Once we’re out of the lot and onto the highway, he floors it, and I stare at him with my mouth hanging open. “So do you still like chicken fettuccine Alfredo?”
I’m surprised that he even remembers that. I used to bring it for lunch every Friday way back in high school.
“Yes,” I mutter to him.
He gets on his phone and places an order for food delivery.
He drives us through Knoxville into the other side of town, and it’s then I recognize that we are driving toward his house.
When he pulls onto his road, I ask him, “What are we doing at your house?”
He looks surprised. “How did you know it was my house?” he asks.
Shoot. I think I messed that up for sure.
I try to seem convincing when I answer him. “Who else’s house would we be going to? Plus, I mean, you are having food delivered...”
Yes, it’s crazy to think that I’ve driven by his house before. I’ve seen it from the gated road a couple of times before. I’ve never stopped or anything, and it’s not like I’ve driven by because I’ve been enamored with his money or anything else. I was enamored with JD Ryan long before he became what he is today. But I can’t tell him any of that. He’ll think I’m a stalker for sure.
As he puts in his passcode and the gates open, he pulls into the driveway. I try to seem surprised and tell him what a beautiful house he has. I don’t know if he’s looking at me skeptically or if it’s just my imagination or not, but he says, “Thank you.”
We walk side by side up to his house, and he lets me in the front door. He shows me the living room and says, “Hey, I’m sorry to get you here and leave you right away, but I really need to shower and get the stink off me.”
“Sure, no problem. I need to type my notes for the game up real quick and send them to Jamieson anyway.”
He points to a room off from the living room. “My office is in there. If you’d like to use that, I’ll be right back, okay?”
He looks as if he doesn’t want to walk away, but finally, when he sees me settle behind his desk, he leaves.
I look around the big room, filled with books and trophies, and I pull my laptop out. I type up all of my notes and send them to Jamieson quickly. When I’m done, I pack everything back up and sit on the couch and wait for JD to come back down. My thoughts are all over the place as I try to figure out what I’m doing in JD Ryan’s home and what in world he’s going to want from me.
Chapter 7
JD
I’m walking down the steps from showering and changing when I get the ding on my phone from the security app. I look at the car and driver from the video on my phone and hit the open gate button in the app.
“Food’s here,” I announce to Willa as I take the last step. I’m caught staring at her. She’s sitting on the end of one couch. Her shoes are off sitting on the floor in front of her, and she has her feet curled under her.
She blushes and slides her legs out and starts to step into her shoes. “No! Stay just like you are. I want you to feel at home here.”
She sets the shoe back down, but she doesn’t bring her feet back up. She smiles at me and leans into the back of the couch. I curl my fists at my sides. There’s a desire to go to her. It’s intense and stronger than me. The only thing that stops me is the ringing of the doorbell.
I open the door and luckily, it’s a delivery driver that has been here a few times. He congratulates me on the game, and after I pay him, including a big tip, he leaves.
I carry the bag in, and Willa jumps to her feet to follow me. “What can I do?”
I almost tell her nothing. I don’t want her to lift a finger, but the Willa I know wouldn’t appreciate that. “You can get us something to drink.”
“Sure,” she says, walking toward the kitchen while I go into the dining room and start emptying the bag.
I grab plates and silverware from the kitchen as she’s reaching for cups from the cupboard. I should help her, but the way she’s leaning up, her jeans tight against her ass and her shirt coming up, showing just a few inches of her midriff has me stopping in my tracks.
She takes out the cups just as I grab on to the edge of the counter. She turns to me with a smile on her face, completely clueless to the fact that I was about to ravage her. “What do you want to drink?” she asks as she bends over to look into the refrigerator.
Fuck me. She has no clue how tempting she is. I’m speechless until her head comes up and she looks at me over her shoulder. For just a second, I imagine I’m behind her, hands on her hips, and she looks at me the same way as I plow—“JD!” she says.
She’s laughing, and I shake my head. “I’m sorry. What?”
“What would you like to drink?” Her head drops again, and she starts naming off things in the fridge. “Water, beer—uh, no soda.”
“Water,” I tell her. I need to keep a clear head tonight.
She grabs two bottles from the fridge. “Two waters it is.”
She carries them and the two glasses she got down, and I hastily grab the plates and silverware.
I set the table while she pours the drinks. Once everything is set up, we sit down, me on the end of the table and her at the space on my right.
She’s watching me beneath her lashes, and when I smile at her, she blushes and looks down at her food. She takes a small bite and moans around the fork in her mouth, “Oh my, that’s good. That’s really good.”
I take a big drink of cold water and wonder what she’d think if I just doused myself with it. I need something to cool myself off. “I’m glad you like it.”
She takes another bite and points at my plate. “How’s yours?”
I look down at my untouched food. Normally after a game, I have to reload, and carbs is definitely the way to do it. But right now, I’m not even hungry. Not for food anyway. “It’s good,” I tell her as I take a bite.
We eat in silence for a few minutes, and she’s quiet. She ate a few bites, but now she seems to be lost in thought, moving the food around on her plate. She takes a deep breath and sets the fork down. “Okay, the suspense is killing me. What do you want in exchange for an interview?”
I take my time in answering. I don’t want to screw this up. I take a drink of water and set the glass down. “I’ve thought about this since high school, and I want you to help me make it come true.”
That definitely piques her interest. She turns her body more toward me, and her whole face lights up. That’s just like Willa. She loves to help people. I’m hoping she’s not totally disappointed when she finds out what I want from her. “Ooooh. What is it?”
I can’t put it off any longer. Being this close to her, having her in my house. I know I’ll regret it if I don’t go for it. “I want you.”
She looks stunned. And confused. She sits back in her chair, her eyes wide. “You want me?”
“Yes,” I answer her simply. I figure the less I say may be better right now. She doesn’t need to know it all. That I’ve been in love with her all this time, that I’ve fuckin’ saved myself for her. She’ll think I’m a loser for sure.