The Other Game (The Perfect Game 4)

How could she blame me for wanting to take her into my arms all the time when everything she did was so damn cute?

I pulled out the key fob to unlock the doors, and Melissa hopped into the passenger seat.

“Now would be a good time to kidnap her,” Cassie whispered to me with a laugh. “I’m going to go inside and leave you two alone.” When I gave her a grateful smile, she grinned at me before she turned around and headed back to the apartment.

I stared after her for a moment, feeling like a dick for being thankful. Then I shook it off and hopped into the driver’s seat.

“This car is hot, Dean. Hot like fire, hot!” Melissa said as she looked around and touched everything. She was so excited, I couldn’t even get pissed that she was leaving fingerprints on all my new hardware.

“Yeah. It was love at first sight,” I said, staring right at her as I said it.

When she saw my expression, she sighed, and her demeanor softened as she stared back. “Don’t say that.”

“Why not? Tell me, Melissa. Tell me why you and I are such a bad idea.” I’d never pushed her before, but it was getting old being clueless. I was dying where we stood.

“I never said we were.” She shrugged one shoulder and I leaned toward her, closing the space between us.

“Then why”—I brushed my thumb along her jawline and her eyes closed—“do you keep acting like it is?” I held her chin in my hand as her eyes reopened.

Melissa studied me for a moment, her eyes wide as they searched mine. Her face softened, her eyes turned hopeful, and I couldn’t stop myself.

I closed the distance completely, taking her mouth gently with mine, not wanting to scare her away. A small moan escaped her and I opened my mouth, hoping she’d do the same. When she did, the kiss deepened, our tongues touching and teasing as we explored each other.

My breath quickened and my pulse raced when Melissa reached behind my neck to pull me closer, giving everything she had to the kiss, deepening it, reveling in it. God, how I wanted to grab her by the ass and pull her body on top of mine, but I didn’t have the courage.

“Stop,” she said, surprising me when she tried to pull out of my hold. “Just stop.”

I froze, all of me releasing all of her. “Are you okay?”

“We have to stop.” She shook her head as if suddenly regaining her wits, and said, “Shit.”

“Did I hurt you?” I asked, not knowing what happened to make things change so quickly.

“No, of

course not,” she blurted before opening her door and hopping out of the car.

“Then what is it? What’s wrong?”

Totally confused, I jumped out and raced after her. When I caught up, I grabbed her by the arm, spinning her to face me.

Melissa looked up at me and her eyes seemed to glisten in the dim light, but I couldn’t be certain. Then she sucked in a quick breath and straightened her spine.

“Nothing. We . . .” She paused, stumbling over her words. “I just . . . We can’t do this.”

“I’m sorry,” I lied, not a damn bit sorry that I’d finally kissed her. It just felt like it was what I was supposed to say. “I’ve wanted to do that for forever, and I thought—” Mentally, I scrambled, trying to figure out what to say to make this right. “Hell, Melissa, I don’t know what I thought.”

“We’ll just pretend it never happened, okay?” she said, her voice trembling. “Good night, Dean. I’m sorry.” Then she hurried away from me without another word.

Pretend it never happened? Fat fucking chance.

Dreams to Nightmares

I’d replayed every moment of that kiss for days, wondering what happened or where it went wrong. I was still no closer to an answer today than I was the day it happened. The only thing I could think of was that there was something holding Melissa back, but I’d be damned if I had a clue as to what it could be.

Summer was in full swing, and I’d started interning with Jack’s agents a couple of weeks ago. I had no idea the amount of work and detail that went into being an agent, but I was fascinated by it all. The fact that the guys I worked for seemed to want the best for all their clients didn’t escape me. I knew enough to know that there were agents out there solely focused on getting whatever lined their pockets the best, with no regard to what their client wanted or needed. Marc and Ryan didn’t conduct their business that way, and I respected that.

They kept me running around, delivering contracts to players’ houses, picking up office supplies, searching the Internet for new talent. I learned to create spreadsheets like I’d been doing it my whole life. Side note—I hadn’t. I found myself thriving off the chaos, and the constant state of being busy gave my brain little time to think of anything but work. I loved it.