Page 87 of Necessary Roughness
It was fun pausing the TV and squinting at the crowd. There was a flicker of blue to the right whichmighthave been me, but it was tough to tell.
“I have all the support I need in my life,” Knox said. “And that’s all I’ll say about that.”
By now, I knew Knox pretty well. He had a different smile he reserved for TV interviews and for students who intercepted him on campus asking for a selfie. But that smile right there? That was the smile he saved forme.
It gave me a warm feeling inside.
The door opened, and I prepared to excitedly greet the boys home. But it was Roman who came inside and closed the door behind him.
“Oh, hey,” I said, feeling my cheeks go hot. “Good game today.”
“Good for the offense,” he muttered. “We didn’t do so well.”
“Oh. Yeah. Right.”
Roman sighed heavily, dropped his duffel bag on the floor, and approached me. “Stand up.”
“Shit. Sorry. I know this is your recliner, I was just watching the highlights from GameDay.”
But when I got to my feet, Roman wrapped me in a tight bear hug. I was too shocked to do anything but accept his embrace, warm and strong and totally foreign.
When he pulled back, he braced me by the shoulders and stared at me with those dark, intense eyes. “Stop. Being. Awkward.”
“What… what do you mean?”
His grip tightened, holding me in place. “You blushed the moment I walked in the door. It’s been over a month. You’re starting to piss me off. Let it go.”
“I can’t help it!” I said. “You saw… well, you know.”
“What’s going to fix this?” he demanded. “Do you need to walk in on me having sex with some random cheerleader?”
“Maybe? I don’t know. I’m sorry.” I made myself look him in the eye. “I’ll try harder.”
He looked like he was going to say something more, then sighed and went into his room. I could still feel the strength of his fingers on my skin long after he was gone.
I watched the rest of College GameDay that continued after Knox left to prepare for the game. I couldn’t wait for him and Logan to get home. Their success felt likemysuccess, as silly as that sounded. Like I was a part of the team, along with the trainers and physical therapists.
I giggled to myself. Physical therapist. Maybe that’s what I would start calling myself around them.
Roman came out of his room and rummaged around in the kitchen behind me. “Need anything?” he asked.
Trying to make things less awkward, I said, “I’ll take a hard seltzer, please. Black Cherry, or Lime if we’re all out.”
The fridge opened and closed. Then Roman appeared next to me, extending the can in front of my face.
“Thanks,” I said, turning toward him.
He was totally nude.
Well, nottotally. He was wearing a pair of boxers that hugged his crotch like a second skin. It leftnothingto the imagination, and I quickly pulled my eyes away and up to his face.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!” I croaked.
“Trying to defuse the situation,” he said, walking to the front door and peering out the window, directly in my line of sight. “I saw you nude. Now you’ve seen me mostly nude.”
“It’s not the same thing!” I sputtered. I knew he was a huge, imposing man, but it was different seeing him clothed and seeing him bare.
“I’m willing to try anything,” he growled at me, “because I’m sick of your face turning cherry red any time I walk into my own house. If you have any other ideas, I’m all ears.”
