“Bailey, what are your intentions with our girl here?” Troy asks him.
“She’s my girl,” Holden replies. No one at the table misses the emphasis he puts on the word “my.”
“And your intentions?” Troy asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Come on, Troy.” Autumn places her hand on his arm. “Their relationship is none of our business.”
“I’m just looking out for her.”
“I’m a big girl, Troy,” I remind him. “Besides, he doesn’t have to answer to you.”
I feel lips press against my temple. “I’ve got this,” Holden says, his voice low only for me to hear. “My intentions are to keep her my girl as long as I can.”
“So you want to hold her hostage?” Troy questions, and the entire table laughs at his take on the conversation.
“No. Well, yes, but I won’t.” Holden winks at me.
“Enough,” Bridgett chimes in.
“Yeah, lay off, man. It’s not our business.” Garrett lifts his beer and nods at Holden.
Holden returns his nod. The server appears next to us, and we order our food. I get my margarita, but Holden declines and orders a Dr Pepper instead. “You’re not drinking?” I ask him.
“No. I try to limit myself even in the off-season, but this is your day, sweet pea. You drink as much as you want, and I’ll be sure to get you home safe.”
Kate, Bridgette, and Autumn all sigh.
“Bailey definitely has game,” Garrett comments.
“Dude, you’re making us look bad,” Troy complains, again making us all laugh at his antics. That’s just Troy. He’s always all over the place with his conversations. There is never a dull moment when he’s around.
The guys launch into baseball talk with Holden, and he indulges them. They seem to be hitting it off after Troy’s little overprotective questions. As for the girls and me, we’re content to drink our margaritas and listen to them. We chime in here and there, but for the most part, the four of us are just relieved finals are over and are enjoying a little downtime. We have one semester left, and times like this will become few and far between.
CHAPTER 16
Holden
“Thank you for coming,” Parker says once we’re back in my truck and headed toward her place. She’s had two margaritas. I promised I’d bring her to get her car later.
“It was a good time. I like your friends, even when they’re grilling me.”
“Sorry about that. Troy has a thing for Autumn, but we’ve all been close since freshman year.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. I’m glad you have them in your corner. What are your plans for the rest of the day?” I ask her.
“I’ve got nothing. Not one single thing, and it’s glorious.” She laughs. “I can’t believe I have one more semester, and I’m a college graduate!”
Her enthusiasm is contagious. “Will you go somewhere with me?” I ask her. I’m at the stoplight. I need to turn left to take her home and right to where I want to take her.
“You know, I think I’d go anywhere with you, Holden Bailey.” Her head is resting back against the seat, and a lazy, happy grin pulls at her lips.
I ignore the way my heart squeezes at her confession. She’s been drinking, so I can’t ravish her. Not tonight anyway. “Perfect.” I hit my signal to turn right, and when the light turns green, I make the turn. I’m nervous and excited to bring her here. I don’t know if it’s because I signed the papers this morning or if it’s her. Probably both.
“Hey, this is the way to your house. What’s going on with that? I know they accepted your offer and were doing the title search.”
“I signed the papers this morning.”
“Wow. That’s fast.”
“We didn’t need to involve the bank since I paid cash.”
She nods. She’s Easton Monroe’s daughter, so she’s not new to the kind of money our contracts and endorsements bring in. I spend wisely, and I’ve got a great financial planner who has helped me invest, and I’ve made a pretty good nest egg from those investments. In fact, the money I used for the house is from those investments. My place in Northern Tennessee, where I lived when I played for the Tomahawks, is also for sale, so I’ll be able to put that money back once it does.
“You’re taking me there? To your new place?”
“I am.”
“It’s all yours?” she asks.
Reaching into the cupholder, I hold up the set of keys I got today at the closing. “All mine.”
“Holden! I’m so excited for you.” Her hand lands on my arm, and sparks flow through my veins. It happens every time she touches me and every time I touch her. The chemistry between us is like nothing I’ve ever felt before.
“You felt it, too, didn’t you?” I ask. I can see it in the way she just looked at her hand before placing it back on her lap.
“Did you?”
“Yeah, sweet pea. I felt it too.” I don’t want to have this conversation with her while she has alcohol in her system. This feeling, it’s also something that’s completely foreign to me. I’ve never felt the flash of desire from just the brush of skin against mine. I’ve never craved time with a woman. I’ve craved the release that comes with sex, but that’s not what this is. She’s all I think about, and any sliver of time she gives me is like winning the lottery.
“It’s weird, right?” she asks. “It only happens with you.”
Internally I’m fist-bumping and screaming hell yeah. On the outside, I try to remain calm and cool, when I’m anything but.
I turn into the driveway of my new house, stopping at the gate to enter the security code. I called the company and had it changed as soon as I signed the papers today. Driving up the long driveway, I hit the button for the garage door opener and pull inside. That’s another thing I love about this house. The attached garage is big enough for my truck. Leaving the garage door open and the engine running, I remove my seat belt, then reach over and do the same to hers. Moving my seat back as far as it will go, I pat my lap.
“Come here, Parker.”
She smiles softly and climbs over the console. “My shoes are on your seat.” She giggles.
Drunk Parker is fucking adorable. “I don’t care,” I tell her. “I just want to hold you, and I couldn’t wait until we got inside.” Not to mention I have zero furniture in the house. I need to drive to my old place and arrange for movers to bring it all here. This is my home now.
“This isn’t something that I’m used to either,” I tell her, wrapping my arms around her. “It’s only ever happened with you. I think you’ve bewitched me somehow,” I tease.
“Right,” she scoffs. “Like I could bewitch the sexy Holden Bailey.”
Drunk Parker is also apparently an open-book Parker. “You think I’m sexy?” I ask. I don’t bother to pretend her comment doesn’t make me smile.
“You know you are.” She runs her hands over my chest.