Page 32 of Friend Zone to End Zone

“Hey.” He took a step back and held up his hands, drawing my eyes to the way the fabric of his T-shirt stretched across his muscled chest. “I’m not the one who said I’m an amazing hugger.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “I’ll have to warn all the women you meet tomorrow at the club not to compliment you too much,” I said. “Otherwise your head really may not fit in your helmet come training camp.”

“My helmet will fit just fine.”

I looked at my watch to check the time. It was already ten-thirty. I really needed to get to bed if I was going to make it through a full day at the salon and a long night at the club tomorrow.

“I’d better go inside,” I said.

He ran a hand through his dark hair, and I couldn’t help but admire my work. He was going to make so many jaws drop tomorrow night.

It actually might be illegal to look so good.

“I should get home, too,” he said.

He was about to head back to his vehicle when he turned around and asked, “And just so I’m not the only guy underdressed tomorrow, what exactly should I wear?”

“A nice T-shirt and jeans will be just fine.”

“That’s what you said for tonight, and you ended up wearing that.” He gestured at my dress.

I looked down at my teal dress and shrugged. “It’s a woman’s prerogative to get all dressed up if she wants, no matter the occasion.”

“Well, you definitely know how to wear a dress.” His eyes seemed to run the length of me, and as he did, my body warmed under his stare.

Well, this was new.

I mean, sure, he flirted with me all the time, but I couldn’t remember the last time he’d looked at me like this.

Like I wasn’t just his best friend.

“I’m glad you liked it,” I managed to say, my cheeks feeling hot.

He bit his lip. “Let’s just say that the next guy you date is going to be a very lucky guy.”

Okay, that was definitely not a platonic look he just gave me.

I narrowed my eyes. “Are you practicing your flirting skills on me to make sure they work tomorrow?”

He lifted a shoulder. “Sure.”

And before I could dissect what he was saying for any hidden meanings, he disappeared into the night.

13

Cole

Knees slightly bent,push knees back like boom. Step to the left. Snap. Step to the right. Snap.In my head, I went through the moves I’d studied this afternoon, as I sifted through my closet for the right button-up shirt for tonight.

My original plan with this whole scheme was to bomb all my interactions with other women. So I supposed sucking on the dance floor would go right along with that plan.

But call it the perfectionist in me or not, I just couldn’t go through with it.

Because even if I didn’t go to clubs every week, like the other guys on the team, I wasn’t completely clueless when it came to having a recognizable face. I knew I was only one bad dance away from becoming a viral video on the Internet.

So if I was going to have people sharing videos online of me dancing, I wanted to make sure they didn’t make me the laughingstock of the NFL.

Which was why I had pulled up several YouTube videos after doing a workout with my trainer to make sure I nailed down a few basic moves that would at least give the illusion that I knew what I was doing tonight.

---