Page 30 of Offside and Off-Limits
I press my lips together as my insides do an involuntary somersault, and against my will—and my better judgment—my thoughts drift to our last encounter. The embarrassment I felt rolls over me once again, the moment when Cade pulled his front door open and I saw him standing there in all his bare-chested glory, sweat glistening on his muscular body, that ever-present flirty grin of his in place.
He knows I find him attractive. It's as obvious as a figure skating costume on an otter.
And try as I might—and I really, really tried—it was impossible not to let my gaze drop to those impressive pecs of his, those ridiculously wide shoulders, those shapely arms. Thistime, unlike when he strutted into the locker room wearing just a towel and a smile, he was only three feet away.
Really, there was nowhere else to look.
Okay, not nowhere else to look exactly, but it was hard not to notice, particularly when the feeling of being held in those big, muscular arms of his was so fresh in my memory.
And he’s so dang flirty! The looks he throws me, the way he called me Triple Threat, the things he says. I mean, of course I knew that about him before I even met the guy. He has a reputation. He's a flirt and a partier and a total womanizer. It's all over the media.
I couldn’tnotknow it.
And the way he looks at me, all smirky and sexy, with more eye contact than an interrogation expert? It just proves the fact that his reputation is spot on.
Which is precisely why I'm never going to act on my attraction to him. He's a red flag. No, scratch that. He’s a flashing red neon sign that saysBad Ideain 10-feet tall letters.
Me:
Talk about embarrassing. Never happening again.
Bailey:
The fans loved it.
Me:
That’s its one saving grace.
I pull up the Ice Breakers social media account and search for the livestream video, skimming the list of comments.
The GRIP he had on her waist? I need to lie down.
I don't even like hockey, but I've watched this 47 times. For the…err, skating technique.
OMG did anyone else see the way he looked at her when he caught her???
I twist my mouth and scroll on.
Me: I don't believe in love at first sight. Also me: watches this video again and again.
I let out a snort so loud it echoes off my car walls. Love at first sight?Please. The only thing I fell for in this video was gravity, and let me tell you, gravity has zero romantic potential. Of course it wasn't love at first sight, and not just because I'd already met Cade before this mortifying moment, which means technically it wasn't first sight at all.
And yes, I know I'm being pedantic.
Let’s be real here. I sure as heck wasn't gazing up at Cade Lennox with hearts in my eyes. I was looking at him with shock…and…and with gratitude. Yes, that’s what it was: gratitude. Gratitude for the simple fact that he intervened between me and the cold, hard reality of butt meeting ice.
And as for Cade, he didn't look at me with anything resembling love in his eyes. More like the same look I bet he gives every woman he encounters, aka the calculating gaze of a man who’s mentally filing away another conquest for his little black book.
That's not love, people. That's a predator sizing up his prey, albeit an irritatingly handsome predator who has somehow managed to get right under my skin.
I can do this. I can manage away the inconvenient attraction I have for the guy. I’ll just picture him in his underwear.
No, wait. That’s not helpful.
I’ll picture him as a giant baby in a diaper. Ha! Yes, that’s it. Cade as a giant baby in a diaper.
Done and done.
