and martinis, she tasted the best of anything I’d ever consumed in my entire life, and I dove deeper. I took more of her mouth as her body melted into the kiss, and I twisted some of her hair around my fingers.

God, she felt good. Tasted good. Everything that revolved around Gemma was good, even when it came to how she made me feel.

And I wanted more. Fuck, did I want more.

But for some insane reason, I didn’t want to rush this. I didn’t want to screw anything up when it came to her. I wanted to take my time, even if it meant leaving her apartment with a throbbing case of blue balls.

We danced and pushed with our tongues a bit longer, and just before I crossed the point of no return, I placed one final kiss to her perfect lips and pulled away.

I watched the way her pretty little lashes moved downward with each blink, and when her blue gaze locked with mine again, the responding smile that teased across her lips had my head spinning from the beauty and buzz of it all.