Team Tomás (The Saints Team #2) (5 page)

Chapter 10

The text message ping woke me out of my complacency;
I was in my bedroom doing my last college assignment—all four thousand words of
it—and I had started to nod off. It was after ten and Dad and Ryan had already
turned it and I should too with work tomorrow. I dreaded looking at my phone—I
had spoken with Mia and Cassie earlier so I was expecting this to be a text
from Finn asking if I want to hook up again.
No Finn, get fucked
. I
wonder if that text would be direct enough.

I picked up the phone and my heart
stopped. The text was from Tomás. I took a deep breath before thumbing across
the screen to open it... just in case I wouldn’t be able to get my breath after
reading it.

Tomás: “Hey
bella
, how is
the new job?”

That was it. Wow, I could make a
lot from this. Tomás is texting me because he heard I got the job, and he knows
I’ve started, and he’s thinking of me, and he’s not with another woman at the
moment so he’s got time to text me, and he thinks I’m beautiful. I wonder if
he’s lying on his bed with his phone. He could be lying there with no clothes
on—no he’d be cold... don’t want to think about shrinkage. He could be lying
there with underwear on, and his muscles bulging and his dick bulging. He could
be...

I then remembered I had to answer
the text. Cassie had said to play it cool, yeah, cool, that’s me, super cool, I
thought. Who am I kidding? I’m a twenty-one year old virgin who is surrounded
by gorgeous guys and the inner voice keeps telling me to wait for a romantic,
meaningful encounter to give it up. I suck big time.

I thought about the text, and
thought about it some more, and then I realized if I didn’t text him back soon
he’d be asleep. Here goes.
You go Alice
, I coached myself.

Me: I luv it, thx 4 remembering.
All good with U?

Done. Right then, breathe again
and wait. I wonder what Tomás’s middle name is. Mm, maybe super-gorgeous. Well,
Tomás ‘super-gorgeous’ Carrera was obviously well practiced on the phone
texting as a message pinged back to my phone only moments later.

Tomás: Plsed 4 U. Been thinking of
U.

Yes!
He’d been thinking of
me, this was so good. Hang on... you know I try really hard not to swear too
much but sometimes you’ve just got to give in to it... for fuck’s sake Tomás, I
thought, stop thinking about me and do something about it. Saints preserve us,
why was it so hard to find a romantic guy who would remove my virginity?

Right, a response, let me think
here. I looked to the clock; a bit late to text Cassie, I was on my own.
I
can do this,
I continued to coach myself. I could tell him I miss him too
but I bet every chick on the planet would miss Tomás Carrera, I took a
different tack—I’d follow on from his comment.

Me: Wot have U been thinking about
me?

Yeah, that was good. Good job me. He
shot back a text.

Tomás: When I can C U again?

You’re killing me Tomás Carrera.
KILLING ME. No, I didn’t text that, but I wanted to. Okay, think, Alice, think.

Me: U can walk past my office
every day & spot me hard @ it. Workin gal

God that was good, I surprised
myself and hit the send button. Tomás volleyed a text back to me seconds later.

Tomás: Luv that cream dress 2day

Fuck, he had seen me. But he
didn’t come in and say hello. Where was he? Did he see me leaving in the
parking lot maybe? Never mind, keep it light and fun. I can do light and fun.

Me: Were U hiding behind the photocopier?

Tomás: Sprung me Cookie. I'd like
2 hide under your desk

Okay, I was going to have to take
matters into my own hands shortly. I reached down into my panties. Oh yes, I
was wet, wet enough for Tomás to slide right in. Why couldn’t I be a slutty
girl or a promiscuous girl, or hell, any girl that wasn’t a virgin? I shot back
a reply about work.

Me: As Mae said, cum up & C me
sometime, top of desk

Tomás: Who is Mae? I'm up already.
Will I just cum?

Ah there it was. I stopped to
think about this one. Kind of figured we’d get there, God knows I want to get
there in the flesh.

Tomás:
Bella?

And then my phone battery died.

No! Fuck, seriously. I plugged it
in, trying to get it to turn on again but there wasn’t enough charge to even
open the screen yet. My life was hell. Tomás was going to think I was
offended—crap, shit, fuck. It hadn’t been a good day with the guys; I was truly
screwed but not, if you know what I mean?

Whatever, just give it up and
become a nun. Are there any nuns left in the world? On the bright side, at
least I was following Cassie’s advice and playing hard to get… accidentally.

Chapter 11

“Looking good,” Sasha Saxon of the Santa Ana Saints
said, as I walked into the office in a red tartan skirt, black boots and a
black knit top.

“This old thing.” I grinned at
her. “You’re looking pretty hot there yourself.” I took in her full-skirt,
ankle length, navy velvet dress set off by the bleached blonde hair. On her
desk was a velvet fedora in the same color—very bohemian.

“I made this; I make a lot of my
own stuff.” She stood and did a twirl before plonking herself back on her chair
behind the desk. “I sell my fashions online and at the markets. I’ll send you
the link.”

“Please,” I said. “I love
shopping, did I mention that?”

Kay entered in a hurry, flustered
from the school run, and Jim walked in from his office.

“Alice!” he exclaimed. “You’ve
come back for day two; well this is a good sign.”

I laughed but no-one else did. I
noted Jim’s pin-striped suit should have been retired last century.

“Umm, don’t they usually come
back?” I asked Jim. The three exchanged looks. “No, really?” I asked again.

“Jim’s scared a few away,” Kay
said with a grin in his direction.

He put his hands up in surrender.

“I did no such thing, but there is
a bit of a mice and rat problem in the office, and sometimes the reality sinks
in that they are not going to meet the players, and they are pretty much
working seven days a week on home match days.”

“How exciting though—not meeting
the players—the being involved on match days,” I said, “but not so excited
about the mice and rats.” I lifted my feet a little higher off the ground onto
the chair frame and thanked the Lord I had boots on.

Kay addressed me. “Don’t you worry
Alice, I’ve put bait around... although it is a terrible way to die,” she said,
and sighed.

That killed the mood, until we
turned at the sound of someone walking towards our department. My eyes grew
huge as Tomás Carrera, my Tomás, walked into our area.

“Ah the most beautiful women in
the most important department, and Jim,” Tomás said, entering our area.

Jim laughed. “Yes, thank you Tomás.
Are you well?”

“Very well,” he said, hitting Jim
on the shoulder and towering over him. Jim seemed to know everyone; he definitely
was a fixture.

Tomás looked so edible in jeans
which hung perfectly on his slim, muscular hips, a light black pullover and
white T-shirt underneath. His hair was a bit of a spiky mess as if he had just
got up and forgot about it but it looked so cute. I wanted to run my hands
through it.

He looked to me. “I came to see how
Al...iss was settling in.”

I felt them all looking at me. If,
according to Jim, players rarely came into our part of the office, I was going
to have absolutely no credibility left after this. First of all the Santa Ana
Saints Captain visits me on day one; now the best boot in the country drops in
on day two. It looks like I’ve slept my way to the job.

“Settling in just fine thanks, Tomás.”
I smiled, awkwardly.

“You know each other?” Sasha said,
her eyes huge.

“Ah, would you believe we’re
cousins?” I asked.

“No,” Kay said, smiling sweetly at
Tomás.

“Kissing cousins,” Tomás said and
leaned over to kiss me on the cheek.

“So…” I tried to restore some
sanity to the situation even though I was sure my cheeks were burning red. “Tomás
you’ve obviously met Jim, and you know Sasha and Kay?”

“I have not had the pleasure of
meeting Kaa...hh, but Sass…sha and I have done a few media interviews together,”
he said in his smooth Spanish tongue, accentuating the ‘a’s and softening the
rest. He turned his gaze to them and gave them a smile that pretty much melted
them to their seats. They both returned a smile, looking much sweeter than I
knew they were… ah the effect a gorgeous man can have on a woman, shameful
really.

“Ah, a short but sweet visit,” he
looked to his watch. “I have a meeting with Shayne.” He turned to me. “I’ll see
you before I leave.”

“I’m really busy today,” I said,
shaking my head and trying to tell him not to get me fired on day two.

“Nonsense.” Jim stepped in. “Player
management is important and I’m sure there’s a few player appearance requests
in that folder for Tomás.”

Tomás grimaced. “Ah, I might be
busy after all.”

Everyone laughed and he departed,
not before stopping and whispering in my ear.

“Are you mad at me, Cookie?”

I shook my head. “Definitely not.”

“Good,” he said, and with that he
was gone. There was never going to be a dull moment in this office.

*****

Jim answered a few of my questions and disappeared
back into his office. As soon as he was gone, Sasha began on me.

“Okay, Alice, spill it, how do you
know the Latin lover?” She crossed her arms in front of her and gave me a look
that spelled an interrogation was coming.

“I don’t know him that well.” I
tried to play it down. “I met him a few times and we’ve hung out in the same
circles, that’s all.” Meanwhile I could feel his kiss on my cheek still and
blushed every time I thought about it.

“It seems to me he likes you a
little more than friends,” Kay said, and gave me a knowing look.

“Right then.” I looked at my
computer. “I’ve got heaps to do.”

“Mm, we’ll continue this later,”
Sasha said, and waggled a finger at me. “You know I’m a qualified journalist,
Alice. I don’t give up on my interview subjects that easily.”

I grimaced at her. Lunchtime with
Sasha was going to be hell but for now I was saved by The Russian walking past
to his desk.

“Morning ladies,” he said, and we
answered in unison, all three of us silently watching like clown heads in a
sideshow carnival—our mouths opened, our heads turned—as the six-foot-five
vision passed us.

Then the text messages started on
my phone. I was lucky it was on silent and Kay and Sasha were hidden behind
their computer screens.

Tomás: U look gorgeous,
bella
.

Me: Aren’t U in a meeting?

Tomás: Yes, but Shayne is on d
fone. Were U mad @ me last nyt 4 being up?

Me: No my battery went dead.

Tomás: On your vibrator?

Me: Eww. On my phone.

Then there was blessed silence for
a short while and I got to work. Ten minutes later, the text messages started
up again. I took a deep breath to calm myself because all I could think about
was Tomás, and I didn’t want to think about Tomás at work.

Tomás: Did U think of me all
night?

Me: Big head, I’m not telling U

Tomás: Cookie, that’s not nice

Me: Okay, maybe I thought of U a
few times

Tomás: More than 10, less than 50

Me: Are U still in that meeting?

Tomás: Yes but Russian interrupted
& is talkin 2 Shayne. So?

Me: Sigh. 10+. Did U think of me?

Tomás: No

Me: Thanks

Tomás: Kidding. Of course, I told
U I wz up & U helped with that

Me: So U thought of me while...

Tomás: Aren’t U flattered?

Me: Maybe. I have 2 work, you’ll
get me fired

Tomás: I want 2 take U out

Me: Good

Tomás: I will call

Me: Gr8

Tomás: Bye 4 now, Cookie

Me: Bye Tomás

Tomás: Did I tell U that U R cute?

Me: Bye Tomás

Chapter 12

Cassie was on my case to move out with her now that I
had a job—a job I had for three days mind you. Dad knew I was going to do my
own thing as soon as I finished college and got a job; I had done one of the
two at least. He joked it would be a bachelor pad now with him and Ryan, and
he’d be able to bring a few ladies home at last. I knew Dad had had dates since
Mom died but no one serious. My aunty said it was too easy for him just to come
home to Ryan and me every night and not get on with meeting someone, but
eventually he had to. It helped making the move out a little less painful
knowing he might date—I worried about him. Ryan on the other hand pretty much
lived in his room.

Cassie and I had always talked
about flatting together. Actually we talked about the three of us flatting
together—Mia, Cassie, and me—but Mia had gone straight to first class, moving
in with Lucas in his posh beach mansion as she called it. Cassie had a great apartment;
it belonged to her family, which meant her rent was way less than the industry
standard. Up to a few weeks ago she had shared it with another student until
they graduated and she hadn’t found another housemate yet. It had three good
size rooms and two bathrooms—luxury, I would have my own bathroom. Only one car
park but Cassie didn’t have a car so that worked out just fine and I could
afford half the rent now with my new job.

We’d put it off until Monday week
because I had to work for my first weekend at the Saints and anyway, I could
move in one car load—I only had clothes. Cassie’s place was fully furnished and
Dad wanted to keep my room the same in case I ever needed to come back. So, as
well as the new job and moving out on the cards, I was saving the best until
last… I had an official date with Tomás on Wednesday night. Big news!

*****

Wednesday at last... I never thought it would arrive.
It was the night of the great date. Seriously, that’s what Tomás called it when
he texted me on Monday night to say he wanted to take me on a date and I should
dress for all things. What does that mean? Am I wearing heels or running up a
mountain? Sipping champagne or playing soccer? Men, they just don’t get it.

I was going on a date with Tomás
Carrera, pause, I was just letting that sink in—okay, now I was too nervous to
form a sentence and he’d be here in fifteen minutes.

I re-read his text again; thank
God text messages don’t fade from wear and tear or this one would have
disappeared two nights ago. I kept studying it, looking for meaning between the
lines, words within the words, picturing Tomás texting it and looking at the
screen with his gorgeous eyes and kissable mouth, turning up in a smile as he
fired off the text messages. Sigh.

Tomás:
Bella
, pls allow me
2 take U on a D8.

Me: Tomás, that would b gr8

Tomás: U R right, it will be a gr8
D8

Me: When, where, wot shall I wear?

Tomás: Wednesday, I’ll pick U up @
7

Me: It’s in my diary

Tomás: R U that popular that U
mite forget?

Me: I’m very busy & important Tomás

Tomás: Ha. Then I’d better make it
a gr8 D8

Me: A hint? Do I wear heels or
runners?

Tomás: Dress 4 all things.

Me: Want me 2 meet U?

Tomás: No I'm picking U up. I
won't bring bike

Me: I look 4ward 2 it

Tomás: Me 2. C U then, Cookie.

I hardly slept since getting that
text on Monday night and when I did my sleep was full of lustful dreams of Tomás
and his hands, body, lips, tongue and other parts. Let’s face it; I was
exhausted; I was running on pure adrenalin here. With the pressure of starting
a new job and now my first date with Tomás, who only a few weeks ago left me
hanging after an uneventful night in his bed... I was so wired I was bound to
orgasm if he held my hand. I wondered if his sister Valentina told him to pull
his head in. I wondered if he was sick of beautiful women... ah yeah, that must
be it.

“Ten minutes love, are you ready
in there?” my dad asked from the other side of the door. I couldn’t look at
myself any longer or I would change clothes again, so I took a deep breath and
opened the door to Dad.

“You look lovely, absolutely
lovely,” he said.

“Thanks Dad, but you’re only a
little biased,” I teased him.

My brother Ryan walked past. “You
scrub up all right.”

Yep, that’s more like it.

“Now do I need to have a word to
this boy?” I knew Dad was teasing but really! I was wound tight enough. I
rolled my eyes at him.

“No Dad, and he’s not a boy, he’s twenty-three
and—”

“And he has the best foot in the
country,” Ryan finished.

“I don’t think your sister is too
enamored by his foot,” Dad said.

So wrong—I was enamored with every
appendage belonging to Tomás. I heard a knock at the door and my heart stopped.

“I’ll get it,” Ryan said, keen to
meet another soccer legend.

Dad squeezed my arm. “Be careful
and most importantly, have fun.”

I nodded. “Thanks Dad.” We both
were thinking of Mom. How she would have loved to be here to fuss over my hair
or offer some jewelry and to meet my date. It was not as though I hadn’t dated
guys before but I hadn’t had many come to the house before to pick me up and
none that were Tomás Carrera.

I heard Ryan and Tomás talking as
Dad and I came around the corner of the hallway to the front door and living
room. Oh my God, there was a Latin model in the lounge room carrying a dozen
long stemmed red roses. Red means passion, I think. At this stage it could mean
smelly socks and I wouldn’t care. They were beautiful and would impress Dad too
with the touch of old-fashioned charm. Tomás looked amazing in a dark suit with
a white T-shirt underneath—the perfect mix of dressy and casual. I could have
eaten him then and there and licked his bones clean... wow that was a weird
thought... hmm I’d been watching way too many zombie programs.

I couldn’t form words quickly
enough to introduce Dad but he took care of it himself, extending his hand, and
the men shook.

Tomás gave me a breathtaking
smile. “
Bella
, you look, well
bella
.” He grinned and handed me
the flowers.

“Thank you, Tomás, they are
gorgeous.”

“I’ll put them in water for you so
you two young people can get away,” Dad said, taking them from me.

“You had a great game last
weekend,” Ryan said.

“Ah thanks, sometimes it just
comes together,” Tomás said with a hint of modesty. “Are you coming to the home
game this weekend, Ryan?”

“Yeah, Lucas got Dad and me
tickets.”

I saw Tomás’s eyes narrow
slightly. He couldn’t possibly be worried about Lucas in my life—Lucas was
living with my best friend.

 “Ah, good,” he said and turned to
me. “Shall we?”

“We shall,” I agreed. I smirked at
my brother because even though we’re close, that’s what we do, and I gave Dad a
kiss on the cheek goodnight. As we walked out, Ryan nearly bowled me over at
the door.

“Wow, is that a Mercedes AMG GT S?”
he asked coming out to circle Tomás’s car. “I didn’t know they were released
yet!”

“Yeah, it drives very nicely,” Tomás
said, as though the six figure car in our middle-class driveway was no big
deal. It was sleek; two doors, smooth lines and being red, no doubt very fast.

“I’ve never seen you on anything
but your bike,” I said.

“Mercedes are one of my sponsors
so I just borrow a car when I need one,” he said, with a shrug.

“Of course, silly me. Yeah, Toyota
is my sponsor,” I teased, and the men laughed, as I glanced towards my little
Yaris in the garage.

Tomás turned to my brother.
“Another time, I’ll take you for a spin if you like?”

“Hell yeah, that would be great,
thanks,” Ryan said.

Tomás was doing all the right
things to make a good impression—flowers, calling my dad Mr. Peterson, winning
my brother over for life with a promised ride. And he had me at first sight.

 “Well, have a good night,” Dad
said, and hustled Ryan inside with him.

Tomás gave them a wave and turned
to open the car door for me, I slipped in. This was so good—the new car smell
and new guy smell and trust me, he smelt gorgeous.

Tomás slid into the driver’s seat
and put on his seatbelt. He stopped to look at me. “Hello Cookie,” he teased.
He leaned over and kissed me full on the lips, hovering there for just a
moment.

“Hello Tomás,” I said, barely
getting the words out. I was gone, maybe never coming back to reality. “Thank
you for picking me up.”

“The pleasure is all mine,
bella
.”
He eyed my outfit. “You look very adorable.”

“Thank you,” I smiled wishing
everything would go as slowly as possible now.

I spent a lot of time picking my
outfit for tonight... more time than I probably spent studying in the last few
weeks. It was a big dilemma
—
a
dress or skirt? You don’t want to look too dressy but I didn’t want access to
be too easy either if you know what I mean? Sandals or boots? Seriously; were
we climbing sand dunes or not? Jewelry or was that too dressy? I wish we had
all been born with fur coats like dogs and cats and all we had to do was pick a
collar for the night. Wow another weird thought... where did that come from?
Mm. Meow.

Anyway, I decided on a hot pink fitted
wraparound dress that fell just above my knees with three-quarter length
sleeves which felt very girly. I figured Tomás might like a feminine type and I
selected strappy sandals—I could always take them off to run across dunes. As
for the underwear, well I spent a whole day on that not knowing if I’d be
leaving it on or taking it off but I went for white, seamless, fitted, and
satin-fabric. Didn’t want lace marks ruining my dress line. It was so complex.
I wondered if Tomás spent any time thinking about his underwear; Lord knows I
spent plenty of time thinking about what was next to his skin.

Tomás started the car and pulled
out. It glided along the road and he looked like the master behind the wheel. I
think we might have been the first to sit in these leather seats and the silver
and black interior was so beautiful. I looked at him, so in control, so
stunning, and I wondered what it must feel like to be in his body, to be Tomás
Carrera. I admired his beautiful arms, his hands on the steering wheel, the way
he wore his watch—this guy was going to kill me.

“Now, the great date,” Tomás said,
getting my attention and musing over his words. “Well, I plan for it to be
great. We have a lot of things to do.”

“Do we?” I asked, surprised.

“Yes. We are starting with drinks at
one of my favorite bars... you’ll like it I’m sure.”

As he drove, he reached over and
took my hand. I am going to remember this moment for ever. And the next moment
and the moment after that. Tomás drove along the harbor and took his hand back
to do a reverse park opposite a bar with water views.

“A friend of mine just opened this
little bar a few months ago.” He ducked his head a little in the car to look
out the window and up at the sky. “We have probably twenty minutes.” Tomás
opened the door, jumped out and raced around to my side to open the door. He
extended his hand and helped me out.

“Why? What’s happening in twenty
minutes?” I asked.

“You’ll see.” Tomás smiled at me.
He locked the car, took my hand and we crossed the street. It was such a buzz
walking beside him—tall and handsome, my hand in his. People called out
greetings to him as they passed and he returned them. Some snapped photos with
their phones. Wow, these guys never got an off day.

We entered the trendy little bar
and I saw the reserved sign along the bench table at the front.

“Ah, here’s Rocco.” Tomás shook
hands with a small, nuggety man all dressed in black.

“Rocco, this is Al... iss.”

“Pleasure,” Rocco said, and shook
my hand. “The seats you requested are waiting,” he said, indicating them. He
looked pretty pleased to have Tomás in the front bench seat of his bar.

Tomás led me to the timber bench
and stool.

“Now Al... iss, you must sit this
way,” he said, facing me to see the water and the sunset but also very close to
him. He put his legs on either side of mine and sat facing me. I was
overwhelmed by view—the ocean, the sunset, and Tomás with his legs pressed against
me. I felt like a bundle of nerves. Everything was heightened; I was not sure I
would be able to swallow, let alone form a sentence.

Moments later two tall glasses
appeared, with the most delicious mix of champagne in red and gold colors and
trimmed with mint. Tomás thanked Rocco and now, it made sense.

“Wow,” I said.

Tomás nodded. “I know. Beautiful, and
you dressed to match the pink in the sunset,” he teased. The cocktail was the
exact same red as the sunset and we had a front row seat to it.

“It’s called Beach Sunset, a Rocco
creation with orange juice, grenadine, champagne and a few other things. You
don’t have to drink it if you don’t like it, but it’s not too lethal,” he
teased, remembering my last encounter with alcohol and my night in his bed
where nothing, and I mean nothing at all, zilch, zero, happened. I think I went
as red as the cocktail and Tomás laughed.

He raised his glass. “To beauty,”
he said.

I clinked glasses with him and had
a sip—divine. Behind us the sun was a huge ball of red, pink, orange and gold hues
sinking into the ocean and if we did nothing else tonight, this would have been
enough—so perfect.