Play by Play (Riggings Brothers 0.5)

“I’ll take you shopping, and we can hang out at your place, and I’ll help with laundry and whatever else you need to do. You agreed to all weekend, and I plan to collect.”

“Sunday is the end of the weekend.”

“No, Monday ends the weekend. We can stay at your place Sunday night if you want.” She’s stunned if the look on her face is any indication, but that’s fine. She’ll get used to my need for her soon enough.

“You continue to surprise me.”

“How so?” I ask, adding another slice of pizza to my plate.

“I didn’t expect you to be so… attentive, among other things.”

“Because I’m not. Not usually. I’ve only ever been this way with you. I never cared enough before to try to put in any effort.” It sounds harsh, but it’s the facts, and I promised her communication and honesty.

“I always thought you were just being a flirt. All those times you would ask me out, I thought it was a game. I turn you down, and you chase me. You catch me, seduce me, and kick me to the curb.”

“I was flirting, I wanted to catch you, and I plan to seduce you.” Her eyes smolder at my words. “However, there will be no kicking to the curb. More like tying you to my bed to keep you with me.”

Her eyes widen. “You tie a lot of women to your bed?”

“Not to keep them, and never in my bed. Never. The only person who has ever slept in my bed is me. In fact, the only women who have been in my house are my family and extended family. My sister’s best friends, Stacy, Lauren, and Cassidy are like sisters to me.”

“I bet family functions are full of chaos and good music.” She laughs.

“You have no idea. They all keep having kids, and our brood just keeps growing. My mom has adopted all of them. Her list of kids and grandkids is long as hell,” I say fondly.

“I always wanted a big family.”

“Yeah? How many kids?” I ask her. I’ll give her as many as she wants. I’m hoping for a high number. My nieces and nephews have been good training for when I have my own.

“At least two, maybe more. Kids are expensive, so I want to be able to provide for them.” She shrugs.

I’ve got that covered, baby. “We can start with two.” For the second time today, she chokes when taking a drink.

“We?”

“You heard me, Samantha.” I wink at her.

She tilts her head to the side, studying me. I don’t know what she’s looking for, but she must find it because a slow smile pulls at her lips. “We can start with two,” she agrees.

I want to beat on my chest and shout to the world that this beautiful woman is mine and agreed to give me two babies, but I refrain. Instead, I slide a slice of pizza on her plate. “Eat up, baby. Royce will be shitting bricks if I bring you back late again.” I say again because we were two minutes late yesterday. Even though my girl came to work an hour early to work on a project, his broody CEO self was still standing next to her desk, arms crossed over his chest, toe tapping against the tile floor when we got back. I took my time kissing my girl goodbye before blowing a kiss to my best friend. He thinks he’s the master of hiding his emotions, but no way could he hide the humor in his eyes.

Royce was crushed by his ex-wife, and now he’s suspicious of all women, and all relationships. I hate that bitch for what she did to him. I can only hope that one day a woman will come into his life and change him back to the best friend I lost when his ex tore his world apart. I miss my best friend. He’s still here, but he’s a shell of the person he used to be. She took away his light.

Maybe when he finds the true love of his life, then he’ll understand why I am the way I am with Sam. His marriage was a sham from the start. We all saw it, but he didn’t. He had to learn on his own. Sure, we didn’t know the extent, but we knew that she wasn’t the one for him. Without a doubt, they never should have made it to the altar.

“I’m stuffed,” Sam says, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“I guess we need to start heading back,” I say, glancing at my watch. “I don’t want you getting into trouble.”

“Royce is harmless, but yes, I need to get back. I have a busy afternoon. I need to be done at quitting time today. I have big plans this weekend.”

“Oh, yeah?”

She nods. “There’s this guy. He has these intense, sexy, blue eyes. He asked me to spend the weekend with him.”