Player Loves Curves Box Set #1-3 by Hope Ford
Jasper
I don’t knowwho is madder, me or Carter. I’m seething and trying to stay calm at this point. I’m used to Carter acting up and being an ass. However, it’s never bothered me like this. Of course I’ve never seen him put his hands on a woman before either. He’s always been a pompous ass, but it seems like lately he’s getting out of hand. When I saw him grab on to Trinity, I saw red and I had no choice but to jump in.
When I pull her toward me, Carter releases his grip on her. She turns to me with a gasp and I can tell by the look on her face that she wasn’t expecting it to be me. Her face softens staring up at me and all I want to do is get lost in her eyes. But I don’t have that option. I drag my eyes from her and look over at Carter. We stare each other down and the look I’m giving him must tell him not to fuck with me at this point because he drops his hand from Trinity and walks back over to her sister. He puts his arm around Sheena and stares back at me. I look down at Trinity and she’s giving Carter the biggest dirty look I’ve ever seen. For a little thing, she sure does look intimidating.
Carter tugs Sheena in closer under his arm. “Whatever, we’re out of here.” They start to walk away, but I put my hand up in front of them and they stop to look at me. I glance at Sheena and then back at Carter. I don’t trust him and so I’m not going to take my eyes off him. “Sheena, you want to go with Trinity?”
She blows a bubble with her gum and starts chomping on it. She looks completely unfazed by the situation and that fact alone makes me dislike her even more. She’s been around the club a lot lately. She’s what some would call a “baseball bunny.” I don’t really care for her, but she’s always stayed away from me. Now, after the way she lets her “boyfriend” treat her sister, I’d say it’s wise for her to stay as far from me as possible.
“No, I want to stay with Carter.”
Carter looks at me smugly, and with venom in his eyes and tone he says, “There you have it.”
“Sheena.” Trinity starts to walk toward Sheena, and I move between her and Carter. “Let him cool down. Come home with me.”
I watch Carter closely and his eyes are fixed on Trinity, not the girl he has in his arm.
Sheena laughs and rolls her eyes. “You’re just overreacting like always.”
Trinity looks deflated, but she stands by for Sheena and Carter to walk out.
We’re quiet for a second as we watch them walk away. I don’t have a sibling, but I’m still a little confused by the situation and trying to figure out what just happened. It was a shit show for sure. Trinity looks up at me with shyness. She blinks her big blue eyes at me. “Uh, thanks for your help.”
Before I can even answer her, she’s already turned on her heel and starts to walk away. I catch up to her easily, putting my hand on her shoulder to stop her. When she turns toward me, I leave my hand on her arm until she looks at it. I brush a hair off her cheek, wanting just to touch her. Our eyes are frozen on each other until I shake myself out of the trance. “Are you all right?”
She shrugs her shoulders. “Trust me, this is not the first drama I’ve had with Sheena and one of her boyfriends and I’m willing to bet it won’t be the last.”
I nod my head understandingly. “Well, can I walk you to your car?”
Her eyes dip down my body and her face flushes again. It’s almost like I can imagine her thoughts and she’s thinking back to the locker room when she walked in on me. I try to hide my smile and get the thought out of my head. Just thinking about it has my blood pressure rising.
She shakes her head. “That’s okay. I’m fine, really. Thanks for stepping in back there. You didn’t have to do that.”
She obviously wants to go, but I can’t just let her walk away. I can’t get the way Carter was looking at her out of my head. “No problem. Look, Carter’s a real dickhead and I wouldn’t put it past him to meet you in the parking lot if he thought you’d be alone. Will you please just let me walk you to your car?”
She looks toward the tunnel Sheena and Carter just walked down and we can still hear the echo of their voices. She finally looks back at me. I can see the indecision on her face. I feel like I’m holding my breath, waiting for her to answer. I feel like she’s just walked into my life and I’m not ready to let her go yet. I want to spend more time with her and get to know her. For how much we see Sheena around here, I would’ve thought we would see Trinity too. But I would have remembered her. I have no doubt.
She finally smiles softly at me and mutters, “Uh, yeah, that would be great.”
As soon as she says it, I can’t stop the smile that takes over my face. I want to reach out for her, take her hand, touch the small of her back, something. But I don’t. Instead, I just nod my head at her, hold my hand out, and tell her, “Lead the way.”
She starts walking and I slow my stride to walk next to her. Being the starting pitcher for the Tennessee Mavericks, most people would think I have game. But I don’t even try to act like I do. I ask her before I lose my nerve, “So do you have a boyfriend?”
And then I hold my breath, waiting for her to answer me.
