And I glanced over my shoulder for the view. The way her pencil skirt hugged all sides of her deserved to be admired.
It wasn’t hard staring at her. I’d taken the time to bring gifts, and she’d looked right past them, and stomped her heel on the actual heart of the problem. I was the best at KYU, and she was right. That was KYU and KYU only.
If there was anything that I enjoyed - it was a challenge. I thrived off them. I always had. But KYU wasn’t a challenge. The team was a cramped shitstorm of players that were too good for the team with coaches that couldn’t understand what they were dealing with.
I was bored. I had been bored for a long time.
And my receptions had gotten sloppy.
Coach Lawson started comparing numbers from other teams, and she popped up with fifty other statistics, running through them better than I could’ve. I kept my eyes on her, on that redhead that showed me up in front of her boss.
Lightning struck.
And it kept striking.
“There’s this problem though,” I stopped the conversation. “See, we had our little run-in with my teammate, my man of the salt and Earth, and we had our fun. But I didnotget your name.” I waited until her heels clicked on the floor close to me and I dropped my tone, cutting our conversation off from the rest of them. “The baristas wouldn’t even give it to me, and I bought your coffee order. They still said no.”
Her gorgeous caramel eyes snapped to the coffees. “You…?”
“I didn’t know which coffee spilled. I had to buy them all.” Taking my time down the aisles, I passed out the coffees while she stood at the archway with her clipboard in hand. “And the lady’s name is…?”
Deep down, I wondered if I was the only one who felt the deep, raw attraction between us. When I had stepped into the coffee shop, it had taken actual effort to tear my eyes away from her black skirt, deliciously curved along her ass.
The only reason I hadn’t pinpointed the conversation with Sullender was the headphones and attempting to be a gentleman, so she didn’t see me giving that body of hers the kind of look that’d get me in trouble. But I should’ve listened sooner, I should’ve stepped in sooner.
But I’d take that chance for round two.
I wanted that girl. I wanted her more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life.
And I love a challenge.
The last coffee on the tray was the white drizzle mocha.
Of course it’s hers.
She took it gingerly from me when I offered it and I searched her face, hungry, looking for more, anything more. “The lady’s name?”
She met my eyes again. “Cleo Bennight.”
“Cleo Bennight,” I tested it out, speaking her name softly to the air. It was nice. Beautiful, feminine, curled around the tongue like I wanted her to curl around me. But it wasn’t quite there. Something was off. Cleo Locke sounded so much better. “Cleo Bennight…on behalf of the Kennedy Young University for angry, spiteful, little boys, I want to formally apologize for my associate’s behavior.”
Her lips lifted to half a smile, and damn, what a smile. “Thank you.”
“Are we forgiven?”
“I suppose if everything goes well here.”
Dipping down low, I gestured back to the closed hallway. “It seems to me like you need some kind of bodyguard. To keep you away from the neanderthals.”
“Do I?” she murmured.
Coach Lawson and his assistants were enjoying the coffee and rounding up the paperwork, but I still had some luxurious seconds left. “I would say yes.”
“I can take care of myself.”
Doubtless.
“Well, how about the apology?”