Read Online Play Me by Diane Alberts - Free Book Online

my God. The memories those simple words brought back. “Because we can’t mess this up. Our baby needs us to get along. To stay a pair. And after Pete, I’ve seen firsthand how ugly things can get. I don’t want that for us. This might actually work if we keep to the plan.”
    His rubbed the back of his neck. “So no touching?”
    “No touching.”
    Even though she wanted to touch so badly it hurt. And even though she was starting to want things she had no right wanting. Or maybe that was even more of a reason to stay as far away as possible from him when they were living under the same roof.
    Feelings this strong were bound to combust when brought together.

Chapter Six
    The next day, Garrett slammed his shoulder into Mike, knocking him down on the court. That in and of itself was nothing too strange, as they all played rough at practices, but Garrett proceeded to plow down his other teammates Stephen and Riley at half court before scoring a three pointer. Instead of smiling in satisfaction, he picked up the ball and turned to his teammates.
    He needed to sweat his desire for Kiersten out of his blood.
    “Let’s do that play again. We’re playing the Golden Nugget tomorrow. It’s gonna be a rough—” When Garrett turned around, he found his teammates on the floor. “What the hell are you pansies doing on the ground? Taking a nap? Get the fuck up.”
    “Okay, what the hell is wrong with you?” Riley asked from somewhere near Garrett’s feet. “You run us down all day long, and then yell when we don’t jump up in excitement for you to do it all over again?”
    “Yeah, I do,” he snapped. His eyes roamed over the court. “Where the hell is Al? Did he go home to get a princess Band-Aid on his knee?”
    “No, he went to get stitches,” Mike said slow and clear. “You busted open his knee. He left when you were doing your three pointer binge.”
    Garrett dropped the ball on the floor, resting his foot on it, and his gaze swept over his teammates. Every single one of them was bleeding or out of breath. Remorse swept through him. They all took their frustrations out on the court, but tonight he’d gone overboard. “Shit. I’m sorry, guys.”
    They exchanged looks and stood, brushing off their clothes and mumbling their acceptances of his apology. Yet they all backed away from him except Mike. “It’s fine, but I think we should be done for the night. We got enough practice in,” Mike said, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Time to go home.”
    “Of course,” Garrett agreed, averting his eyes from his exhausted teammates. They were suffering because of his pent-up frustrations and fears of the future. He was going to be a dad . A fucking dad, to two kids.
    What did he know about that shit?
    He’d been trying to keep his cool around Kiersten, but inside he was panicking. He had to live with her, but not touch her. Pretend to be with her, but not be. Be a dad to two kids, but stay single for the rest of his life. He didn’t miss the repercussions of his actions when he agreed to the plan. Sure, he could fall in love and get married to another woman. That’s what Kiersten inferred.
    But he couldn’t really.
    If he left them and married another woman, how would the kids react? What would Kiersten do? How would their little family recover?
    There were only two options available to him. Find a way to show Kiersten that maybe she could love him if she opened her heart to the idea, or stay a bachelor who only had meaningless flings when the opportunity presented itself.
    He much preferred option one.
    The feelings he had for Kiersten weren’t fading. If anything, they were getting stronger. But he had to find a way to make her feel the same way, and he wasn’t sure that was even possible .
    “Go ahead, head on out,” Mike said to Riley and Stephen, who were still eyeing Garrett cautiously when he returned to the present and out of his fucked up future. “I’ve gotta talk to Garrett alone.”
    Great.