Page 67 of Falcon

“It can be, but everyone who plays a contact sport deals with this, right? I don’t see why what I do is any different than playing football.”

“Well, they have on thick helmets and lots of pads. You’re basically naked.”

I laugh. “I absolutely do not fight other men while basically naked and sweaty.”

“Hey, you added in the sweaty part, not me. You took it there.” She smiles and my chest tightens. Christ she’s pretty.

“I have a plan in place, I think, for where I want to go with my career. I just want to finish strong then cross that bridge when I get to it.”

“But will you be safe?”

I smirk. “Care about me, do you?”

“Okay, Yoda.” She rolls her eyes. “I’m a human with feelings and I’m quite fond of you.”

“What a coincidence. I’m fond of you too.”

She gives my hand a squeeze then pulls hers back to her lap. “Speaking of fighting, will we be going back into the gym soon? If I only have you for a short amount of time, I’d like to take full and frequent advantage.”

I place my hand on my chest and groan. “I’m going to hope you meant that in a dirty way, and we can go tomorrow if you want. Any time, really. I’m wide open.”

“Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t.” She pulls her wallet out of her purse. “Tomorrow is great.”

“Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. What do you think you’re doing?”

She looks at me like I’ve sprouted an extra head. “Um, I’m paying for lunch.”

“What makes you think you can just pay for my lunch?”

“Well, Caveman, the fact I’m an independent, modern woman with a full-time job tells me I can do whatever the hell I want, and right now what I want is to treat you to lunch. So, if you don’t mind, put your ego away and say thank you.”

Fuck me sideways. Wow.

This girl is a fucking treasure and I want to ravage her right here, right now.

I raise my hands in defeat. “Yikes. If you insist.”

“Oh, I do. I really do.”

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