The Baller's Baby Read Online Free PDF Page A

playing over hers as if there was a special combination that would make everything right in the world. Opening to him, Stacey let him into a part of herself she'd never before had to urge to offer to anyone. “Take me home Cole.”
    “Stacey, I don't know if-”
    “Please don't,” she whispered. “Please don't treat me as if I'm addle brained or impaired. I'm a grown woman making a grown decision. Being inexperienced doesn't make me ignorant or mentally flawed.”
    “No it doesn't, and I wasn't patronizing you. I was simply giving us both a minute to think,” he explained, irritated. “I don't take sex lightly, Stacey, and I don't want you to, either. You're my manager and from a professional stand point, this is career suicide for both of us.”
    “Are you worried about my reputation or yours?” Stacey asked, her own annoyance growing. “Let's lay it all out there Cole. If we do this, it'll be me who suffers more. I'll never manage another player as long as I live. I'll be a washed up athletic manager who has no backup plan. A manager who will be accused of sleeping with players for fringe benefits. That sort of stain never washes out.”
    “Stacey, I realize that this is scary for you. There's a certain amount of nervousness that can come with unknown experiences,” Cole soothed. “I'm not going to say I don't want you. It's rather obvious that you and I share more than a mutual interest in basketball. But I'm not rushing you. If you want to wait, we'll wait. That doesn't stop the wanting, but it can make getting there much, much sweeter.” Cole kissed her again, rougher this time, filtering some of his frustration and hunger into the kiss. The fact that she met him more than half way seemed to thrill him. She threw her arms came around his shoulders in what would be seen as an invitation, an asking. She might not say the words out loud, but her body language spoke volumes. “Why don't we call it a night?”
     
     

Chapter 3: Offerings and Acquisitions
     
    “Alright.” Stacey huffed, opening her car door. She turned back to Cole who still stood next to her. “My place or yours?”
    Cole grinned, taking her hand in his, running his thumb across the back of her slender palm. “Why don't you give me a tour of that cute townhouse?”
    “Alright. Get in,” Stacey ordered, with more courage than she felt. They weren't even being intimate and she was already trembling. “There's no need to take both cars and finding yours here tomorrow is a sight better than having someone post a picture of it at my house.”
    “Agreed.” Cole nodded. He could see that she was nervous. It showed in the way she drove, stiff and formal. He grinned, knowing inside himself that if he touched her now, she'd probably jump through the roof and ruin her pretty car. It was smaller than he'd expected. Of course at nearly six foot five he wasn't exactly the smallest person on the planet. He ran large hands over the leather seats, noticing that Stacey had turned the seat warmers on to ward off the damp chill in the air. Autumn was coming quickly and seemed to have a score to settle if Cole was any judge.
    “I hate the cold,” Stacey said, feeling awkward, too uptight. “If you're too warm you can kick your seat warmer off.”
    “I'm fine,” Cole replied, still watching the clouds outside. They were dark, gray and thick, laying down gloomy weather that would mean a frigid night for anyone unfortunate enough to be out in it. “Do you ever think about where you'd be if your parents or you had made different choices?”
    “Sure, why?”
    “I don't know.” Cole shrugged. “I always loved basketball. It was the only sport I was good at though. I was just thinking about how cold it's going to get tonight. I was thinking about how horrible it'd be to not have a place to sleep tonight and wondering how people get themselves into situations like that.”
    “I was homeless once,” Stacey admitted, her voice low, wispy with memory.