“Hey, fourteen,” Dani says, using my number. “Good to see you.”
“And you too.”
Dani gestures to the pretty blonde by her side. “This is my sister, Ally.”
“And you must be the two gentlemen arguing over who’s better-looking,” Ally says with an I-caught-you expression on her face.
Jason flubs his lips as he eyes Dani’s sister. “It’s no contest, clearly. You ladies take the cake and beat us hands down in the good looks department. You’re both lovely angels,” he says, then doffs an imaginary hat, playing the role of perfect gentleman as he checks out Ally.
Dani and I make introductions, and I do my best not to think about her naked. But hell, my best isn’t good enough, and I’ve already pictured her soft, supple flesh beneath that dress and how it would feel to kiss my way down her body and bury my face between her legs.
Keeping my mind clean around her is a losing battle. Good thing is, the thoughts of her don’t chase me around when I’m on the field. They don’t distract me when I’m in the zone, when I need the laser focus.
“This is Dani from the front office,” I say, clearing my throat and trying like hell to sweep away all the filth from the corners of my mind.
Jason snaps his fingers. “Right. Thought you looked familiar. Saw you in a pic from the charity meet and greet.”
Dani nods, her face revealing nothing. This woman must clean up in poker. “That’s fantastic. Are you guys heading to see Heaven Can Wait?”
Jason nods. “We are indeed.” Then, like the idea clearly just occurred to him, even though I bet he concocted it when his eyes roamed along Ally’s figure, he says, “Would you like to sit together?”
Dani swallows and turns to Ally, raising her eyebrows in question. Her sister nods her answer. “Works for me.”
Jason strides up to the counter, picks up the cost of the air-popped, extra-healthy popcorn Dani was buying, and hands the bucket to her, buying another one as well. Jason and Ally chitchat the whole time. Dani and I say nothing, but our eye contact seems to say everything. Mainly, that we’re both entertained at how quickly those two are hitting it off, it seems.
As we enter the movie theater, I drop back, letting Jason and Ally walk in front of us. “That was fast,” I say, nodding to them.
“It was. Tell me he’s a good guy,” she says, her tone deadly serious, her jaw tight.
I hold up my hand in the scout’s honor sign. “He’s like a brother. I trust him with my life.”
“Good. Because I will hurt anyone who hurts my sister. I don’t care if those two just met. If he does her wrong . . .”
I squeeze her shoulder in reassurance. “He’s a good guy. I swear.”
She seems to relax under my touch, and from my words. I lean into Dani, drawing a quick inhale of her sexy, sunshine scent. “By the way, you look amazing,” I whisper, my voice low and just for her. A little compliment like that can’t hurt. Nothing wrong with it. Nothing that crosses a line.
“So do you.”
“What were the chances we’d run into each other here?” I say as we head down the aisle.
“Pretty good, technically. Considering we talked about this being our favorite movie, and tonight’s the only time it’s playing.”
“Okay then. So those are damn good odds.”
“I’d say they’re as good as the way you’ve been playing these days.” Jason stops at a middle row and heads in first. Ally follows, then Dani, then me. I couldn’t be happier with the impromptu seating chart.
“You’ve been watching me?” I ask in a whisper as we sit in the red upholstered chairs.
She flashes me a sweet smile. “Of course I’ve been watching you.”
The stupidity of my statement crashes into me. Some part of me had been hoping she was watching me . . . for me. But it’s her job. Nothing more. Besides, why do I even want her to watch my game? We can’t go anywhere with this . . . connection. Can’t take a chance of raising any concerns for Los Angeles. Can't risk a damn thing.
“When you scrambled in the pocket in the first game, and it looked like you were about to get sacked, my nerves were frayed,” she says. “But then you dodged the defensive end . . .”
“. . . And tossed a short pass to Frayer,” I say, naming the tight end, and finding that I’m glad she watched the Knights after all. I like hearing her talk about the team.
A smile lights up her face, like she’s delighting in recalling the game. “That was a fantastic play. However, my favorite play was when you ran for twenty yards.”
I wiggle my eyebrows. “You like that? I’m fast on my feet too. No one-trick pony here.”
She squeezes my right arm. “You got the arm and the legs.” Dani offers me some of her popcorn, shifting gears. “How great is it that this theater has air-popped popcorn?”
I pat my flat stomach. “It would be a travesty if this movie theater did not have it.”
“It would be a complete movie snack disaster.”
“I generally aim to avoid all cinematic food fiascos,” I say, and it’s as if we’ve returned to our word game. Last time we played with adverbs; now it’s synonyms. I gesture to the popcorn. “This is indeed the greatest thing since I can’t touch the regular stuff.”
“Gotta watch your pretty figure,” she says with a wink.