Playing at Love Read online

  When he returned to her mouth, he hesitated after one kiss. Tess opened her eyes to look at him. It was the briefest of exchanges, giving both of them only enough time to grin before Tess wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in.

  She could think of nothing, only that she had wanted this for longer than she could admit. Her breathing was rapid and shallow as she leaned into him, feeling his breath mixing with hers, his expert lips touching every inch of her face. She ran her hand up his arm, leading his hand to her waist. He rested his hand there for a moment, then it slowly moved to her stomach. Tess felt fire in her belly and she almost forgot how to breathe.

  Heart still racing, she pulled back from his mouth and rubbed her lips together, already raw from his Saturday morning stubble. After a moment, she lifted her eyes to look at him. And she knew.

  …

  Jack gazed at her, at her lovely face. Being close to her like this was better than he could have hoped. He wanted her, needed her, almost more than breathing. But she had pulled back—only an inch or two, but enough to give him pause.

  Maybe she was having second thoughts. Jack knew he should probably have second thoughts, too, that there were very valid reasons why they should not be doing this. But he couldn’t seem to remember what they were.

  Wordlessly, Tess reached out, placing her hands on his cheeks, cradling his face just as he had done earlier to her. She leaned forward, touching her forehead to his. He could hear her ragged inhales and feel her sweet breath on his skin.

  After a few moments, he wrapped his hands around her slender wrists. When he lowered her hands from his face, she blinked at him in confusion.

  “Do you know what you’re doing?” he asked her; he wasn’t sure why, but it seemed important. “Because…” His throat suddenly went dry. “If you kiss me again, I’m not going to stop kissing you back.”

  Tess blinked slowly, and Jack’s pounding heart took a sudden plunge. Maybe she really wasn’t ready. Maybe she would stand up, tell him it was a mistake, and ask him to leave.

  It would very nearly kill him, but he would do it; he would leave.

  He dropped his chin, not wanting to look her in the eyes if this was the end.

  “Jack.” Her voice was barely a whisper. When he looked up, she was so beautiful it made him ache all over. She rotated her whole body around to face him, then placed her hands on his shoulders. “Jack,” she repeated. He felt pressure on the front of his shoulders as she pushed on him, lowering him down into a horizontal position on the couch. With a grin, she climbed on top, her dark hair tumbling over her shoulders.

  “Does this answer your question?” she asked, then bent down and kissed him. Jack’s mental anxiety dissolved; he was relieved to know that she wanted him as much as he wanted her. But a second after he relaxed, his body took over. He pressed her to him tightly as she lay flat against his body, their hearts pounding in perfect harmony. He kissed the base of her collarbone and was rewarded when he heard her softly moan. When he tried to roll her over, he banged his head on the wooden arm of the couch.

  Tess leaned on an elbow. “Ouch,” she said sympathetically, before giggling.

  Jack narrowed his eyes roguishly. A second later, he forgot the pain in his shoulder, scooped Tess into his arms, and was on his feet. She shrieked in delight, wrapping her arms around his neck as her legs dangled in the air. He took a few running steps down the hall but then realized he had no idea where he was going. It wouldn’t be the most romantic thing if he burst through a door only to find a linen closet.

  “That one,” Tess said, pointed her foot toward the door on the right.

  Jack looked down at her, then planted a firm kiss square on those gorgeous lips. “Thanks, baby,” he said, and then kicked the door open.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Something was different, but Tess couldn’t figure out what it was. She felt well rested and yet her body seemed to have sunk into the bed and it didn’t want to move. When she tried to open her eyes, she squinted at the brightness. She smelled bacon. She couldn’t think of the last time she woke up to that smell in her apartment. When she considered why there would be someone cooking in her apartment now, she closed her eyes and grinned.

  Her fingers curled around the top sheet as her mind slowly replayed the last twenty-four hours. She licked her lips: an instant recall. Rolling over, she opened her eyes a crack, focusing on the pillow next to her. When a bang and then a soft oath came from the kitchen, she couldn’t help laughing.

  After a deep stretch, she rolled onto her back, her mind wandering again to the dented muscles of his stomach, his strong right shoulder that she’d been careful not to grab too hard, and the way he’d cradled her against him, breathing slowing and deeply. Tess couldn’t wipe the grin from her face as she burrowed down deeper into the bed, pulling the blanket over her giggling mouth.

  She probably could have dreamily dozed like that all morning, but knowing who was out there made her throw back the covers and grab the first article of clothing she touched. After pulling it over her head, she padded to the door and down the hall.

  She could see into the galley kitchen where Jack was standing over the stove with a spatula in one hand. He was wearing long black shorts and a T-shirt she’d never seen before. It was a red V-neck and didn’t have the Franklin High logo anywhere on it.

  So he does have other clothes, Tess thought as she silently observed him. Since he hadn’t come with a proper change of attire for an overnight stay, she assumed the new garb came from his trusty gym bag.

  As Jack was moving something from a pan to a plate, he was humming a tune under his breath; a few times, he actually sang lyrics to the song.

  “Tell me why-ee,” he crooned into the spatula, his forehead furrowed as though he were a serious performer.

  “I knew you loved Backstreet Boys!” Tess laughed, leaning a hip against the doorframe.

  “Busted.” Jack chuckled, grinning down at the pan as he scooped whatever was at the bottom. When he lifted his chin to look at Tess, he suddenly froze.

  “Holy effing Toledo.”

  …

  Jack hadn’t meant to use the famous Bill King play-by-play catchphrase. But it was all his brain could emit when he saw her standing there, framed in the doorway, wearing his blue football shirt—and nothing else.

  Her hair was down, looking kind of tangled and crazy. She was absolutely stunning. How she looked right then was what the term “afterglow” was all about. He drank her in as she padded toward him in her bare feet.

  “What?” she asked, obviously noticing his stunned silence.

  He swallowed, hoping he wasn’t drooling into the omelet. As he gazed down at her, unable to stop the stupid grin from spreading across his face, he almost told her that he felt like the luckiest man in the world.

  Instead, he inhaled slowly. “Good morning.”

  Tess lifted her chin and smiled up at him. “Good morning.”

  He put down the spatula and opened his arms. Tess grinned and bit her lip, coyly, then kind of nestled into him, sliding her arms around his waist. Her body felt warm and soft as he held her in his arms.

  “How did you sleep?” he asked, kissing the top of her head.

  “Incredibly well,” she replied. “Considering.”

  Jack laughed, squeezing her tighter. “So.” He pulled at the sleeve of her shirt. “You’re wearing my clothes.”

  Tess looked down at herself. “Oh.” She bit her lip. “Is that okay?”

  He reached out and touched his index finger to her cheek, tracing it down her neck. When he stopped at the dent in her throat, he hooked his finger inside the neck of the shirt. “It’s criminal that you can’t wear it every day,” he said, giving the fabric a tug.

  With great pleasure, he watched Tess’s cheeks turn pink.

  “Will any of that go bad if it’s not eaten right away?” she asked, not needing to gesture toward the huge breakfast he’d just prepared.

  Without a wo
rd, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her off her feet.

  …

  Jack held out a piece of toast after slathering it with butter and jam.

  “Thank you.” Tess reached for it.

  “Uh-uh,” Jack said, pulling it back an inch, a playful look in his eyes.

  Tess giggled softly and opened her mouth, allowing Jack to feed her. She felt a bit self-conscious at the way he was watching her chew while he was wearing a grin she remembered from the night before. But it also made happy little butterflies flutter around in her stomach.

  “Tell me more about the choir,” Jack said, passing her a napkin.

  Tess patted it over her mouth. “You don’t really want to know,” she said, stretching her legs out across the couch.

  “Of course I do.” He pulled her feet onto his lap. His hands felt warm around her skin. “It’s something you love, so I’d like to hear about it.”

  “I don’t know. I’m not entirely comfortable with—”

  “Do you need more room on the couch?” Jack asked, smiling.

  Tess laughed. “You know what I mean. Last night didn’t change anything.”

  “Oh? I can think of a couple things it changed.”

  Tess looked down and smiled, feeling her cheeks getting warm. “I mean, it didn’t change anything about the situation at the school. In just a couple of weeks, one of us is out.”

  “I know.” Jack closed his eyes and ran a knuckle over his forehead. “But if that wasn’t the case, I’d want to know about the job of the woman I just made breakfast for.” He looked at her. “Otherwise, I’d just feel used.”

  “Jack!” Tess laughed, swatting his arm playfully.

  “Can we talk about this?” he asked, reaching out and touching her hand. “Just for today, can we pretend that there isn’t a finish line?”

  Tess thought for a moment, feeling his fingers trace the inside of her palm. Again with the wretched timing. What was up with the universe these days? But Jack was right; if they were any other couple, they would be having a normal conversation about what was going on in their lives. And it just so happened that the number one thing—that elephant in the room—was their jobs. In less than a month, everything would be totally different, and maybe they would never get past that point. Maybe the damage would be too monumental to get over.

  That thought made Tess’s heart sink. She didn’t want to lose Jack. She had him now, and if normal was what he wanted, then that’s what she would give him.

  She placed her breakfast plate on the coffee table and sat back, about to rattle off a factual rundown of the music program. But when her mind settled on the subject, she felt herself smiling.

  “There are such great kids in the show choir,” she couldn’t help gushing. “They’ve been working so hard. I give them a piece to learn and they know it the next day. Just last week, I found out that the section leaders have been meeting privately in the evenings to practice. They’re really driven.” She stared straight ahead, chewing on a fingernail. “There’s this one—Penny, the soloist at the halftime shows.” She looked at Jack and he nodded. “She’s amazing, Jack. She’s got this, I don’t know, this unique talent. And she’s fearless. That’s a very special combination.”

  “Is it typical to use a soloist in competitions?”

  “Not at all,” Tess said. “In fact, we’re really hoping that will give us an edge. It’s something totally different that no one will be expecting.” She went on to tell Jack about the routine she was still teaching her choir to go along with the very nontraditional song they would be singing. “I made the kids promise not to tell a soul what we have planned for Regionals. If it gets out, we’d lose our advantage, and it would probably end up hurting our chances.”

  “Kind of like a trick play,” Jack said. “Like sports.”

  Tess patted his hand. “Yes, Jack. Kind of like a real competition.”

  Jack laughed. “Sorry. That’s really interesting, though.” He sat up straight. “How do the competitions work? I’m ashamed to admit that I wasn’t paying much attention to that part of the conversation when we met with Walker that first day.”

  Tess smiled, pleased that he was showing such an interest in her life. Then she trembled slightly when he wrapped his hand around her foot. “Well, normally the different choirs take turns doing the halftime shows at the football games. But because we’re under a crunch this year, I’m having the show choir do every one and the other choirs are doing the assemblies, which is a better fit, actually.”

  Jack nodded, running a hand up the back of Tess’s calf. She found this rather deliciously distracting but managed to go on after a deep breath.

  “As you know, the Invitational competition is next weekend. We’re missing that.” She paused and combed her fingers through her hair, done with feeling bitter about it. “Regionals are at the end of October, the same night as the homecoming game, actually—which is why the choir isn’t performing there that night. Then we usually do another competition in the spring and there’s the big show in May…” She fiddled with the hem of his long T-shirt, then glanced up at him. “Obviously I haven’t made any plans past November.”

  “Right,” Jack said somberly. Then, smiling at her, he stretched out his hand. Tess took it, linking their fingers together. “To be honest, neither have I.” He pulled on her arm.

  She bent her knees and leaned in, meeting him halfway. She didn’t think she could ever get tired of kissing him. His hand slid up her leg, cupping her knee. Tess giggled when he made a playful moaning sound.

  “What about you, though?” he asked, running a finger over her bottom lip. “Why do you like teaching music?”

  Tess kissed him once more then sat back. “Well…” She thought for a moment. “Everything. I love watching kids learn a new skill. I love the joy singing can bring. I love seeing when something finally clicks. But most of all, I guess I just love music.”

  “That’s really wonderful, Tess,” he said, rubbing a circle over her kneecap. “I can see why everyone in this town loves you.”

  “Everyone?” she teased, lifting an eyebrow.

  Jack chuckled. “Half of the town, then,” he corrected. “At the very least.” He set her feet back in his lap then dragged her whole body closer. “Sounds like your choir is really something. When can I see the competition?”

  Tess laughed. “You can’t. It’s the night of homecoming. Remember?”

  Jack frowned. “Oh.” He dropped his chin. “Yeah.”

  Tess leaned in, took his face, and kissed him slowly on the mouth. “But I truly love that you asked.” She crawled over and laid her head against his chest. “Your turn. Tell me why you love coaching.” She exhaled tranquilly when she felt his arms slide around her.

  “You’re sure it won’t bore you to sleep?”

  Tess yawned dramatically and snuggled into him. “I’ll try to stay awake.”

  “Okay.” She felt him shifting his body position underneath her. “Football is what I was born to do,” he began. “The boys I have this year, they’re a pretty ragtag bunch, but they’re starting to pull together and act like a team. There’s this one kid, Andy.” He paused and scratched his chin. “Just a little runt of a guy. You’d never know he had an arm like he does.” Tess felt Jack rubbing circles on her back. She closed her eyes. “I had him working with the offense all last week. He’s got a good eye, but he’s just really inexperienced. I’ve been thinking though…”

  When he trailed off, Tess sat up, leaning on an elbow over him. “Thinking of what?” she asked.

  Jack smiled, his gaze drifting off to the side. “I’ve been thinking that I might change his position on the roster to QB three. That’s quarterback,” he tagged on. “He’ll never play in a game—even as a backup QB—but he’ll probably never play in any position.” He chuckled as if he was replaying a private joke. “I tell ya, I would really love to see him on the field. He has such a love of the game and so much heart. If there was no scoring
involved, he would be my starter.”

  Tess gazed down at Jack, at his handsome face. He’s the one with the big heart, she was thinking as she lowered down, resting her cheek against his chest.

  …

  “Any brilliant ideas?” Jack asked. They’d been holed up in Tess’s apartment for two days, but they were both due back at school in just a couple hours. The only reason Jack knew that was because he’d happened to consult his watch after realizing he had no idea what time it was. Or what day. The whole weekend had been a whirlwind of laughter, tangled limbs, and Tess’s angel-soft skin under his hands.

  He saw Tess’s shoulders lift and lower with a heavy sigh. “Not really,” she replied. “I’m not sure whether what we’re doing is even ethical. Are we allowed to fraternize?”

  “Fraternize?” Jack repeated. “Is that what you’ve been doing to me all weekend?”

  She rubbed the side of her face. “You know what I mean.”

  Jack did know what she meant. He looked at her, sitting on the edge of the bed, toying with the tie of her silky bathrobe. If it was unethical to fraternize, he simply didn’t care.

  “We should keep it under wraps, don’t you think?” he managed to say.

  “Yeah,” Tess replied, rather halfheartedly.

  “Walker wouldn’t appreciate our complicated situation.”

  She chuckled in agreement. “Uh—no.”

  Jack stood a few steps away from her, watching as she looked down at her lap, chewing on her lip.

  “We have the staff meeting at seven,” Tess said. “You should probably go home now. Take a shower.”

  “Probably,” Jack said. But instead of gathering up his things like he knew he should, he knelt down in front of her.

  “Jack,” she whispered into his neck after he’d placed his hands on her knees and leaned in. “If we both show up late—”

  “So what?”

  “So…” She sighed in frustration, then rested her hands on top of his shoulders, looking into his face with those exquisite blue eyes. After staring at him for a moment, she stuck out her chin. “Oh, why did you wait so long? Why didn’t you come over Friday instead?” He felt her fingers pressing into him. “This wasn’t enough time.”