Page 29 of Rowdy Hearts

CHAPTER SIX

Tressy

What the hellhad I gotten myself into?

I watched Rowdy stroll away, toward the buzz of loud voices coming from somewhere down the hall. I couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying. Or maybe I couldn’t understand because I was more interested in the way Rowdy’s jean’s clung to his muscular ass and thighs.

The man had muscles on muscles in all the right places, though he didn’t come off like a muscle-bound jock. It’d be better for me if he did. I could ignore him more easily.

“Ma’am, can I come in now?”

I gasped, “Oh, geez,” as I turned back to the door to see the younger man staring at me with a confused smile. “I’m so sorry.”

“No problem.” He nodded his head at me. “I just don’t want to be late for my first game day.”

“Then don’t let me hold you up any longer.”

He gave me a big smile as I walked through the door thenwaved as he headed down the hall. Unknowingly headed toward his doom of the Toilet Run.

Shaking my head, I took a deep breath, the unfamiliar scents of the arena making my nose twitch. The smell wasn’t unpleasant, it was just…different. Like day-old popcorn and an industrial ice maker.

A loud cheer sounded from the end of the hall. The locker room, I guessed. Whatever the Toilet Run was, I had a feeling it wouldn’t be fun for Denny.

I grinned, a little surprised at myself. After last night, I hadn’t been sure I’d find anything funny for a long time. As a kid, I’d laughed all the time. It’d been my trademark, giggly and joyous. It’s also made me one of the most bankable child stars on TV.

Until that giggly child became a sly, snarky teenager. And my career had taken a hit. I’d played a few goth best friends, overdosed a few times as drug addicts on Grey’s Anatomy and Law & Order, and had one memorable three-episode arc as a dying cancer patient on an HBO miniseries that won a couple of awards.

By the time I’d turned seventeen, the roles had dried up. And my sister had never been able to duplicate my success, much to our mom’s chagrin and my sister’s bitterness.

Last night’s event was supposed to have been the start of my sister’s big comeback. But my mom and sister hadn’t counted on me saying no and fucking up their big plans.

Roiling anger and that awful sense of betrayal hit me again, deep in my gut where it burned and made me feel like I wanted to throw up.

With an effort, I took a couple of deep breaths and shoved all of that out of my head. If I let them, those thoughts would consume me, take me back to that dark place I’d been in during my teens.

Not today.

There was a handsome man down that hall who looked at melike he wanted to kiss me. Surprisingly, I wanted to kiss him back. I might be crazy. I might just be horny. Right now, I didn’t care. I wanted to be a woman who could answer the question in his eyes. Yes, I liked him. Yes, I wanted?—

Another whoop went up from the locker room then the door at the end of the hall flew open so hard, it smashed against the brick wall, and Denny sprinted though it. In nothing but his underwear. His expression was part resignation, part determination.

He was running flat-out by the time he reached the end of the hall and took the corner. I sucked in a gasp when he nearly wiped out, but he righted himself and took off down the concourse.

And holy crap, the guy was ripped. My mouth fell open as I caught sight of his muscular ass and thighs as he disappeared around the corner of the elliptical arena.

“I think I’m offended.”

Blinking, I turned to find Rowdy coming up behind me.

“What?”

“You don’t look at me the way you just looked at him.”

I heard the flirtation in his tone but also a bit of jealousy.

“You didn’t just run by me in your underwear.”

His brows arched and his eyes widened just a little. “Are you saying you want to see me in my underwear?”

---