Page 6 of Offside Attraction

Someone slid in next to her, and the bartender looked up mid-pour. "Two pints," he said, and the hairs rose on the back of Rhonda's arms. Her body recognized him like he was her childhood blanket. If a blanket could make you momentarily disassociate from your body.

She clasped her hands in front of her, keeping her eyes trained ahead, pretending to be riveted by the bottles the bartenders were grabbing off the shelves.

“Pucks Deep,” she murmured.

Jordan let out a puff of air next to her. “You say that like it’s a curse word.”

“In my neck of the woods, it definitely is.” Rhonda turned her head away from him, just in case anyone was watching. He was silent long enough that she started to get antsy.

He scraped his stool closer to the bar. “You were the one who said no names.”

“You had a Grand Prairie logo on your hockey bag!” she hissed.

Jordan chuckled. “You noticed my hockey bag?”

“Of course I noticed. I do a little research before . . . you know.”

“Very thorough. Did you check my toiletry bag for condoms, too?”

She almost broke and turned to him. Instead, she clenched her jaw and tapped her fingers on the counter. Hard. “If I would’ve known?—”

“You would’ve missed out on the best sex of your life.”

She scoffed. “Okay, cocky. It wasn’t the best.” That was a lie, and by the smile she heard in his voice, he knew it.

“Well. If you ever want to compare and be sure.” A piece of a napkin slid into her field of view, along with his left hand. The edges of his tattoos curled over his wrist, and those fingers . . .

The bartender handed Jordan his beers, and Rhonda knocked her knees on the underside of the counter as she tried to shift over so his arm wouldn’t brush against hers. She wasn’t fast enough.

And then he was gone. Her heart was pounding like a squirrel that had barely escaped oncoming traffic. She barely eeked out a “thank you” when the bartender set the glasses on the bar in front of her.

Water dripped onto the wood, soaking into the napkin, and she quickly swiped it off the bar. She wasn’t going to keep it, but she also wouldn’t leave it there for some rando to find. She’d throw it away in a second, after she dropped off the waters.

Rhonda stuffed Jordan’s number into the back pocket of her pants, then blew out a breath, grabbed the drinks, and walked back to her table with a smile on her face.

Chapter

One

Rhonda

Present Day, October 2024

Rhonda shiveredas she dropped her yoga pants on Tina and Anne’s patio. The steam rising from the hot tub curled like smoke in the chilly night air. Her fingers fumbled with her shirt, the cold making them clumsy. She laughed as she finally got it over her head, then slipped into the water with a contented sigh. It was dark enough this time of year that she didn’t even bother putting her swimsuit top on in the first place.

Emma grinned as she took hers off and draped it over the edge of the tub.

“That’s my girl.” Rhonda laughed and quickly pulled her hair up with a clip so she could sink to her neck.

Penny opened the cooler. "You're a terrible influence."

"Don’t knock it till you try it." Rhonda grinned as Penny dropped her coat and pants, holding her drink above her head as she slid into the water. “It’s like a warm massage, and they just float.”

Tina rolled her eyes. “Yours float since they stick out more than an inch from your body.”

Rhonda shrugged. “All the more reason to set them free—they don’t evenneedto be restricted.” It was her personal mission to bring more non-sexual nudity into the world, or at least her small piece of it. Women hated their bodies when they thought everyone else looked like the airbrushed images they were bombarded with. But in her experience, everyone pretty much looked the same. A different mole or roll here or there. None of it mattered, and baring it all was a good way to convince her brain of that truth.

“I think I’m going to dye my hair,” Tina started.

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