Free Touchdown Baby by Rose Harris

speak. His arms felt so strong, his warmth seeped into her soul, and she wished with all her might they could start over again.
    “Ava, that’s what I needed. Sometimes before a big game, I get a little nervous, and a few harsh words from my coach will clear my head so I can concentrate. Thank you.” With no warning, Jace leaned down and brushed his lips across hers. When he pulled back, Ava was sure the world stopped spinning as she looked into his eyes. When he leaned his head down again, Ava gave into his embrace. As his lips touched hers, heat vibrated through her body, and she felt as if she were on fire. Nothing in her life ever felt as right as being in Jace’s arms or the feel of his rough hands cupping her breasts, so when he pulled back, she was reluctant to let him go.
    “Ava, I can’t and I won’t apologize for kissing you. I have been aching to kiss you, to feel your body pressed against mine. When you walked into the kitchen Saturday night in my old jersey, and when you barged into the bathroom this morning, I knew I would have to taste you soon. I didn’t expect it to happen here, but you in a business suit is almost sexier than remembering what you looked like in your bra and panties.”
    The sounds of telephones ringing and someone going into the next office forced reality back to center stage. She pulled back from Jace and remembered he had an appointment to meet with her boss about setting up paternity testing and a legal defense.
    How did he make me lose focus after one kiss ?
    Deciding the best thing to do was to pretend the kiss meant nothing, with a shake of her head to bring her back to the present and a quick tuck of her blouse, she told him to wipe the lipstick off his lips. After assuring him it was all gone, she escorted him down the hall to Mr. Lawson and left him to deal with this situation on his own.
    ****
    Jace had been in his share of law offices in the past. What professional athlete didn’t have to meet with more lawyers than the average man would need in his lifetime?
    He’d been to law offices on the eightieth floor of a swanky New York skyscraper; heck, he’d met with a lawyer in a country music bar in Nashville. Once he even met a lawyer in a prestigious firm in Washington, DC, to sign papers in reference to a donation for the United Way. But never had the feeling of dread settled like lead in the pit of his stomach. This meeting was going to change his life, whether for the good or bad had yet to be decided. Walking those last few steps down the hall made the heated kiss he and Ava shared seem a lifetime ago.
    Robert Lawson’s office was decorated to make you feel as if you were stepping back in time. Rich burgundy fabric covered the walls. He had the traditional navy blue and hunter green accents. A large mahogany desk sat squarely in the center of the room, and two wing chairs covered in worn leather sat in front of it. The man even had a set of scales on his bookshelf. The only concessions Lawson made to show someone was actually using the office in the twenty-first century were his computer and telephone.
    After stepping into the room, he turned and caught Ava’s eye as she shut the door. On the back wall, Jace noticed a settee covered in navy blue material, which looked as if its worn fabric had seen the last few centuries. Glancing around the office, he could almost imagine all the clients who found their way here and had to pour out their deepest secrets to a man who, after three years of law school, felt he was capable of fixing their problems.
    Jace greeted the man whom he hoped would solve his problems or at the least give him the answers he needed. He was surprised by the figure walking around the desk and extending his hand. Mr. Robert Lawson was nothing like Jace expected. He assumed the attorney would be an older gentleman with an expanded waist, gray hair, someone more like the character Matlock.
    Bob Lawson was young, probably in his early thirties. He had