Page 24 of Face Off
A nearly naked Brooks strolls across the room with only a white plush towel from the hotel bathroom hanging from his hips. My cheeks burn as my eyes roam his magnificent body. Beads of water drip down his abs leading to the V hidden beneath the towel as his biceps flex while he runs another white towel through his dark-brown locks. My body heats with excitement when his gaze meets mine, examining my body from head to toe as I clutch the bedsheet to my body.
“Morning, Hayley.” My name rolls off his tongue in a seductive manner as he makes his way toward the bed. Leaning down, he gently grabs my chin before placing a chaste kiss on my lips that are still swollen from last night.
My fingers touch my lips as he pulls away, reveling in the tingles its left behind. My entire body shudders at the loss of his touch, craving more as he walks toward the open door of the adjoining room.
Gosh, I’ve got to stop this.
Climbing out of the bed, I wrap the sheet around my bare body as I trudge after him. “Brooks, we need to talk.”
“So, talk,” he says, dropping the towel wrapped around his waist as he searches through his bag for a pair of clean boxers.
God, could he look any more like a Greek god. Okay. Stop it. Nip this right in the bud right now, Hayley.
He stands in all his glory naked in front of me, waiting for me to speak. “Could you at least put on some clothes first?” I say, running my eyes down his body.
“Am I distracting you, Hayley?”
Yes. No. Ugh, maybe.
“Look… What happened last night was a one-time thing. I mean I don’t know if it was the wine talking or what, but I don’t do hookups. And if you’re going to try to convince me that this wasn’t a hookup, and that you want to give things a try… We can’t. Nothing further can happen between us,” I say without taking a breath.
His eyes move back and forth between mine for a few moments before furrowing his brows. “Why do you keep fighting this? You’re right. This wasn’t a hookup for me this time. But message read loud and clear.”
He pulls a pair of black boxer briefs up his muscular legs, followed by a pair of gym shorts and a Skipjacks t-shirt. He stops mid tie of his running shoes to look up at me. “But for the record, I don’t give up so easily. When I see something, I want, I go for it. So don’t think for one second that I’m going to just roll over and stop pursuing you.” He finished tying his shoe before grabbing his gym bag. “See you in a few, Red.”
He walks out the door, leaving me alone, my mouth gaping as I process his words. Brooks Miller is the exact guy I need to stay away from, yet now the idea of him chasing me has me ready to throw all my inhibitions away.
……..
“He said what?” Cassidy’s jaw drops as I explain the events of last night’s undertaking during our game preparations at the arena.
I nod as I place my medical bag in the cubby hole just outside the player’s bench. The hum of the Zamboni cleaning the ice fills the uncomfortable silence between us. If I know Cassidy, her response is more a well-rehearsed act than actual shock. She after all did set me up, putting Brooks in the room next to mine.Which she’ll be getting an earful for, but right now, I have bigger fish to fry. Like finding out if Brooks is serious about his threat.
I turn around to eye Cassidy as she continues working on the checklist for tonight’s game. “Oh, come on,” I say as I take a seat on the bench. “This was all a part of your plan, and you know it. You put him in the adjoining room next to me.”
She cocks her head to the side and crosses her arms. “He’s into you clearly. I know it. Christ, Channing said Brooks won’t shut the fuck up about you.”
“Speaking of Channing. What’s going on between the two of you?” I say, trying to change the subject.
She rolls her eyes at me before taking a seat next to me on the bench. “Stop trying to change the subject. Brooks likes you and wants to try a commitment with you. And he doesn’t do that with anyone.”
“He’s a player.”
“People can change, Hayley,” she snaps. “Has it ever occurred to you that something could have happened to make him the way he is today?”
I sigh loudly before standing, placing my hands on the wall between the ice and the bench as I watch the Zamboni. I rarely get mad at Cassidy. She’s been my best friend since pre-kindergarten and has been there through everything when I got pregnant with Cam. So, it infuriates me when I hear her next words.
“Not everyone is Boyce, Hayley. Boyce was a dick, and he’ll probably never change.”
“He’s engaged. He gets to have the perfect life and start a family with his new BAE. The family that he should have had with me and Cam,” I say through gritted teeth.
“You can have that all too. Maybe if you give Brooks a chance, you can see that.”
“I did that with Tucker, and you know where that got me? A big fat goose egg. All men are just like Boyce,” I snap, walking back through the tunnel toward the little office the opposing team lends to the medical staff.
I plop down in the uncomfortable office chair as Cassidy sits across from me. “Tucker was a pig. I knew that when I first met him. Cocky, rude, and conniving. But Brooks could be different, and you’ll never know until you give him the chance. Just remember, not everything is black and white. There’s always a whole heap of gray that people don’t see.”
“When did you become so philosophical?” I eye her with a sigh of defeat.
