Page 36 of Once Upon A Player
From the time we’ve spent together, I already know there’s a lot more to him than Mediterranean blue eyes, dimples, and headline-grabbing sound bites. Before I can stop myself, I lean toward him and gently bump my arm against his.
“Do you sometimes wish it’d all just go away?”
He switches on his famous smile, and an odd little pain drives through my chest. He’s going to laugh at me, tell me of course he doesn’t, that he lives for the limelight.
And then he hesitates, and although he’s still smiling, it’s different to his camera-ready beam. “It comes with the job. I didn’t realize it’d be so full-on, but…” he shrugs, “that’s the price, I guess.”
I totally melt. This is something he’s not shared in interviews before. It’s special and private, just between the two of us.
Geoff used to crave the limelight and was always insanely jealous of any of his teammates that he believed were getting more attention than him, whether that was a better sponsorship deal, face time on TV, or minutes on the pitch.
Not that he needs to worry about getting enough minutes on the pitch anymore, and why am I even thinking about him? Lucas is a million times better than Geoff could ever hope to be, and I’m not talking about their prowess with a football.
…
Lucas
I’ve never told a girl I dated that before, and Violet doesn’t laugh or make a flippant response along the lines ofthe benefits are worth it. Because sure, the benefits are great, the lifestyle’s fantastic, but after eight years, I’d love to have the career without the intense scrutiny into my personal life.
But that’s not going to happen until I give up playing professional football, and after the bloody wonderful news I got today, that’s not going to happen any time soon.
Thank you, universe.
“It must be hard, always having a camera shoved in your face. And you’re always so…” She exhales as though she’s trying to come up with the right word, and I grin because she is so fucking gorgeous and isn’t out with me tonight because she wants to get her face on the internet. “Polite.”
I laugh. “You should be inside my head. On second thought, maybe not.”
“Well, it just proves you have the self-control not to let what you’re really thinking show. I mean, look at some of them. So far up themselves they think the world revolves around them.Someof them really need a good kick up the backside.”
“And I’m not in this category, right?”
“You definitely aren’t. You couldn’t be, even if you tried.”
“You give the weirdest compliments.”
“I wasn’t trying to compliment you.”
I snort with laughter, and she gives me the wickedest smile ever. Christ, I want to kiss her, but I know better than to mess up a girl’s perfectly applied makeup at the start of the evening.
I doubt I’ll get the chance to mess it up later, either, since Violet didn’t hint she wanted to stay the night with me when I asked her out. Ironic that the one girl I’vereallywanted in years wants to keep me at arm’s length.
No strings.
That’s what I promised her, and I’ll keep it if it kills me.
Chad pulls up outside Eagle Tower, and Violet leans over me, craning her neck to see the glittering building.
Don’t ogle her cleavage.Although it’s hard not to when she’s halfway across my lap. I drag in a martyred breath and shift my mesmerized gaze from her beautiful breasts, although there’s nothing I can do about her scent, which is playing havoc with my dick.
I keep hold of Violet’s hand as we get out of the car and make our way toward the entrance for Overton’s. It doesn’t take long for the security to check our reservation and let us through the red velvet rope.
She lets out a soft gasp as we enter the glass lift on the outside of the building and clutches my hand tight as we shoot up thirty-nine floors within seconds. “Wow,” she mouths at me, so the attendant can’t hear. “Epic.”
The doors open to the bar area, which is grand and spacious like a thousand other bars, except for the spectacular views of the city skyline and the iconic Gherkin through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Violet appears impressed as she glances around, so if the food lives up to the views, tonight should be good.
“Cocktail?”
“I’d love one.”
