Page 20 of Wildcat
I slump back into the couch. I haven’t blocked him yet, but I’m seriously considering it. “He plays hockey for my dad. He’s a professional athlete. He lied. Pick a reason.”
“Lied is a bit of a stretch.”
I glare, and she snorts a laugh.
“Sure, now that he knows who I am, he can’t stop thinking about me and wants to see me again. Where was all of this a week ago when I was still hoping he might call?” No one is so busy they can’t find a second to text. I replay his words earlier and try to make them line up with the facts. He was full of sweet words, but was it all just to save his ass?
“So, are you mad because he plays hockey for your dad and seeing him again would be complicated or because he didn’t text when he said he would?”
The back patio door opens, and I lower my voice to keep our conversation private. “I don’t know. Both. Why?”
Her gaze lifts, and she looks behind me over my head. “Because he just walked in.”
I hold my breath as his footsteps approach. He stands in the space beside me. I don’t look directly at him, but I know it’s him. I hate that after only one night together, my body is so tuned to his. Goosebumps race up my left side where he stands closest.
“I’m going to go… anywhere else.” Jade gets to her feet.
Neither of us speaks in the time it takes Jade to cross the room and exit the same way he came in. I’m too agitated to sit, so I stand and move to the kitchen with my wine. He follows.
“What are you doing in here?” I ask. I finally look at him and then wish I hadn’t. He skipped the hat today, and his light brown hair sticks up like he might have been running his fingers through it recently. He’s dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt, but even so, he looks every bit as good as I remember. His roster photo really doesn’t do him justice.
“We need to finish talking.”
“I don’t have anything else to say to you, Leo Lohan.”
“Maybe I have something to say to you,Scarlett Miller.” His lips turn up, and that dimple in his left cheek appears.
The look on his face reminds me of the night we spent together. How fun and easy it all felt. But nothing about this is easy. I’m not going to fall at the feet of another athlete who knows how to turn on the charm to get his way.
“Save it. I’m not interested.”
“Why not?” His brows pull together. “I thought we had fun the other night.”
I glare.
“Your dad being the coach isn’t ideal,” he admits, like that’s the only reason I’m not falling over myself with excitement to see him again.
“Do you even go to college, or do you just hang at the campus bars trolling for girls?”
“I went pro after my sophomore year, but I’ve been working on finishing my degree. I took a couple of classes this summer, and I’m enrolled in one this fall. The guys I was with the other night are buddies from my summer class.”
“Do they know you’re… you?” I flick a hand in his direction.
One side of his mouth quirks with a hint of a smile. “Yeah.”
I drop my wine glass to the counter and cross my arms over my chest. “Why didn’t you tell me? If you really had no idea who I was, then why not tell me? If not at the bar, then at least when I was at your house. It isyourhouse, right?”
He drops his head and pushes his hands down the front pockets of his jeans. “I guess I liked spending time with someone who wasn’t interested in what I do more than who I am. And when we got to my place, and you went off on how you didn’t care that I lived with my parents because you did…”
I groan as I remember my heartfelt speech. I meant every word, and it turns out I spewed all my baggage, thinking we had something in common. “You still should have told me. I feel like an idiot.”
In two long strides, he closes the distance between us. His voice is deep and low as he says, “You’re not an idiot. You’re smart and funny, and I’ve been thinking about how gorgeous you look when you come for a solid week.”
I breathe in his words like helium. My throat tightens, and my chest expands. My skin tingles as I remember how it felt to be kissed by him, touched by him.
“We have a busy week, and we’re traveling next weekend, but we have a home game the following week.”
I give him my best “duh, I know” glare.
