“Who are you here to see?”
His eyes don’t leave mine. “You know it’s you.”
“I don’t.” I’m not fooling around. Why would he be here for me? Also, how would he know I was here?
“Don’t play like that, Aviva. You’re extremely confident and smart. That’s why I’m attracted to you.”
Oh, the desire in my gut is going crazy. I’m a bit breathless as I say, “How would you know I was here?”
He waggles his brows at me. “I had a source.”
I tip my head as I try to read him. He has a source… That brat! “Callie?”
“I won’t confirm or deny that.”
I smack him playfully. “Don’t use my sister to get close to me.”
He grins. “Hey, I’m not. If she was the one, she gave up the info without me asking.”
She would do that. I roll my eyes. “She’s a thorn in my side. As are you,” I accuse, and he grins.
“How am I a thorn in your side?”
“You’re always there. Flirting and being cute. I am busy. I have things to do.”
“Can I be one of those things?”
“Nico!” I exclaim, smacking him once more. But this time, I lean in closer. It was unintentional, but now that I’m here, I don’t want to leave. His eyes have lighter flecks of gold in them. His lashes are long and lush. Lord, he is beautiful.
“You know you like it. You know you like me.”
Oh, my face hurts from grinning. “Do I now?”
“You do,” he says, and then he winks again. I don’t know why more men don’t wink like that. It really sets my panties on fire. He swallows hard as he orders another beer. When he takes a long pull, I eye him. “Thirsty?”
He looks around as he shrugs. “I don’t like bars.”
That surprises me. “Really? I thought this would be your scene.”
He shakes his head as he leans toward me. His body is so big, and he smells absolutely sinful. “No, I like being home.”
He holds up his finger for another beer, and I raise a brow. Being the daughter of an alcoholic, I know the signs. Plus, I’m pretty sure I read an article that said athletes struggle with vices. Drinking, drugs, both, and that is not something I want to be a part of. Not when I have Callie, and not when my dad is enough to handle. “Wow. Another one?”
He sighs heavily. “I really don’t like bars, and usually, this one is not this packed. Or so Kirby said. I guess they were running a special or something. I don’t know.” He must have noticed that I don’t like that excuse, for he stands up taller as he looks down at me. “Drinking numbs the need to run out of this place.”
I perk my brow. “Why do you want to run?”
“There are too many people. I feel like I’m suffocating, but drinking makes that feeling go away.”
“Claustrophobic?”
He shrugs, and I can tell he’s holding back. “I guess. I don’t know. I’m good on a bus with the team or on a plane. But when it’s people I don’t know, in a place like this, all these people…it makes me feel a certain way.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, and since there is no way I’m missing this opportunity to be with you, I’m gonna drink to numb myself so I can stay.”
The narcissistic part of my brain wants to tell me that it’s a line, but I feel it isn’t. I feel he’s being truthful, and I know I don’t know him that well, but I’ve never seen him look like this. He looks nervous, freaked out, and my heart goes out to him. I put my hand on his wrist, stopping him from lifting his drink. “If I’m getting to know you, I want to know real you, not drunk you.”
My hand is tingling with desire as his eyes meet mine. He pushes the beer away and takes a deep breath. “So, I’m about to fast-forward our moment.”
I perk my brow. “How?”
“By asking you to leave with me.”
“Leave with you?” I ask, my heart jumping into my throat. “Where to?”
“The car, a restaurant where we can hide in the back, a park, the beach, anywhere.” He runs his hands down his face, and when he looks back at me, I can see the panic in his expression. “I swear I’m not just trying to get in your pants. I just want to get to know you, and I can’t here. I’m too worried about what’s going on around us—”
I don’t know what the hell has gotten into me, but I cup his jaw. His words stop immediately as his eyes bore into mine. I run my thumb along his bottom lip as I inhale deeply. I honestly don’t know what the hell I’m doing, but I need him to feel better. If leaving is what will do that, then we need to leave.