7. Brady

7

Brady

I know it's stupid. Asking this incredible, intelligent, mature woman such a question, when I should be running the other way, but dammit, I like her. Again, all the more reason to put a measure of distance between us. What the fuck are you doing, bud?

Water splashes against our bodies as I stand still in the surf, the gorgeous woman I slept with last night pressed against my body. A bevy of emotions move over her face, and I remind myself that she told me we couldn't have sex again—before we had sex again. Goddammit, she's as conflicted about all this as I am—she clearly has her own reasons for keeping her distance. I'm about to tell her to forget it, that I was just kidding—something anyone would believe when it comes to me—when she opens her mouth and I stop speaking, because fuck, I really want to hear the answer.

"Yes," she says quietly and air leaves my lungs in a fast whoosh, because despite everything, that's the answer I wanted to hear on her lips. She swallows and it's tight and labored. "But…"

"But what?" I manage to get out.

"Just sex. No commitment."

I instantly call on the Brady people know. "Hey, those are the rules I live by, babe," I shoot back, a stupid grin on my face, one I've perfected over the years.

She watches me carefully for a second and I almost turn my head, but that might make her wonder.

"And…" she continues. "Just until your pre-season starts." I nod, because I'll need my head in the game, and I can't let anything interfere with hockey. Christ, I have too many people counting on my paycheck, and I failed my team last year when we didn't win the cup. That nearly fucking killed me. "My fall semester starts in September, and it's my hardest courses," she adds. "If you can live with those terms, then?—"

"Deal."

She turns coy, and grins. "My turn."

Since most of the blood has left my brain and this is no time to get a boner, I call on what little focus I have and try to figure out what she's talking about. "Your turn?"

She pokes my chest. Poke and bang . "Truth or dare?"

I laugh, and while I'd normally pick dare, since I don't want anyone knowing the truth about me, something compels me to act out of character. That makes me ask myself a question—do I want her to know the truth? Sure, I had a moment of weakness last night, and weakness means I need to grow a set. "Truth, unless of course you're going to dare me to take you to bed right now, and bang you."

She chuckles and then puckers her lips like she's in thought. "Actually, I'm going to hold off on asking a question."

"Oh, really." She slips a little in my arms, and I adjust her, her eyes widening when she feels my dick thickening against her hip. "What are you up to, Lanie?"

"Nothing, I just can't think of anything right now."

I doubt that, but if she wants to wait, then so be it. "I can think of something."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, taking you to bed right now." I slowly lower her, but continue to hold her against me when her feet hit the ground.

She moves against my semi-boner, and a hard quiver goes through her. Her cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink as vibrations skitter through me and settle in my cock. "While that is tempting…" She crinkles up her nose. "I do have to study. You kept me too busy last night."

I take her hand in mind and her gaze drops, studying our entwined fingers as I give a tug, setting us both into motion. "You said you wouldn't be mad."

"I'm not." Her head lifts as we walk the beach and she grins at me. Fuck, I love how it lights up her eyes.

"Good, I wouldn't want to stand in the way of your studying."

"You weren't standing," she says and we both laugh. Honestly, this woman is all work and no play. I've known her for a year, watched her work at the rooftop bar and study when things were quiet. There's a deep seriousness about her, but when she says things like that, I realize beneath it all, she's fun loving, but tries to keep that part of herself contained.

"How long did you set aside to study?" She frowns, checks the time on my phone, and that's when I realize what I said, and how it's coming across to her. "Hold it. I'm not rushing you. Take all the time you need to study. That's not what I'm getting at."

She nods, the worry leaving her face. "I was going to put in a solid three hours."

"Do you take breaks?"

"Definitely, and I was going to use that time to search for a place to live."

I consider that for a moment. I don't have much to do today, other than rest up for conditioning on Monday. "Okay, I have a plan."

One brow raises. "You do? I told you?—"

I sidestep a nearly washed-out sandcastle, and maneuver her with me. "I'm going to take some things off your hands."

Her steps slow. "Why would you do that?"

Why the heck does she seem surprised? Christ, I know the work that goes into succeeding and it's easy to tell she's struggling to do it all. "To help you out so you can study. When you take a break, I have some ideas on how I can help you relax."

Her brows pull together, and I tug her too me as a wayward football nearly hits her. "Why would you do that? What do you want in return?"

"Can't a guy help a girl out without wanting anything in return." Her gaze drops to her feet as she walks and my chest tightens. "Hey," I say to bring her attention back to me.

"I just…I don't know why you would do that." I brush my thumb over the soft skin on her wrist. "Wait, I guess I do," she says, snorting out a laugh. "Sex."

Jesus, has no one ever helped her out before? Does she always expect tit for tat? "Lanie…" Before I can say anything, a man selling hats on the beach approaches.

"Hat?" he asks, holding a long stack out to us. "Pretty lady, I have just the hat for you." He drops a pink sun hat onto her head, and she removes it quickly.

"No thanks."

"Lady, I'll give you a good deal."

She shakes her head no, and when he's about to protest, I put my hand out to stop him from dropping it back onto her head.

"No, we're good," I tell him, just as another man, one who looks to be in his mid-fifties, no doubt a guest at the resort, comes racing over. He's breathless, practically panting by the time he reaches us.

"I'll take one, actually. Mine blew away yesterday." He reaches into the front of his bathing suit, and curses under his breath. "I had cash, it must have fallen out when I went swimming. I seem to be losing everything lately." As he speaks, I smell hard liquor on his breath, and who am I to judge. The man is on vacation, and can drink what he wants, but that's probably why he's losing things.

He jerks his thumb over his shoulder. "I have to run back to my room. Can you wait?" He's about to turn, only to stop and curse. "Dammit, the wife is still sleeping and I don't want to wake her. Will you be back tomorrow?" The man swipes his hand over his balding head, burning in the morning sun.

"You need a hat today, my friend," the vendor says.

The guest turns to me, an almost pleading look on his face. "You wouldn't happen to have a twenty on you that I can borrow, would you?"

"Yeah, actually I do." Melanie's eyes go wide as I reach into my swimsuit and explain. "I was going to grab us bagels after my swim."

She shakes her head. "Brady," she murmurs, under her breath, but it's still loud enough for everyone to hear. "You can't give him money."

"I'll pay him back. I promise," the guy assures me, and I nod. When he narrows his eyes, I pull my ball cap down lower. I love my fans. I really do. Some days, however, I just want to be anonymous.

"Wait, are you…"

"Here you go," I say and hand over the cash.

"Thanks, man. Are you staying here?"

"Yeah," is all I say.

"Where can I find you?"

I glance at Melanie. "Tonight. Rooftop bar."

The guy hands the vendor the money and plops a new hat on his head. "Great, see you there."

We start walking again, and I stare at the seagulls flying overhead, circling a young boy eating a donut. I can feel Melanie's eyes on me as we walk toward the house. "What?" I ask.

"Why did you give him money? He's not going to pay you back."

I shrug. "He needed it. Did you see his forehead?"

"Do you give money to everyone who needs it?" she asks.

The truth is, I do. "Just helping out."

"You're not responsible for him," she points out, and her words hit me in the center of the chest like a hard puck. I suck in a tight breath as my muscles stiffen. "You're not responsible for anyone but yourself. I don't mean to sound harsh, Brady. It's just you're never getting that back."

She says that like she knows—has experienced it—firsthand. "He promised to repay me."

"People don't keep promises," she mumbles under her breath and keeps her head down, her focus on the sand as we walk. Her hair spills forward, veiling her face and I can't see her expression. I don't need to, really. The pain in her words was enough to let me know she'd been let down—probably many times. Goddammit, I hate that and I don't want to let her down, ever. Which once again reminds me I shouldn't be getting involved.

"Just sex, right? No commitment. No future. No promises," I say almost to myself, a reminder that I can't do more. Her head lifts and her blue eyes latch on mine. I spot a fierce determination there when she nods her head in agreement.

Okay, great. We both know exactly where we stand and what the other wants. I've always lived by those rules with women in the past, no problem. Shouldn't be a problem this time, either.

Yeah, go ahead and tell yourself that, dude.

We walk a little further, and a child about four comes racing down the beach, trips on nothing in particular and face plants in front of us. Melanie gasps and drops to her feet.

"I'm so sorry," a woman screams out and comes hurrying toward us, but Melanie already has the little girl upright and is brushing sand off her knees. "I only turned my head for a second."

Melanie laughs. "That's all it takes. I think she's perfectly fine."

"Zoe, you know you're not supposed to run off like that," the mother scolds, and takes the child into her arms to give her a big hug, clearly relieved that nothing bad happened.

"I wanted the bucket, Mommy." The mother looks toward the water, to the abandoned bucket riding the waves.

"We don't take what's not ours," the mom reminds her and looks back at Melanie. "Thank you again."

"Not a problem. She's adorable." The warm, loving look on Melanie's face curls around my heart and tugs tight. Holy crap, I don't really know much about kids, but from the longing look on Melanie's face, there's no doubt that she adores them…maybe even wants one of her own. "Are you staying here at the resort?" Melanie asks.

The mother nods. "For the weekend."

"Why don't you come up to the rooftop pool this evening? I might have something special for Zoe."

The mother gives a big smile. "That's so nice of you. What do we say, Zoe?"

Zoe glances up at Melanie with big brown eyes. "Fank you."

Melanie and the mom laugh. "I'm Gina."

"Nice to meet you, Gina. I'm Melanie." Melanie bends and taps the child's nose. "See you soon, Zoe." The mom and Zoe head back to their beach cabana, and I take Melanie's hand back in mine again.

"You're good with kids." She nods, a tender smile on her face. "You'll be a good mother."

Her demeanor changes quickly as she snorts out a laugh full of mockery. "Nope, not happening."

"Really?" I'm not sure why that surprises me. She's pretty career focused.

"I'm not bringing a child into this world." I don't tell her I totally agree—that I can't do the responsibility. "Besides, I'm too old for kids."

Okay, now that makes me laugh. "You're what, twenty-eight?"

She nods. "By the time I finish my degree, and settle into a career…"

"I don't know much about biological clocks, but I'm guessing you think yours will be done ticking by then?"

"Broken." She gives a humorless laugh. "The chance of getting pregnant goes down when you hit your thirties."

"Hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day." She rolls her eyes at me. "Well, I guess if you ever change your mind and want kids, you still have a couple good years."

She snorts again, blowing me off. I study her as she stares straight ahead. Is her clock ticking now? While not everyone is cut out to be a mother, I saw that look on her face. She wants kids.

I get the sense that it's more than school holding her back.