She finally turns to me, and her gaze latches onto my hands as I finish rubbing the lotion in. She clears her throat and says, “I know you’re out with a concussion, and I don’t want to take up too much of your time, but if I could watch a couple games with you, and you could explain the plays and calls, some of the slang, it would really help.”
I shrug. “Sounds easy enough.”
Her eyes light up, and I don’t even want to think about how good that makes me feel. “Yeah?”
“Sure.” I reach for the button on my jeans. “Damn, it’s hot out here.”
Panic flashes across her pretty face as she points to my pants. “What…what are you doing?”
I gesture with a nod toward the pool. “Going for a swim. Why don’t you join me? Cool off a bit.”
“I don’t have a bathing suit.”
I do a mental search of the dresser drawers in the spare room. “I have one that might fit you.”
She folds her arms across her chest. “I am not wearing some puck bunny’s bathing suit.”
I grin, and she gives me the death glare. “Naked it is then.”
I unzip my pants and kick them off. A gasp catches in her throat.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to get completely naked. I’ll keep my boxers on.”
“How is that any better?” she asks.
“You’ve seen me in my boxers many times, Nina.”
“Yeah, well, I never said I liked it.”
“If you don’t like it, then why are staring so hard?” I might be teasing her, but the truth is, her eyes are latched onto my package, and the hard part…yeah, that’s my current condition. What this girl can do to me without even trying is fucking crazy.
“I’m not staring.” She pushes to her feet and looks away. “This was a bad idea. I should go. Is there a bus route around here?”
“It’s not a bad idea,” I say softly, seriously, anything to stop her from leaving, and if she does, no way is she taking a bus home. She can borrow one of my cars. “Anything you need, Nina.”
She looks at me, her eyes cautious. “Anything?”
“Sure, but what’s in it for me?” I ask, calling on my alter ego, Cocky Cole Cannon, before things get too fucking serious. Nothing good can come from her seeing the real me.
She rolls her eyes. “I should have known you’d want quid pro quo.”
“I call it tit for tat.”
“Of course you do.”
“I like the sound of it better.” I turn and dive into the cool water because I really like the ‘tit’ part, and boner number four is about to make it obvious. Staying under, I swim to the shallow end of the pool and surface when I reach the wall. I brush my wet hair back and blink the water from my eyes. Nina is standing at the deep end, watching me. “Come on in, it’s beautiful. Just wear your underwear.”
“I’m not undressing in front of you.”
“I’ll turn around,” I offer.
“What do you want, Cole?” she huffs out.
“I want you to come in.”
“That’s not what I mean. What do you want for helping me? What are your conditions?”
I dive under and swim back to her. I surface and put my hands on her ankles. I give them a little teasing tug, threatening to pull her in clothes and all as I bounce in the water.