Page 83 of Thunderstruck
And the best part? She never asks for anything, which makes me all the more inclined to give her the world.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Carissa
“I’ve said it before,and I’ll say it again. I will take down that website once and for all.”
I raise an eyebrow at Wyatt. “When have you ever said that?” Before he can answer, I run my hands along his calf muscle and grin when he lets out a squeal and nearly kicks me with the foot that’s resting on my shoulder as I loosen a knot in his leg. “And what happened to stretching before practice, Mr. ‘I promise to stretch’?”
Lying on his belly, Wyatt presses his face into his arms and moans. “Iwasstretching! Just not—” he hisses as I dig my fingers into his muscle again “—today. Geez, Rizzo, are you trying to make me lame?”
“You do that all on your own, Bean.” I work through the knot in his calf a few more times, then step back, letting his leg fall. “I’m pretty sure you need more potassium in your diet or something, because that wasridiculous.” At the rate these men are needing my services, I’m going to have to get certified as a massage therapist before long.
Wyatt gingerly stands, testing his legs by bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Thanks,” he says humbly. “I promise I was doing better, but this morning French Roast found that article, so we’ve all been kind of tense.”
After a weekend spent eating junk food and reading non-spicy books with Cole, I was determined to get back to the practice field and try to focus on work again, but all evening the guys have been acting like theHot Scooparticle has condemned me to death.
“It’s really not that bad,” I say for the umpteenth time. “But I appreciate you looking out for me.”
“I swear, that website is getting worse and worse,” Wyatt says, running a hand through his hair. “Of course none of us know you and Cole are dating. It’s because you’re not dating!”
“Yep,” I confirm right as Cole steps into the doorway of the training room, sending my heart skittering at the sight of him. “Not dating.”
Unfortunately.
Over the weekend, he finished two of the books I gave him and started a third, apparently eager to read the whole series when the first one was better than he expected. And there is nothing sexier than a man reading romance.
Except maybe that man wearing a form-fitting white t-shirt and leaning against a door frame with folded arms. Does he have any idea how many boxes he’s checking just by standing like that?
“Still talking about that stupid article?” Cole asks with a roll of his eyes.
Wyatt snorts a laugh. “As if Rizzo would date a guy like you, Evanson.”
No one has called him Rihanna all day, which is an improvement after last week. They also haven’t used his first name, but I don’t think Coleminds. Most of the team actually listened to him when he suggested today’s drills, so I think something shifted at the bar on Friday.
“As if,” Cole repeats, winking at me when Wyatt bends to pick up his shoes.
My face heating, I glare back at him. While he dutifully kept to his chair over the weekend, he spent a decent amount of time sending me flirty texts instead of reading, and I have a feeling he’s going to push any lines he can find as we wait for the timing to be better.
I don’t know how long I’ll actually be able to wait.
“By the way,” Cole says, sounding so casual, “I had an idea for a play that will only work with a strong wing.”
Wyatt lets out a sound somewhere between a scoff and a laugh as he heads for the door. “Great.”
Cole grabs his arm. “Want to try it out tomorrow? I don’t think anyone could pull it off except you.”
Wyatt’s eyebrows shoot up, and he glances at me as if trying to figure out if I heard the same thing he did. “Oh. Really? Yeah, okay.” But then he deflates. “But if Coach shows up, he’ll—”
“Let me deal with Coach.” Cole’s eyes dance as he smiles. “The guy put me in as captain, and I kind of want to make him regret it.”
“How?” I ask, and I’m pretty sure Wyatt is wondering the same thing.
Cole grins at me, hitting me with the full force of his magnificent smile, but he says his reply to Wyatt. “Coach wants me to take charge. I want to give the team a chance to be whattheywant to be. I’m not the smartest guy here, not by a longshot, and I think Coach has spent too long underestimating his team.”
Though Wyatt doesn’t say anything, he gives Cole an examining look and a smile before heading to the locker room.
Cole doesn’t leave his spot in the doorway, which is a good thing because his gaze heats as soon as we’re alone. “Any word from Mel?” he asks, eyes trailing over me in a slow movement.
