Page 50 of Offsides

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“We should go on a date.” I say it casually—or what I hope is casually—as Dani finishes racking the bar after her last set of squats.

She straightens and tosses me a weird look as she moves to take the weight plates off the end. She’s wearing black booty shorts—these are new and form fitting, different from her old school jogging shorts she usually wears. She’s paired them with pink knee socks with hearts all over them. A few weeks ago I would’ve thought they were so not Dani, but now I realize she has an inner girly girl she’s been suppressing for a long time. And if there were any doubt in my mind that this outfit is specifically for me, given the fact that we’re still in January’s icy grip and she’s only ever worn shorts in the spring and summer, the only explanation is that she wore them because she knew I’d like them.

“What do you mean by a ‘date’?” She holds up her hands and makes air quotes before moving to the other side of the bar to take off those plates.

I grab my gym bag and hers, and we head to the leg press machine to start our accessory work. “Uh, you know, the normal thing? Like dinner and a movie or something?”

She gives me this look that’s half smirk, halfyou’re ridiculous. “You want to take me to dinner and a movie?”

“I mean … yeah?”

Laughing, she starts putting forty-five pound plates on the leg press while I drop our bags and wipe the machine down, indicating with a flourish that she should go first.

After her weights are set, she settles in and powers out her reps. She watches me adjust the weights for my reps as she climbs out of the seat and grabs her water bottle. “You don’t sound so sure about that.”

I shrug and sit down, placing my feet and releasing the safeties, but not starting yet. “We’re dating, right? So we should go on a date. Or multiple dates, even.”

“Right,” she says slowly, holding her water bottle in front of her mouth but not drinking. “But isn’t the point of going on dates to get to know the other person? And also sort of a prerequisite for sex? You don’t have to buy me dinner to bang me. I’m kind of a sure thing.” Her eyes sparkle as she takes a swig of water.

Shaking my head, I chuckle, then focus on my reps so we don’t hog the machine for too long. “Okay, you make a valid point,” I admit as I climb out of the seat and help her adjust the weights. “But the other purpose of going on dates is to spend time together.”

“True. But we do that already anyway.” She gestures between us before setting her feet. “Case in point.”

I lean against the top of the platform, forcing her to look at me and not letting her start yet. “Do you not want to go out with me?”

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Is that what you think this is? I just think it’s silly that you want to spend a bunch of money on me like that. We already know each other. We already hang out all the time. What’s the point?”

Stepping back, I let her get through her second set before answering. Holding out a hand, I help her to her feet, and instead of releasing her, pull her close. “The point is that I want to spoil you. It’s my money. I want to spend it. And I want to do the types of things that boyfriends do for their girlfriends. So if I want to take you to dinner and buy you flowers and whatever else, I get to.”

Her lower lip disappears into her mouth, and I can see her fighting back a smile. “Alright. If it’s that important to you, we can do that. Do I need to dress up?”

I look her up and down. “Baby, you can wear anything you like. It doesn’t matter to me. Having you with me is the highlight of any day.”

Her head tips back as she laughs, but I can see that she’s pleased with my answer despite her amusement.

Before releasing her, I give her a quick kiss.

“Hey!” shouts Dylan from where he’s sitting on the bench press. “This is a weight room. Not a makeout party.”

Grinning, I flip him off, while Dani gives him a stink eye. “Come off it, Dylan. We all know you’re just jealous.”

“Of who?” he calls back. “You? Or Eli?”

“Me of course.” She does a curtsy. “You only wish you could squat like me.”

He laughs, and sets his water bottle on the floor. “You know it, hot stuff. If only our whole team had legs like yours, we’d be unbeatable.”

“Damn right,” she quips, turning to grin at me.

Once upon a time—very recently in fact—that exchange would have my blood boiling. Dylan was one of the guys who was hitting on her at the party a few weeks ago, and I know I saw him checking her out last night.

But it’s clear to me that she has no interest in him. And despite the fact that I had to convince her to go on an actual date with me, I’m pretty confident I’m the only man she’s interested in at all.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Dani

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