Chapter Twelve

Romilly followed the attendant as they made their way from the lobby to the huge arena where many men were doing all sorts of exercise. Some were running sprints. Some were hitting foam dummies and moving them backward. Some men were flipping huge tires. Kaiden was in the center, catching footballs as another man threw them. Again and again, he caught them, then huddled the ball close to his chest, turned and sprinted a few feet before stopping and throwing the ball back to the other man.

She didn’t know much about football, but she couldn’t take her gaze off him. Kaiden wasn’t wearing a shirt, only low-riding basketball shorts. The exposed skin had a sheen of sweat on it. A colorful tattoo decorated his left shoulder blade. From this distance she couldn’t make out the features, but it made his sex appeal even more intense.

For an hour she watched him. Kaiden talked with several older men, and sometimes the person she assumed was the quarterback also came over to talk. Hand gestures and miming throwing the football could be seen. When Kaiden went over to grab his water bottle, he looked around and saw her. A smile lit up his face and he told one of the coaches he’d be right back. Then he jogged over to the area where she sat.

“You made it,” he said. He held out his hand for her and when she took hold of it, he pulled her to her feet. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “I’m happy to see you.”

“You look amazing out there.”

“Yeah? This is very different than how it usually is at training camp.” He frowned, looking down as if lost in his head. “There’ll be ninety men there, which will get whittled down to fifty-three players by the end of August. There’ll be a few tight ends hoping to make the cut. I need to be one of them.”

“Hey,” she said, capturing his attention. “You will be. You know why? Because of the love and passion you have for the game. Every time you catch the ball, you light up, and that’s why I know you’re going to make the team.”

“You sure?” he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers.

“Positive. I have faith in you.”

Behind them a whistle blew. Kaiden straightened and looked over his shoulder where an older gentleman gave a come-here wave.

“I have to get back. I’ll be here for another hour. Would you wait?”

“Of course,” she replied. “I’m enjoying watching you run around.”

He ginned then kissed her forehead. “You’re awesome.”

Then he turned and jogged away. Some of the men gave her curious looks but no one disturbed her as she watched them do drills. When the hour was up and the coach blew the whistle, Kaiden and the quarterback talked to the group of coaches. Then Kaiden shook hands with all of them and headed to the locker room.

He emerged about twenty minutes later, dressed in jeans and his Budweiser t-shirt. A duffle bag was flung over one shoulder. When he reached her, he held out his hand and she took it, entwining their fingers. Then he led her outside.

“Where’d you park?”

“I don’t have a car.”

He frowned at her. “What? How did you get here?”

“Bus, and then I walked.”

“Fuck, baby, I wouldn’t have asked you to come if I knew you had to do all that.”

She shrugged. “It’s okay. I take the bus everywhere so I’m used to it.”

He leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the mouth. “Thank you for supporting me.”

Kaiden helped her into his SUV before stowing his gear in the back and sliding behind the wheel. The engine started and he drove them away from Earth City back to St. Louis.

“Do you mind stopping by my hotel before I take you to lunch?”

“Why do you have a hotel? I thought you were staying in St. Louis.”

“Fingers crossed. I didn’t want to sell my old house and buy here, and then have to leave if I didn’t make the cut.”

She bit her lip for a moment, and then the words came tumbling out. “Why don’t you stay in my guest bedroom?”

He didn’t say anything until he came to a red light. Once stopped, he turned to look at her.

“Really?”

She nodded. “I have a spare bedroom I use for storing my painting supplies, but I can easily move all the stuff. You can stay as long as you’d like. I mean, I know we hardly know each other, and this isn’t a come-on. I don’t want to pressure you into anything, bu t— ”

He cut her words off when he leaned forward and kissed her lips. He only pulled back when a car behind them honked. Resuming the drive, he said nothing, and she hoped she hadn’t messed everything up. When they arrived at his hotel, he had the valet take his vehicle and he took her hand to escort her inside.

“I accept,” he murmured in her ear. “I, too, promise I won’t pressure you into anything uncomfortable. However, I’m going to try to seduce you every chance I can get.”

He winked at her, and once more, her cheeks flushed.

“Let’s go pack your things,” she said.

He nodded and led her to the row of elevators. Nerves fluttered in her belly. Not because she just invited a man to live with her, and not because she only knew him a short time. He made her heart pound and her body heat up. She wondered if she’d let herself be seduced quickly, or try to let the anticipation build.

Guess she’d find out soon enough.