Page 43 of Not A Chance

I would not get sucked under his spell again. I had to take back control of this runaway train we were on.

He lifted his hands as if to latch back onto me and continue where we left off this afternoon. Stepping back out of his reach, I ushered him into the apartment.

The sooner I shut this down, the sooner he would leave and I could get my head together again.

“Hi, Theo. Come in. Can I get you a drink?” When in doubt, it always worked to be polite.

I walked backward into the apartment and gestured to the couch, hoping he would take the hint and sit. I moved into the kitchen area without waiting for his response.

With a counter between us, I turned around to find him having scooped Giz up and cuddling her comfortably in one ridiculously toned arm.

I grabbed a glass to pour myself some water from the fridge dispenser. I held it up to him in question, and he just shook his head, that infuriating smile still on his gorgeous face.

Taking deliberately slow sips, I took stock of the man in front of me. Besides the tiny dog emphasizing his height and the broadness of his shoulders, the way his T-shirt hugged all those muscles he worked so hard for was nearly criminal. His nearly black hair wasstill damp from his post-game shower, and the scruff on his face had arousal zinging through my body.

I hadn’t had time to take in all these little details this afternoon. But I realized I’d moved the hand not holding the glass up to my cheek, where I could feel some tenderness from his facial hair rubbing up against my skin. My pulse sped up with that knowledge.

Needing to break this silence between us. I spoke just to get this over with.

“Theo, what happened today can’t happen again.” Hopefully, the nervous rasp in my voice went unnoticed.

“Why not, Indie?” He inclined his head as if confused by the direction I had chosen.

“It’s just not a good idea for so many reasons. Sex complicates everything. I can’t give you what you want.” I let out a deep breath. I didn’t say that I was worried that physical intimacy would erase the flimsy barrier I’d put up to protect myself from falling in love with him again.

He gave Giz a quick peck on the head (shit, swoon) before setting her in the nest of blankets I’d created for her on the couch. He made his way around the counter to stand before me. He ran a searching gaze over my face. His intense focus was a direct contrast to the way he leaned his body casually against the counter.

He nodded, as if coming to some conclusion. “Hit me with ’em,” he stated.

“With what exactly?” I asked.

“Hit me with all of those reasons you’ve got up in your head about why we can’t do this.” He spread out his hands in an explain-it-to-me-type gesture.

His beautiful face with its stupid model cheekbones, lush eyelashes (male DNA seemed unfairly advantaged in this way), anddark brown eyes threatened my good sense.

Iwantedsomething for once. Something selfish and just mine. I’d never been allowed to want things when I was younger. My decisions were dictated by my parents’ needs, which were mostly to pretend I didn’t exist as anything other than a prop for when they needed to look family-friendly. I’d spent so long just saying yes to whatever was demanded of me that I’d almost completely forgotten how towant.

What I wanted was right in front of me. Theo. Telling me he wanted me too, in whatever capacity he did.

I wanted the ability to take a risk, not knowing the outcome. To forget about consequences and appearances for one goddamn moment.

I mirrored his stance, putting my hip against the counter. I took him up on his dare.

I held my hand up to count the reasons. He wouldn’t give up until I gave him a reason to. But once he saw sense, he would walk away. It would save us both a lot of complications and potentially hurt feelings.

“One, you’re Emery’s brother. It’s not okay to break her trust this way,” I began. “Two…”

Before I realized what he had done, he’d pulled his phone from his back pocket and unlocked it, pressing a button and putting it on the counter between us.

“What are you doing?” I hissed. It was freaking 12:30 a.m.

One ring and a soft “Hello?” had my internal organs freezing solid.

“What the fuck, Theo?” I mouthed at him. He’d fucking called Emery.

“Hey, Em.” He smiled in the face of my surprise.

“Theo, are you okay? Why are you calling so late, your time?” Her sweet voice seemed to echo throughout the apartment, as if suddenly eight hundred square feet had turned into a coliseum of sound.

---