Page 7 of Offside

I stride further into her office. With each step, I practice the words I’ve rehearsed in my head.

“I’m sorry, I was an asshole. I shouldn’t have left you without an explanation. I should have been a friend when you needed one.”

Karis glowers at me so strongly I feel the need to look away to avoid the scrutiny in her glare. But I stay the course as she grows noticeably less composed and more fidgety the closer I get to her desk. Her creamy skin, pale and untouched by the sun, brightens to a deep pink hue. She flicks a lock of hair out of her face and she straightens her spine like she’s preparing for battle.

I raise my arms in the air in the sign of surrender.

“Karis, please. Five minutes, that’s all I ask.”

Karis peers up and past my shoulder toward the window of her office. I follow her gaze, turning my head until Christine’s empty desk comes into view.

“Christine’s gone. I ran into her at the elevator. If you’re worried about privacy…”

She shakes her head vehemently, wisps of blonde hair escaping from her ponytail and falling into her face. Karis tucks some of the loose strands behind her ears and pushes to her feet.

“I’m not worried because we don’t need privacy.” Her voice is tense and her eyes meet mine as she rounds the side of the desk before coming to an abrupt stop at the corner. She casts a downward glance at her fitness watch and then bristles. “I’m busy, Ballas, and don’t have five minutes. There is nothing we have to discuss, and I’m late for my next meeting.”

She picks up the phone and iPad from her desk, bending so her white blouse stretches and clings to the curve of her waist. I take another step forward and catch a whiff of her soft, feminine scent. The same fragrance that has lingered in my memories since the night we were together.

Covering her hand gently with my palm, I press it down to the desk.

“No, you’re not.”

Karis stammers in a bewildered and guarded tone, snatching her wrist away.

“Are you also my new admin and know everything about myschedule, Ballas?”

I chuckle and drop my hand to my side while the corners of my mouth tip into an amused grin. “I asked Christine if you were available.”

Shepffts, and swivels quickly, leaving her devices on the desk in favor of crossing her arms with a cute growl of irritability. “Remind me to fire her.”

I laugh at her fake outrage as she sits back down with a sneer, her mouth twisting in a grimace of indignation.

This fiery woman is the same one who boldly stated she wanted me to fuck her that night in Vegas and then quickly showed me her vulnerabilities and inexperience. The two sides of Karis Spurlock are the reasons I haven’t been able to get her out of my head since then.

She slips a manicured finger into a brightly colored candy dish, fishing around to pluck out a few red Skittles before parting her lips and popping them in her mouth. I stare with fascination at those perfect lips as they open and close around the candy. The tip of her pink tongue peeks out, sending a flood of memory back to my brain.

And my cock.

Which is precisely why I need to steer clear of those memories, make amends, and find a way to co-exist in this new team environment. Forge ahead past my mistake and start over on a professional level.

And what a fucking mistake it was. It serves me right for trying to be the kind of man she needed when I obviously couldn’t pull it off.

That night I did something completely out of character for me. I stepped out on a limb and I offered my support and shoulder for Karis to cry on when her uncle landed in the hospital.

As they say, no good deed goes unpunished.

It took me four hours to realize she needed something far more than I was able to offer. I’m just not a man equipped with the level of emotional resonance required in that situation.

Sex? I can give that.

A hug of encouragement? That’s easy enough.

But to stick it out and stay by a woman’s side during her time of need?

Not in my wheelhouse.

So, I did the only thing I could do. I ran.

---