of my neck, sending an electric shockwave through me.
I let myself lean into him as he gently pulls me close, and I can feel myself drowning in those ocean eyes of his. The world melts away, and nothing seems to exist but raw attraction and crackling heat and…
My phone ringing. Loud.
Shit.
Reality crashes over me like a tidal wave, and I shake off the foggy cloud of almost kissing him again as I fumble through my bundle of possessions for the blaring phone.
“Shit,” I mumble, the name on the screen being the very, very last one I want to see. “It’s my dad.”
“Can you call him back later?” Matt whispers, his gaze sliding over me with a palpable hunger.
I give a sarcastic laugh and pick up my pile of clothes, gathering everything as fast as I can. “Call him back later? That’s hilarious. Clearly, you haven’t spent much time with your new team owner, Christopher Vice.”
“You don’t like working for him?”
I try again to get my heels onto my feet, using Matt’s rock of a bicep to stabilize myself as I slide into the first sling-back. “I love working for the family business. The company itself and my job are awesome, and I get to travel three-hundred-and-twenty days a year. But the man?” I glance up at him. “Can be a lot to deal with.”
“Glad he owns my team now,” Matt says on a laugh, helping me with the other shoe.
“Don’t worry, he’s putting my brother Noah in charge of managing the Riders. As usual, Christopher is just a CEO figurehead. But Noah is the absolute best. He’ll take great care of you guys.” I hop a couple of times as I finally squeeze into the second shoe and stand up straight.
“Oh yeah, I think I met Noah last night. Cool guy.” He locks eyes with me, and suddenly the air around us is filled with heavy and awkward questions.
“I had a lot of fun with you.” I smile and wish I could come up with something less pathetic and juvenile to say.
“Yeah, me, too.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Can I at least get your number?”
I puff out a sigh and squeeze my eyes shut. “Matt…I’m going to Thailand in a few weeks, and I’ll be in Southeast Asia for five months. I’m almost never here for more than a few days at a time. I’m all over the place, you know? I just don’t think…”
“No, it’s cool. I get it.” He forces a smile, but it’s missing that radiant sweetness.
We hold each other’s gazes for an extra beat, and something twists in my gut.
My phone rings again, startling me and breaking up the surprising intensity of this goodbye. “I’m sorry, I gotta run.”
I unravel my crumpled black dress and step into it, slipping it on under his shirt, half wanting to stay covered and half wanting him to see me again.
He turns away a little and almost blushes. Blushes. At the girl he banged for hours last night, only kind of changing in front of him.
“No worries.” He walks toward the door and opens it for me, giving me one last glimpse of those blue eyes as I slide past him and out the door.
“Bye!” I glance back at him and wave as I click my phone screen quickly to call my dad back and prepare myself to inevitably get chewed out for something.
“Safe travels, Ellie Vice.”
The door clicks shut after he goes back into the apartment, and I stare at my phone, wondering why leaving the home of some random NFL charmer is giving me such a bad feeling in my gut.
I take a deep breath.
That hookup was a fun little adventure…but, as always, it’s time for the next one.
Two
Matt
“Dude. What’s with the puppy-dog pout?” Chase Kennedy elbows me.
The locker room before practice is quieter than usual, and the pressure weighing on me feels like it gets heavier every day.
“Huh?” I shake my head and roll my eyes at Chase. “No pout. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Good. Because I saw you leave with the new owners’ cute daughter.” He shoots a wink and nods approvingly. “Nicely done.”
I brush him off and ignore the empty feeling that’s been sitting in my gut ever since Ellie left this morning.
Now that Chase is injured and I’m the starting quarterback for the South Florida Riders, I know I really need to step up my playboy game. I banged a hot girl last night. Why can’t I just leave