12. Lucas

Jase's jaw tightens, the smile fading from his face. "Why don't you stop trying to psychoanalyze me to goddamn death?" He jabs a thumb at his chest. "What you see is what you get. Just fucking accept that, okay? I'm an asshole. There's nothing else you need to know. I'm not a math problem. Nothing to figure out here."

He edges past me in pursuit of the back parking lot. His broad shoulder connects with mine… the one that crashed into the bathroom door a little while ago because Jase didn't give a damn enough to open it carefully.

I wince, rubbing at the sharp pain. He really is a self-centered asshole.

And my kryptonite because no matter what he says, Mr. Sexy-As-Fuck Cro-Magnon Man has layers. I want to peel back every single one. Nobody is all asshole, all the time. And if they are, it's because someone or something made them that way.

He softened for the kid and his dad.

If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't have believed it. Hell, I half expected him to have taken the kid's football and throw it halfway across the parking lot… without his autograph. That's the kind of prick behavior he's famous for.

Jase stops walking, his shoulders sagging as he lets out a deep sigh. When he turns, his expression shocks the shit out of me. It's actually relaxed, not pinched like it normally is when he looks at me. Or most people, actually.

"I like talking to little kids. They're the best fans and a big reason why I do this. If signing a football makes a kid's day, then I'll do it every single time I'm asked."

"Wow. That sounded really genuine. You can't be that good of an actor."

The corners of his lips curl upward. "You have no idea, Bentley. No fucking idea."

"So you've got a soft spot for little kids. Never saw that coming."

Without a coat on, it's damn chilly, but the smile on his face warms me to my core.

"We have a lot of power in our positions. Abusing it sucks. And plenty do just that."

I furrow my brow. "What do you mean?"

He runs a hand through his messy hair and my fingertips instinctively crackle with electricity because they ache to do the exact same thing.

"When I was a little kid, I remember going to my first football game. My dad had all sorts of connections so he managed to get us into some VIP area where my brothers and I could meet the players. But I didn't care about most of those guys. I cared about one, Damon Tomlinson."

"With the Georgia Panthers?"

Jase nods. "Yup. I was so excited, I couldn't sleep a wink the night before. He didn't have the best game of his career that day, but I didn't care. I just wanted to meet him, get his autograph, maybe take a picture with him."

The grimace twisting Jase's lips tells me his story doesn't have a happy ending.

"I caught a look at him while I was waiting outside the locker room. I was so excited, I couldn't stand still. When he finally walked out the doors, he looked at me and my family like we were snakes slithering on the ground. He looked at everyone that way. When the guy my dad knew asked if he could sign some autographs for us, he blew up at the guy, glared at us, and blew us off."

"Fuck." Even now, my heart clenches for him. "All because he had a shitty game?"

Jase shrugs. "Or because he's a dick. Either way, I told myself right then that I'd never, ever react to a fan that way, much less a kid. Other players were great with us. They were happy to take pictures and shit. But it didn't matter because Tomlinson was my guy, and my guy completely devastated me. I went home and tore up every poster, article, and card I had of him. He was dead to me."

"I've always heard he's kind of a douchebag."

"I get it. We all have bad days. Christ, I've had enough of those for a lifetime. But you paste on a smile for the fans, especially little kids. They're the people who put us on that field and keep us there." Jase throws his hands in the air. "Okay, fine. You were so desperate to see another side of me? There you go. Sometimes I can be a nice guy. Under rare, rare circumstances."

"So there's hope for you yet."

He shakes his head. "Let's not get fucking crazy, Bentley. Can you back off now? I'm starving."

"Just so you know, the vultures are ready to swoop back there." I point my thumb toward the back parking lot. "I'd be careful."

Jase lets out a frustrated sigh. "All I want is a fucking burger."

"You didn't eat before you came here?"

He levels me with a glare. "I did. Several times. What's your damn point?"

I can't bother to suck back the chuckle.

"You think that's funny?"

"I think you'd better let me drive you to wherever you need to get this burger from because you'll end up gnawing off your own arm before the press lets you go."

His icy-blue eyes tangle with mine. "I'm territorial with my food. I don't share."

"Oh, so you're inviting me to stay with you?" My heart leaps in my chest like I've just won a prize.

He smiles, a slow, sexy smile that makes my breath still. Damn, it looks like I just did.

"Well, you can't just drop me off and leave. How am I gonna get back to my car?"

"Cab, Uber, walk." I tick the words off on my fingers. "Train, bus, one of those rent-a-bike things they have all over the city. You've got plenty of options."

"I'm getting close to taking my chances with the vultures."

I head toward my blacked-out Mercedes G-Wagon in the nearest parking lot. "Come on. Nobody will see you with the windows tinted."

"As long as I get my lunch soon." He pulls his phone out and stares at the screen before waving it in the air. "It's almost dinner."

I roll my eyes, but as I jog over to the parking spot, I can't help but feel dizzy with glee.

I broke him down and managed to slither unscathed through whatever barbed wire barricade he had wrapped around him. I know it's only because he allowed it to happen, but I still made it through. He gave me another glimpse into him, another reason for me to believe there's way more to the guy than meets the eye.

Not to say that what meets the eye is anything less than jaw-droppingly incredible.

The guy makes my heart stutter and quake like nobody I've ever met.

Even if he's not gay, I can't seem to drag myself away from him. His aura has such a heady mix of sexy and toxic, my God, I could get drunk on it, it's so all-consuming.

I've always been a glutton for punishment, so why should that surprise me?

I give my head a quick shake before pulling open the driver's side door. I sound like a complete head case, like the sad and pathetic guy who's been mooning over the prom queen until one day she finally throws him a bone.

I could only be so lucky if Jase decided to throw me a bone.

I swallow a groan.

This is just a ride. Just a third lunch. He's made that clear. Don't read into it. Don't let it mess with your head.

Jase jumps into the passenger seat, his massive body hanging over the center console, his muscled bicep brushing against mine. A cloud of his cologne settles in the air around us. It's impossible to not breathe him in, to not let him infuse my insides.

The scent is a lot like him—spicy and tangy, with a hint of sweetness.

I press the ignition button, blood rushing between my temples.

Sneaking a peek at his profile, I catch a small smirk relaxing his face as he stares down at his phone. He's in human form now and it's hot as all hell.

I shift on the cold leather seat, clapping my legs together because my cock is all sorts of engaged with the thoughts looping through my mind of Jase pressed against me, kissing me long and deep, nipping at my ear with his rough stubble scraping against my neck…

He twists his head to look at me. "We going or what? Can't you hear my stomach, brah?"

Oh, fuck me. His stomach isn't the only thing in this car that's growling and rumbling right now.