I wanted to spend the night alone anyway.”
If he expected her to feel hurt by that, he was sorely disappointed. She cocked her head to one side, her blond hair slipping down her shoulder, and she gave him a dazzling smile. Enough that he was momentarily distracted until her words hit him.
“Well, that’s good then. We’re each on our own tonight.”
Was it? Was it good? His brain said yes; his body definitely did not. But it was too late. She stretched up on her toes, gave him a swift kiss on his chin since she couldn’t quite reach his mouth, then spun around and bounded back into her house. And while he stood there, he was both pleased and annoyed to hear the snick of the lock. Sure, she’d finally remembered to bolt the door. But he was outside with only the vague scent of ponzu sauce and lemon to keep him company. That and a burning desire to punch something.
“Bat-shit crazy,” he muttered as he stomped over to his house. “Totally, completely bat-shit crazy.”
Of course, he had no idea if he was talking about them or himself.
Chapter Twelve
Tori shut her front door and immediately let her too bright smile fade from her face.
WTF was she supposed to do now?
She’d seen the look of panic on Mike’s face. She had no idea what her father said to him, but it was clear the big bad basketball star was freaking out about something.
Jesus, why did men have to be so touchy?
Normally, she’d just ignore it. That had been her modus operandi with Edward. If he got in a snit, she would just make herself scarce until he figured it out. Which is why she’d made up some excuse and shut the door on Mike.
She was done with waiting for a man to get his act together, right? Which meant she either had to have it out with Mike or wash her hands of him altogether.
Shit, she could kill her father for showing up right then. She’d been all set for a night of hot sex and sweet snuggling when dear, dopey pater had to ruin it.
She dropped her head back against the doorway and let herself slide to the floor. But once there, she noticed all the dirt in the hallway and the paint she wanted to change. She had a busy life right now. An entire house to renovate before fall.
And yet, what she really wanted to do was spend every summer hour she had with Mike. She’d already watched every one of his games on YouTube. He was poetry in motion on the court, and she’d taken the time to learn some of the team’s favorite plays. Basketball was a complicated game when it came to measuring one play against another offense. It had been too much for her to process in the short time she’d had, but she was learning quickly.
And right there should be a warning sign to her. When had she ever buried herself in research of a man? Jesus…did that mean…? Could she…?
She couldn’t even think the word. After all, she’d thought she was in love with Edward but years later, she could barely think of the man without a sneer. Her other male companions didn’t even rank that high. In high school, the boys were too immature for her, and she was too bookish for them. And her college partners were simply sexual explorations that left her cold.
Which meant Mike was in a class all by himself. But was that lo—? Oy. She couldn’t think it. To feel that way about a man who was terrified by her father made no sense whatsoever. And yet, she couldn’t deny the deep yearning inside. Even now, she was a half breath away from running over to his house. She didn’t really want to talk about his panic—or hers—but she wanted to hang out with him. She wanted to drink beer with him. She wanted what came after the beer, too.
So this was lust, she told herself, even though what she felt was so much deeper, so much scarier than lust.
“I need to go to bed,” she said loudly. As if the echoing sounds would reinforce the need.
Maybe it did because she stood up and headed for her bedroom. Ten minutes later, she was stretched out on her mattress watching that YouTube video of a slo-mo Mike as he dunked a basket. Shirtless. Powerful. Wonderful.
She was in love.
Damn it.
...
Mike was going through his nightly shoulder stretches when