Facing him, I looked deeply into his stunning green eyes, lighter in the sunshine. Fuck, I could kiss him right now. Kiss him and claim him as mine to be sure nothing would happen with Sara after I left. I was out of my fucking mind. “No, I want to. Have you ever been to a game?”
“No. I’ve been to hockey games, and I’ve watched football on TV, but I’ve never been to a football game.” His gaze flicked to my lips and returned.
“Well then, you’re in for a treat.” And I’d play the best game of my life with him there. Giving him my most charming smile, I said, “I’ll see you on Thursday.” I turned on my heels and forced myself down the stairs before I did something stupid, like actually kiss him.
TWO
COLTON
Istared at Travis’s muscled ass as he stepped down the stairs. What had he done to me? It had been ages since a man had attracted me. Not since…Better not to think about it. I still had work to finish and Sara to handle. As I sighed, I strolled inside my apartment and shut the door behind me.
Sara’s eyes lit, and she straightened her spine while sitting in the center of my couch. “Well? He seems nice.” She patted the cushion next to her.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Twisting my lips, I scanned the room. He had the most stunning blue eyes I’d ever seen. Damn it, I had to regroup. “Do you want?—”
“Nope, I got myself water.” She held up a bottle. “Come on, tell me what’s new.”
While here, she consistently preferred chatting over studying. “There’s nothing new to talk about.” It wasn’t like I had an interesting life. No, that part of me was dead and buried. I stepped to the couch and sat on the end, leaving a space between us.
She shimmied closer to me. “Do you want to grab dinner down on Mill Avenue before we go to the game?” Biting the side of her lower lip, she studied me. “It could be like a…date, maybe?”
My brows swept up. “Date?” I should have known she’d want that. I wasn’t stupid—I knew she’d been flirting with me all these past weeks. She had to stay in the friend zone. There wasn’t time for me to have a girlfriend, anyway. “I’m sorry, but I can’t mix business with pleasure.”
She stared at me for a beat, her jaw dropping. “What?”
“It’s school policy. I can’t date the students I tutor.” Would she get it now? I worried my lower lip.
With her brows furrowing, she said, “What if you stop tutoring me before the game? I’m not sure I need it anymore.”
Damn it. I tightened my jaw. “You really think you’ll do well without my help?” But then, we barely studied when she was here, so she may be correct. How could I get out of this?
“If I need more help, I’ll find another tutor.” She inched closer to me, her knee touching mine, and then grabbed my hand. “Come on, Colton. I know you like me. We have fun when I’m here.”
“Uh…” Shit, she was right. We laughed a lot. But… “I don’t know.” My gaze fell to our hands, resting on my thigh. Tex’s stunning face flashed through my mind. How would it be to date him? How was he invading my thoughts after only one tutoring session? I needed a distraction from him. My life plans did not include dating a man. I’d made my decision on that front. “Yes, okay.” After a deep inhale, I said, “But we’ll continue as tutor and student only for the next two weeks.”
“Oh, thank you, Colton. You won’t regret this. We’ll have so much fun.” She grabbed my cheeks and planted a quick kiss on my lips.
My eyes popped open, and my body recoiled. Damn it, I wasn’t sure I could like her this way. But maybe I had to try. One date couldn’t hurt, right? As I forced a grin, I patted her hand and slipped my hand away from hers. “Okay, okay, let’s get to work.” What had I gotten myself into? I should have thought this through better.
The next evening,I had a rare free evening and had made plans to meet with Evan for dinner in Old Town Scottsdale. After parking my car, I strolled along a sidewalk to Ra Sushi. The warm evening air cooled following a scorching day, with the setting sun painting orange and turquoise streaks through the sky. I stopped at the corner restaurant, a building of clay brick with a patio covered by a wooden roof structure. As I passed the black outdoor tables, Evan waved at me, his messy mop of dark hair falling across his forehead.
“Hey, over here.” He held a beer up and smiled. “I got you one too, and don’t tell me you’re not drinking tonight.”
Of course he did that. “Fine.” As my chest warmed, I took the chair next to his with a grin tugging at my lips. Being with him was like coming home. My old home, not the one where my mother had passed away.
He pushed a glass of beer toward me. “We don’t get together as much as we used to.” His blue-eyed gaze beamed at me.
“We’re both too busy.” I sipped my beer, relishing the cool bubbles. I drank little anymore, but damn, it tasted heavenly. “What’s new?”
“Not much. Just waiting for the Coyotes to call me up. Word from Lucas is his D-line partner’s having problems.” He sat back in his chair. “We played well together, so it’s only a matter of time.”
“Yeah? That’s great.” As my stomach grumbled, I picked up the menu and scanned it. “Have you ordered anything yet besides beer?” He always had edamame.
“Just edamame. The garlic one.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “How’s the tutoring coming along?”
“Fine. I have two students right now.” Shit, but one that would end our sessions soon. “Uh, but I’ll only have one in a few weeks.” I drank more beer.
“Yeah? I’m unsure why you invest so muchtime on tutoring. Aren’t you supposed to be working on your thesis or something?” He shifted while the server set our edamame on the table.