Chapter 13 #2
Taylor rolls his eyes, and it’s a relief to know I’m not the only one who’s unimpressed. Frankly, if these are Coach’s minimum qualifications to date his daughter, we need to have a serious talk.
Ava deserves so much more than a slick charmer who says all the right things.
She deserves someone real. Someone honest. Someone who doesn’t put on airs to impress others and who will love and cherish her until their last breath.
That’s the bare minimum. The thought of her settling for anything less has acid churning in my gut.
“What’s your position on kids?” Coach asks, his gruff voice slicing through my thoughts.
Ava’s eyes go round and she jumps to her feet. “I need to use the restroom.”
The instant she’s gone, the inquisition resumes.
I give her a sixty-second head start and follow. Coach is in too deep with Arlo to even notice I’m gone.
I wait for her at the end of the long hall that leads to the powder room.
When she emerges, surprise flickers across her face, quickly followed by suspicion. “What are you doing?”
“Waiting for you.” No point in being anything but honest. “What’s the deal with the tool?”
She crosses her arms. “Arlo is not a tool.”
“Are you serious about this guy?” I don’t know what I’ll do if she says yes, but I’ll cross that bridge if and when I come to it.
Her arms drop to her sides, and she exhales slowly. “How I feel about Arlo is irrelevant. It doesn’t change anything between us.”
My pulse quickens, and I grin. “So you admit there’s an us. I can work with that.”
The corner of her gorgeous mouth twitches. “Knox, we can’t.”
I lean in, bracing my palms on the wall and caging her between my forearms. “We can.”
Her gaze bores into mine, dark eyes blazing with desire. She blinks, and the fire is banked. “I’m on a date.”
The reminder cuts deep.
“I didn’t think you’d move on so quickly. Not after what we shared.” My words are laced with anguish, but I’m not ashamed of my feelings. I want her to know I’m gutted at the prospect of losing her.
“Knox…” The way she says my name, like she’s hurting as much as I am, only makes it worse.
“I really thought we had something special. Hell, I still believe it, but if you don’t…”
Ava’s lower lip trembles, and I drop my head, pressing my chin to my chest. If she doesn’t believe in us—if she isn’t willing to fight for us—then maybe I was wrong.
“I’m not dating Arlo,” she says, the words gushing from her mouth.
“He’s an escort. I only hired him because I thought you were bringing a date, and I didn’t want to feel like a pathetic loser.
It was stupid, and maybe a little part of me even wanted to make you jealous, but I know this is all my fault and I should’ve taken my licks with dignity, but I…
I just couldn’t. The thought of seeing you with another woman was tearing me up. ”
Holy shit. She’s not dating him. She wanted me to be jealous, which means there’s still a chance.
My head jerks up. “You could never be a pathetic loser.”
Tears glisten in her eyes, but she huffs a laugh. “Out of everything I just said, that’s the part you chose to focus on?”
Abso-fuckin-lutely.
“I will always focus on you, Ava. You’re what matters.” I drag my thumb over her pretty mouth, wishing like hell I could taste her, right here, right now. “You have no idea how badly I want to kiss you.”
“So do it.”
I lean down, my lips a hair’s breadth from hers.
“I can’t kiss you when you’re on a date with another man.” I smirk. “Get rid of the rent-a-boyfriend, and I’ll kiss you so hard you’ll forget your own name.”
She shivers, and something tells me it’s not the temperature that’s got her body reacting so viscerally. “What if I want more than a kiss?”
“Just say the word and I’ll give you what you need.”
Hell, I’ll give her everything I have and more.
She swallows, her throat bobbing delicately. “Okay.”
“Okay, what?”
She has to say it. I need to hear the words so there’s no confusion.
“I want you to come over to my place tonight.”
Desire stirs low in my gut. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
A slow grin splits her face. “We should probably get back before Adam notices we’re missing.”
She’s right, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. It’s been eight days since I last touched her, but it feels like an eternity. The prospect of waiting even a few more hours when she’s this close is excruciating.
Which will make tonight that much sweeter.
“You can go first.” I step back, giving her space. “I’ll follow in a bit.”
She turns to go and pauses, looking back at me over her shoulder. “This doesn’t change anything.”
“Darlin’, it changes everything.”
She shakes her head. “It can only be sex, and no one can know. Not my father, not the team. I have too much at stake personally and professionally, but if we keep it secret—if it’s purely physical—we can both get what we need.”
I open my mouth to argue because I need Ava in my life, not just in my bed, but I snap my jaw closed.
She’s giving me a chance, even if she doesn’t realize it.
Because now I know with certainty that she wants this as much as I do, and it’s not just about the sex, even if that’s what she’s telling herself.
Ava was hurt by the prospect that I’d moved on so quickly, and she wanted to make me jealous. That has to count for something.
I’ll make it count.
“Alright, darlin’. We’ll do things your way.”
For now.