Straddling the Line(11)

Alicia rolled her eyes. "This is what happens when I leave it to Garrett  to invite people." Alicia pulled out her phone. "Are you ready?"

"Why don't you put all that in your phone?" Trevor said to Haven. "I think mine's in the bottom of my gym bag somewhere."

"Oh, sure." She dug her phone out of her bag and typed in the date, time, and information. "Got it."

"Great. See you all later."

Trevor led her outside to his car. There were several people hanging outside near the fences.

"Do you mind waiting?" he asked.

"Not at all."

He went over and spent fifteen minutes signing autographs and taking  pictures. She liked that he took the time. Many athletes didn't. A lot  of the rookies did, because they wanted to establish themselves. But  once fame hit, many felt they didn't need their fans any longer.

Garrett and Gavin had lingered, too.

She liked this about these athletes. It showed class that they cared about their fans.

When Trevor was done, he picked up his bag and led her back to his car.

"Are you hungry?"

"Actually, yes. I thought I'd grab a hot dog and beer at the ballpark, but the game was so intense I never took the time."

He smiled as he pulled out of the parking lot. "It was a pretty intense game, wasn't it?"

"Yes. A good game, too. You played very well."

"I did, didn't I?"

She stared at him, and then he winked at her. She laughed.

"I never know when you're giving me a hard time."         

     



 

"Good to know."

He took a turn and headed onto the highway. It was dark. A lot of the  restaurants had to be closed by now since it was almost eleven.

"Where will we eat? At home?"

"Probably. I don't feel like crowds tonight. But I thought we'd pick up a pizza."

"Oh, pizza sounds good."

"What kind of pizza do you like?" he asked.

"Any kind. My favorite is sausage, though."

"Sausage it is."

He pressed a button on his car. The center display called a place named Imo's. He ordered the pizza and hung up.

"It'll be ready when we get there."

"Convenient."

In twenty minutes, they'd swung by and picked up the pizza and headed  back to Trevor's house. Haven was starving by the time they got inside,  especially after smelling the pizza.

"You're going to love this," he said as he laid the box on the counter and grabbed plates.

"What would you like to drink?" she asked.

"Water's good for me."

"For me, too." She fixed two glasses of ice water, then they grabbed  seats at the breakfast bar. He had opened the box and the pizza looked  glorious. He helped her scoop hers onto the plate.

"Best pizza around. Trust me on this," he said.

"Right now I'm so hungry I'd eat the cardboard box. But the pizza smells  great." She took her first bite, and had to admit Trevor was right. It  was excellent pizza. She ate a lot of it, too, until she couldn't stuff  another bite in her mouth. She pushed back from the counter with a  grunt.

"I ate too much."

He laughed. "I ate way more than you."

"You're bigger than me. You burn a lot more calories than I do, too. I'm so going to regret this."

"You were hungry."

"I was, but that's no excuse to eat that much this late. Now I'll be awake all night."

"Come on," he said, grabbing the now-empty pizza box to take to the trash. "Let's go walk it off."

"Great idea."

She put on her tennis shoes and they headed outside. The night was  clear, a little cool, but she didn't mind that at all. The brisk weather  would help clear her head-and maybe help her digest. They strolled down  the long driveway and outside the gate.

She understood the privacy, the allure of this neighborhood. There were  only six houses on his side of the street, all as big and as sheltered  as Trevor's. No one was out and about this late at night, so it was like  the two of them were entirely alone as they walked. She wasn't sure  she'd go out on her own, but then again the neighborhood was secured by a  guard and a gate.

"Do you get out and walk along here much?"

"Not really. I have the gym inside the house for exercise. But the weather's nicer now, so it's good to get some fresh air."

They took a long walk, too, as there were more houses in the  neighborhood than what she'd originally seen when they'd come in. The  area wound around beyond just the circular block. She wished now that it  wasn't dark, that she could see beyond the thick trees that guarded the  entrances to all the million-dollar estates nestled beyond the privacy  fences and gates.

"This area is amazing. So private, and each property has so much space."

"Yeah. It's what drew me here, and it's not stuffy or pretentious.  During the day you can see people out with their kids. It's a  neighborhood to grow into."

"So you plan to stay here in St. Louis?"

"I like it here. And it's not too far from where I grew up in  Springfield, Missouri, so it's close enough I can still visit home.  Plus, Zane will be going to school here. And he likes it here, too, so I  could see him staying on after he finishes medical school."

She liked that he thought about his family-or at least, his brother-and wanted to stay in close proximity.

"What if you got traded to another team?"

He laughed. "That's not likely to happen."

"You just signed with St. Louis a few years ago."

"Yeah. That was a move my agent and I made at my request. The Rivers are  a good fit for me. I like their organization, their coaching staff, and  their philosophy. Plus, like I said, Zane's here. I'll stay here until I  decide to quit playing baseball."

She turned her head toward him as they walked. "And when will that be?"

He offered up an enigmatic smile. "When I'm done playing baseball."

"A very vague answer, Shay."

"It's the only one I have right now, Briscoe."         

     



 

She laughed. "Spoken by someone used to dealing with media questions."

They had walked all the way to the main security gate. Trevor waved to the guard on duty, then they turned around.

"Tired?" he asked.

"Not at all. Invigorated."

They started the walk back. She was thankful they'd picked up the pace  by then, because the wind had picked up, making it colder, and she could  smell rain in the air.

And when she heard thunder and felt a few drops hit her skin, she looked  up at Trevor; he looked at her and said, "We might get wet."

The words had no sooner left his lips than it started raining. Hard. He  took her hand and they made a run for it. She knew he could run a lot  faster than her. His legs were longer, but he held back, keeping a tight  hold on her hand as they dashed back to the house. By the time they  reached the side entry and he keyed in the security code to the raise  the garage door, Haven was completely drenched.

She toed off her soaked tennis shoes in the garage, happy to be out of the rain.

Trevor kicked off his shoes, then used his fingers to comb back his  hair. "Let me go grab some towels for us. I'll be right back."

"Sure."

She really wanted to strip right now, but no way was she going to walk  on his expensive wood flooring in sopping wet clothes. She'd wait for  the towel.

TREVOR DUCKED INSIDE AND GRABBED TWO TOWELS from the cabinet in the  laundry room in the hall, then came back out to the garage, slowing his  walk long enough to get a good, long look at Haven standing there all  wet.

Her hair was plastered against her face, ringlets of dark curls against  her cheek. Her white T-shirt was pressed against her skin, outlining a  pink bra that was nearly see-through. And since he'd flipped on the  garage light, he could see plenty, including the fact that she was cold.

He wasn't a teenager anymore. He'd seen breasts and nipples-plenty of  them. But he had to admit, he liked the peek at Haven's, and would like  to see even more.

"I should strip out of these wet clothes before I head over to my wing. I don't want to drip all over your floor."

Frankly, he couldn't care less about the floor. But how could he pass up  the opportunity to see an impromptu striptease? He wasn't dumb. "Yeah,  probably a good idea."

He figured she was going to do some kind of secret wrap-the-towel-around-herself thing while trying to be modest.

Nope. She drew her top off, then undid her pants and let those drop,  too, leaving her in just her underwear. She dried off as best she could,  then wrapped the towel around her and picked up her wet clothes. He had  only a brief view of her in her wet underwear, but it was enough to  make him want to see a lot more of her skin.

She had a great body. Nice curves, long legs, and a great ass.

"Are you going to stand there dripping and ogling me, or are you going to get out of your wet clothes?" she finally asked.

"Sorry. My brain cells sank right to my dick when you started stripping."

She laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment. In the meantime, I'm going to go to my room and take a hot shower."