Page 21 of My Secret Bandit

“Tell me, how do you feel right now, knowing you just made their night? Hell, probably their entire week.”

“I feel great, but that has a little less to do with them and a lot more to do with you.” He smiled, starting up the car. His hand rested on my thigh, sliding his long fingers between the two for a perfectly snug fit.

He glanced toward me as if to make sure I was okay with his hand placement. I gave him a reassuring smile. Floozy move or not, I wanted to feel his touch. It wasn’t like I planned to spread my legs right there in his passenger seat.He used his thumb to caress the exposed skin above my knee. Such a simple gesture, but it created an enormous reaction both in my chest and beyond.

He rounded the corner to my place. Pulling into the driveway, he shut off the car.

“Hey, what did you give the boy?”

“Nothing.” He shrugged.

“You gave him money, didn’t you? They all looked so shocked, that’s really the only thing that makes sense. The mom cried, Mateo. Like tears and everything.”

I smiled at the shy way his eyes flicked over to mine to confirm my thoughts.

He sighed and ran his hand over his curls. “Yeah, and the number of the guy players use to reserve tickets. Shit, I need to call him. Hold on a second.”

After a couple quick taps on the screen, he found who he needed and laid the phone between his ear and shoulder. It rang a few times before anyone answered.

“Hey, man.”

He listened as the man on the other end talked.

“God, you’re old. It’s not that late, but yes, I called for a good reason. I need three tickets for the next home game.”

“Just a gift for a kid I met tonight.” He twisted in his seat, and I did the same, letting him toy with my hands. Little electrical surges went from my fingertips to my elbows as his fingers lightly moved over mine.

“End zone or sideline is cool. Honestly, they’d probably be stoked for nosebleeds. Don’t actually put them up there though, that’s a total dick move. Even for you. Anything less than front row, and I’m kicking your ass.”

“Yeah, right. Keep telling yourself that.”

He froze as he listened, “Shit!I forgot. The son’s name was Tyler, though.”

“Teddy bear, my ass. I’m a fucking polar bear.”

The other man’s voice mumbled through the speaker, and Mateo’s fingers squeezed against mine. “What?!You’re delusional. A polar bear would smash a grizzly all day.”

“Fuck it. Name the day, and we’ll settle it over a Nat Geo marathon.” His laugh filled the car, and his Adam’s apple bounced against the vibrations.

“All right. Thanks. Night, Grandpa.”

“That was quite a conversation,” I said.

He laughed and returned his phone to his pocket. “Yeah. Xander’s a card. I love him though. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without him. And he’ll do anything to keep his players happy, like answer the phone when some asshole wakes him up after he’s been going nonstop since training camp. Come on. Let me walk you up.”

Before I could object, he was out of the car and opening my door. Lacing our fingers together, he led me down the sidewalk to my little front porch.

I wasn’t ready for our night to end, so before I even realized it, I was asking him to stay. “I know it’s pretty late, but do you want to come in for a bit?”

With a devilish grin, he eyed me. “No funny business, right?”

“Promise,” I said, holding my hand up in scout’s honor before I opened the door.

“Not that I’m at all opposed to funny business with you, but I kinda have this five date promise I made with my mom. I’d never tell her and I have no idea how, but she’d definitely find out if I broke it.”

“Five date promise?”

“Yeah. Basically, I take five dates to get to know someone before getting too intimate. It’s never been an issue. Until you.”

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