Page 34 of Offsides

His hands found her hips, the heat from his touch radiating through her thin towel.

“Hi darlin’,” he whispered, placing a soft kiss against her forehead. “I like the towel.”

“Britt,” she sighed, fighting the urge to give in.

“You said my name a lot last night.”

Theo stepped back, needing to put space between them. She had said his name a lot last night. But that wasn’t her. Cowboy needed to know that.

“That was very out of character for me. I hope I didn’t give you the wrong impression. I am not that kind of girl.”

“Oh, but you are, darlin’,” he replied, his deep Texas twang making her ache with the need to feel his arms around her. “And I like her.”

“No,” she insisted, taking another step back. Closing her eyes, she sucked in a long breath, hoping it would give her the strength to build back the wall she’d let down last night. “I’m not.”

“Theo, what’s going on here? I thought we had fun last night. Did I get that wrong? Is it that I told the old lady that you were my girl? I’m not trying to lay claim to you; it was just a little white lie so I could surprise you.”

“I get that…I just…”

Stopping herself before she started to ramble, she closed her eyes, trying to center herself. She knew what she needed to do. There was only one way to make them even, so that maybe she could chalk last night up to some harmless fun. He’d opened up to her about his past, about why he hated reporters. She needed to return the favor.

It was time to come clean.

* * *

What kind of girl did Theo think last night made her?

All the usual words flew through Cowboy’s brain—and with each one, more and more irritation grew within him.

If she thought for one second that what happened between them last night made her any of those things…no, he wasn’t even entertaining that thought. That’s not what last night was. At least not to him. Last night was two people hanging out, having fun. Sure, it had escalated and gotten a little handsy, but as two consenting adults, there was nothing wrong with that. It was fun. And fun was what Theo needed. Cowboy knew that deep down in his soul. If she thought they were moving too fast though, or didn’t want to do anything like that again, fine. But he wasn’t going to let her think that what had gone down between them was anything but good, clean fun. Or, well, dirty fun.

“Theo—”

“I need to put on clothes,” she stated, cutting him off.

Clothes. Right.

She gave him a curt nod, turning on her heel and heading back to her bedroom. Cowboy’s eyes immediately flew to her ass, which was barely covered by the pale pink towel she’d wrapped around herself. He flexed his hands, thinking about the way those cheeks had felt in his hands last night and just how badly he wanted to sink his teeth into them. Almost as badly as he wanted to get his mouth on other parts of her. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d told her he liked to lick things, and after feeling her fall apart in his arms barely twelve hours ago, the idea of making her do it over and over again, with different parts of him, was irresistible.

The beep of the oven timer stole his attention away from the retreating beauty. Turning back toward the kitchen, he made quick work of pulling out the bagel sandwiches he’d stuck in there for reheating. The cheese was nice and bubbly now, calling to him. The idea to surprise her with breakfast had hit him as soon as he’d pulled away from dropping her off last night—complete with one more intoxicating goodnight kiss. It hadn’t been until he was standing in the deli this morning though that he’d realized that he wasn’t entirely sure how she took her bagel. Or if she ate carbs. So he’d done what any guy he knew would do—he ordered two of what he’d eat. Saying another silent prayer that her food tastes matched his, he opened a cupboard, thrilled to have located the plates on the first try.

“You’re just making yourself all kinds of at home, aren’t you?” Theo asked, returning to the kitchen.

Cowboy looked up, finding her standing there, arms crossed, pushing up her beautiful breasts. The tank top and tiny shorts she changed into didn’t cover much more than the towel had, but if this is what it took to make her comfortable, he wasn’t going to comment. She already seemed like she was on the verge of turning back into the no-nonsense robot that seemed to be her go-to, rather than the laid-back girl she’d shown him last night. That was the last thing he wanted.

“Bacon, egg, and cheddar on everything,” he said, handing her the plate with the sandwich on it. She took it from him, her lips turning into a smile. That was a good sign. “I had to guess what you liked, so if I got it wrong…”

“It’s perfect,” she whispered. She tilted her head toward her couch, signaling for him to follow.

He did as he was told, sinking down into the large dark brown sectional. He pulled his leg onto the couch, turning to face her, as she sat cross-legged in the corner. Silence surrounded them, Cowboy watching as Theo nervously took a bite of her bagel. He wanted so badly to reach for her, to know what was going on in that head of hers. Had they not connected the way he thought last night? Or was it just in the light of day that she didn’t know what to do with all the information he’d thrown at her. Learning about his past—about Dulcie—was a lot. He knew that. It was part of why he didn’t tell a lot of people. But he’d been under the impression that she understood and that it was changing things between them. Looking at her now, he was starting to wonder if that had just been in his head.

“Did you not have fun last night?” he finally asked when the silence became too much.

“No, I did,” Theo answered, looking flustered. “I…I’m just not that kind of girl.”

There was that expression again. Fuck, did he hate that expression.

“The kind who has fun?”