“Yep. The one and only.”
“I’ve read all of her books. She’s great.”
“She’ll get a kick out of that,” he says softly. I can tell he really loves her.
“What does your younger sister do?”
“She’s a nurse at Portland General.”
“Very cool. Your parents must be so proud of all of you.”
“They are. I am sure yours are proud of you too.”
“My dad definitely is. I’m sure my mom is too, in her own way,, but she’s worried about me getting hurt. Professional players are much bigger than high school guys.”
“You’ll be safe enough.”
“You can’t promise that,” I say, taking another sip of my water.
“We’ll see about that,” he mumbles under his breath, but I heard it loud and clear, making me smile. “I can’t believe it’s already May. Practice started in March, but we had camps in February. You played well today but are you ready for Sunday?”
“I will be. I’ve kept in tip-top shape. I need to sort out my car. My signing bonus included a Range Rover, but I wasn’t sure if I’d need it so soon. My hotel is near the corporate offices, but the apartment is in Beaverton. I need to get into the gym too.”
I am not sure why I am babbling. I don’t usually get so nervous around men, but he’s making me yearn, and that is something I’ve never done before. Sure, he’s hot as hell, but it has to be more than that. He’s nothing like I thought he’d be. He should be like every football douche I’ve met, but he’s not. He’s easy to talk to; maybe that’s because I feel like he’s put me squarely into the little sister or friend zone.
“Did you hear me?” he asks, touching my hand, jarring me from my thoughts.
“Ummm. No?”
“I said we all got Range Rovers, but you can trade it in.”
“Oh, well, that’s cool. I had a teeny tiny Nissan Sentra at home. A Range Rover might be too big for me to handle. ” I can feel my face redden as soon as the words come out of my mouth. He chuckles, and that makes me even more embarrassed.
“Um… I don’t know why I said that, like that.”
“Sasha, please. You don’t have to be embarrassed with me.”
“Is that because I’m in the friend zone?” I blurt out entirely out of character for me.
“Is that where you want to be?” he asks after a brief pause. The look on his bearded face is one I can't figure out.
“No. I don’t think that I do,” I whisper. He comes around the island and twirls my barstool toward him.
“You are definitely not in the friend zone, Sasha,” he says before kissing me. It’s soft at first, but when I moan, he deepens the kiss. My second kiss ever is going infinitely better than the first one. I really, really wish I wasn’t so gross from practice, but then again, so is he. So, maybe that doesn't matter. My stomach growls loudly, interrupting the kiss and the best moment of my life. “Let’s get you fed.” He kisses me again before going around the other side of the counter and stirs the rice.
“Thanks. I get so hungry after practice. Before practice. Who am I kidding? I’m hungry most of the time.”
“I definitely get that. I have the same problem. My nutritionist had to work with me extensively to exchange pizza for chicken. It was a hard road, but I finally got it.”
“I’ll probably need one of those, but I won’t be able to stop eating pizza. No way. It’s my favorite food.”
“Moderation is key,” he says, chuckling. He dishes up dinner and sets it down in front of me.
“This looks delicious,” I say.
“Thanks. Eat up.”
We talk some more over the food, which is delicious, but after the meal, we linger over decaf coffee and some kind of unique, almost tasteless cinnamon cake. It definitely doesn't hit my sweet spot, but I do appreciate the decaf. I don't drink caffeine after five pm.
“I’m finding that I don’t want to take you to your hotel,” he finally says, his voice growly.
“Then don’t,” I say boldly.
I don’t know what will happen tonight, but I know what I want to happen.
What kind of girl does that make me?
The best kind.
Chapter Three
Brandon
For the first time in my life, I want a woman. This woman. I want her more than my next breath. I never gave much thought to sex. Instead, I focused on school and sports, and then once I went pro, I didn’t have time, and I damn sure didn’t make it. However, with Sasha looking so innocent, I can’t help but crave her.
All I have thought about since the moment I laid eyes on her is touching, tasting, and claiming her—more than that, I want to give her such immense pleasure that she'll never leave my side. I'm lost in my filthy fantasy when the air conditioner kicks on, and the tendril of hair that had escaped her ponytail blows in the breeze, utterly captivating me. Reaching out, I wrap it around my finger and tug on it softly. Her hair is soft, and I want to see it spread out on my pillows. I can't explain the intense pull that's between us, but there is no way in hell it's one-sided. Not a chance. I feel as if I've known her forever instead of mere hours.