“And your sister,” I sigh. This is going to be very interesting. The worst they can do is not like me. “Now go to sleep. We have to get up early to get you to the airport.”
“But I want to do other things,” he pouts while his hand travels south.
“Nope. If we do that, we won’t make it to the airport on time.” I pull his hand back up until it’s resting on my stomach. “If you don’t stop, I’ll go sleep on the couch.”
“Yeah,” he strengthens his hold on me. “That’s not happening. You’re not leaving my arms until you absolutely have to.”
I guess there will be no space and I’ll be sweaty come morning. But that’s fine. At least I have these moments with him tonight.
* * *
Kisses on my neck are my alarm. Bentley pushes the hair off my face when he notices me stirring. I know it hasn’t been that long since we’ve gone to bed, but I won’t argue with how he’s waking me up. Mornings aren’t my thing, even when I have to go to work, but this is my own slice of paradise.
“I wish we could start the day like this every morning,” he mumbles in my ear. “That’s probably the best sleep I’ve gotten in ages and it’s only better because I get to wake up next to you.”
Cue the warm fuzzies. I’ve debated telling him I want to look for another job. Mostly because, well…we haven’t been dating that long and I don’t want him to think the change is because of him. I’m obviously not that sort of person. The one to derail my life for a guy. But, it’s time. I’m exhausted from all the travel, and if I could find a job that doesn’t require me to travel as much, then I’ll be happy. With, or without, Bentley by my side. “That could be a possibility.”
“What do you mean?” His lifts his head up and tilts it to the side like a confused puppy. It’s as adorable when he does it as when they do. “Did you find a different job?”
“Calm down.” I roll over until I’m facing him. His hair is sticking out in every direction, and I’m terrified of what mine looks like, but I don’t care right now. “I’ve been thinking about looking for another job. As much as I love visiting new places, I’m tired all the time.”
His eyes light up and the ghost of a smile crosses his lips. “Really? Have you already started looking?”
Shaking my head, I sigh. “Not yet. I want to be sure before I do anything. It’s just a thought for now.”
“What would you want to do?”
I shrug and the blanket covering us is pulled down just a little bit. “I don’t know. I thought maybe a travel agent. I’ve seen so much of the world, and I think I could be great at recommending travel destinations for others. I haven’t done any research into it, though.”
“Take your time,” he brushes his lips across his forehead. “Do what is best for you. I won’t pressure you one way or another.”
“That’s good to know.” I reach for the edge of the blanket and pull it off. His eyes go wide at my naked body, and he waggles his eyebrows. Before he has a chance to say anything at all, I put my finger against his lips. “We don’t have time for that. We need to get ready. You’re supposed to be at the airport in less than two hours.”
Instead of waiting for a response, I slide out of bed and walk toward the bathroom. I haven’t even made it to the door when he comes up behind me and sweeps me into his arms. “There’s always time. And we can scrub each other down in the shower.”
There’s no point in arguing with him. I’ll just enjoy my time with him while he’s here. There’s no use denying either one of us of what we want. I’ll save the goodbyes when he walks to security.
Twenty-Three
Bentley
“Why areyou rushing to the locker room?” Jordan calls from behind me. “It’s not going anywhere. It’s in the same spot it always is.” He’s quiet as I hurry along the hallway. “Unless, it has to do with Jolene…” He lets the sentence trail off. He knows damn well why I always rush to the locker room after practices and games.
“I want to see if she has a date that she’s flying here for a couple of days. My mom has been driving me crazy trying to pin something down.” She texts or calls me every single day lately. It’s not exactly unusual for her, except her calls never start with when do I get to meet Jolene? And now…they do. She even has Gabby on my case. Like I can somehow magically clear Jolene’s schedule for her. It’s even trickier since we both have such insane work lives. And not to mention she lives in a different damn state. It’d be a hell of a lot easier if she did have a stationary job, that’s for sure.
“You’ll get it figured out, man.” He pats my shoulder. When the hell did he catch up to me. I know he has long legs, but shit. That was quick. “I’m guessing things are going well with the two of you?”
“Yeah, it’s going pretty good.” Better than that actually. Even with the rushed phone calls between flights or after games, we manage to make time for each other. “Though I’m getting nervous.”
“Why?” Ross joins the conversation. “Every time I see you two, you look pretty confident about each other.”
“I don’t know,” I shrug as we enter the locker room. “I think this might be the real thing. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. I damn sure never took anyone home to meet my mom and sister.”
“Your mom didn’t really give you a choice since that reporter tried getting information out of you.” He heads to his locker and pulls out his gym bag. “Have you heard from her again? I mean, since you shut her down at the court that day?”
“Nope,” I shake my head and pull my phone out of my bag. “My agent hasn’t said anything and she hasn’t tried hitting me up on any of my social media. Hopefully, I won’t have to deal with her again.” Damn. No messages show up on my screen. She must not be off her flight yet.
“I hope so,” Jordan says. “She’s bad news all over. If she does come at you again. You need to call your agent or one of the managers because she will wreck your shit if she can.”