Page 26 of Offsides Attraction

“No!” Lucas hissed from the other side of the room. “Dumb and Dumber, move apart. Now.” Penny felt the heat crawl up her face. Bash pulled his hands off the counter, but he didn’t move. Lucas poked Bash on the shoulder, hard enough to elicit a small wince. “Your roommate, Cal? Her little brother? Remember him sitting in the next room? He won’t be glued to his laptop much longer.”

Bash stepped back and Penny tucked her hands behind her back where they wouldn’t cause any more trouble. “I, I should go. It’s getting late.”

“Let me put some clothes on and I’ll walk you out. Just give me a minute.” A please would have been nice, she thought, slumping against the counter and fighting the urge to flee just to spite him. But she’d wait. They had unfinished business.

Penny glanced at Lucas, saying, “Thanks for wearing a robe. I don’t know if I could have handled two football players in towels.”

“You’re lucky he had a towel on.” Lucas chuckled at her shocked expression.

“You mean he…” she trailed off as her imagination took over.

“Is very comfortable in his skin. Yes.” Lucas shoved his hands into the robe’s pockets, and he rocked on his feet. “Tread carefully. We don’t want a setback.”

“Setback?” she asked as he grabbed a bottle of water and leaned against the refrigerator. He took a long drink, watching her, as if deciding how much to share. “Bash isn’t much of a people person, so we’ve been working with him. I can’t have you jeopardizing the team or upsetting him.”

“So, it’s not just me?” Penny felt oddly relieved that he treated everyone rudely. “Is he high-functioning autistic?

“No. More like high-functioning asshole. From what I’ve pieced together, he’s an overprivileged, over-indulged, only child who has a really hard time connecting with people. I think it’s nature and nurture run amok.” Penny nodded her head, curious that his hard words didn’t match his tone. “But I’ve seen that he cares deeply about people and things. He’s just very selective about it and he’s terrible at communicating it.”

“And you know this how?”

“Hard not to pick up on this stuff. Between living together and him being the QB and me being the center, it’s like we’re glued together.” Bash didn’t have people skills, but his friends did. Penny heard his warning loud and clear, and it said a lot for Bash that Lucas was in his corner. His energy showed he had a high-regard and liking for Bash.

She didn’t know Lucas well, but Nanna and Grandad spoke highly of him. He was a farm boy at heart, and he’d been helping them at Thistlestone Ranch during his free time. And now that Maggie had forgiven him for beating her in the baking contest, Penny thought she’d be seeing a lot more of Lucas Rodriguez, hopefully going in and out of Maggie’s apartment, directly across from hers.

Bash strolled into the kitchen wearing a pair of low-slung sweats and a Tetons hoodie.

Maybe there’s more to him than meets the eye? Still waters running deep and all.

Penny wondered if she’d misjudged him. He didn’t know any other way to be other than who he was. And if no one had corrected his rude behavior and if he didn’t know it was rude and unacceptable in the first place, could she hold him accountable for his arrogance and rudeness? How much Bash-ness was truly him? If Lucas and Five smoothed out his rough edges, would they find a nice guy underneath?

“Are you coming?” he asked, opening the side door. She sighed. There’s not enough sandpaper in the world to smooth out his roughness. But she followed. He was the key to her magical challenge.

Bash didn’t know which way was up. Penny showing up unannounced had him feeling like he was on one of those twirling amusement rides. The ones that made you lose your lunch. If he didn’t find his equilibrium fast, he’d lose his chance. She was here, apologizing. If he could work that angle—play on her remorse—maybe she’d be willing to help him.

“I like the glasses. You should wear them more often.”

He shrugged, then realized she couldn’t see that in the dark. “They don’t really work with the helmet. Contacts are part of the job.”

It didn’t take long to reach her little hybrid parked on the street. “I meant what I said.”

“When?” he asked, acting obtusely.

“In the kitchen.”

“You said a few things.” He wouldn’t make this easy for her. Her words had stung and while an apology was meaningless to him, it would make her relive her regret.

“I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“Which time?” He caught her chagrined smile in the streetlight’s glow.

“All, but mostly last time. Like I said, my words didn’t match my mood. Your kiss was good.”

“Just good?” The wind whipped around them, and he tucked some stray hair behind her ear. It was soft and silky, and it felt like her curls wanted to wrap themselves around his fingers.

Penny huffed. “No, very, very good. A-plus, 110 percent, touchdown, Oscar-winning, crème de la crème, use whatever rating scale you want. The kiss was over the top. Happy?” she asked, sounding anything but.

“Then why did you say, that’s not good?”

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