Seven
Bryce
His blue eyes sparkle in the afternoon light. Pissed as I amthat he broke my new Maui Jims, with sweat rolling down his face and breathingheavily, he looks as hot as he does after practice.
I fucking hate him for it. Whatright does this asshole have to get to me like this? It’s just pheromones. Andthat I haven’t fucked anyone in so long. I’ve been good at avoiding Darren’sadvances, especially since we’ve been so busy these past couple of weeks, but nowhere I am. I know Tad would do it, but it could lose me the job I was lucky asfuck to get. Knowing he doesn’t want a bodyguard doesn’t make this any easier.What if it’s a trap that he’s setting so he can get me fired? I sure as helldon’t know what I’ll do if I get banned from working at the FBI.
Nope.
I can keep my shit together.
I grab my broken sunglasses andrise to my feet. Tad stands with me and wraps his arm around my shoulders,pulling close.
“I am sorry, dude,” he says with asmile. “Let me buy you a drink.”
“That doesn’t sound like such abad idea,” I say, liking the idea of getting us to a public place where I don’thave to worry about the sort of impulses that are racing through me.
***
“Is it fun being an uptight fed?” Tad asks before we drink shotsof tequila together.
The strong liquor excites my mouthbefore sliding down my throat, reminding me of some other things that feel justas lovely going down.
“Probably not as much fun as beinga dickhead football player.”
He grins. “Yeah. It’s prettyfucking awesome. Why don’t you ask the ten guys you tried to keep from gettingautographs when we first got here? They’d kill to be me.”
I’m struggling to adjust to hisfame and understand the difference between a threat and some guy who just wantsan autograph. There’ve been a few times I’ve nearly socked guys who approachedtoo quickly.
“I know what you think,” he says,leaning back on his stool. “That I’m this spoiled, got-everything-he-ever-wantedkid without any issues in my life…and you know what? You’re right. Life’spretty awesome up here.”
Up here? What a fucking dick.
“Must be nice,” I say.
“You clearly don’t have it so badyourself.”
“I’ve been fortunate.”
“So what’s your story?” he asks.“Did you grow up on a cow farm? Were you a hillbilly?”
His playful tone keeps me fromtaking him too seriously. “Do I sound like a hillbilly?”
“You got less of an accent thanme, so I don’t think I can really judge.”
“I had some elocution lessons whenI was growing up. To sound a little less Midwestern. I pretty much sounded likeeveryone else back then. So yeah. I guess I used to sound like one.”
The light in his eyes suggests heenjoys the idea that we could play out some sort of farm-boy fantasy.
“Jen, can we get another shot?” heasks the bartender. He just learned her name when we got here. His easy-going,friendly attitude surely helps him plenty in making friends and influencingpeople. A real charmer to strangers, which is interesting since he sure as helldoesn’t come across that way to the people involved in his life.
We drink a few more shots, andhe’s engrossed in the football game on the TVs behind the bar. If the Giantswin this game, they’re first in the division 4-0.
“If we keep losing like this, wesure as fuck aren’t going to make it to the playoffs,” he says like he’sconsidering the consequences of his team’s failure. Between the team, thepublic, and his dad, I figure there’s a lot of pressure on him to help his teamsucceed.
He shakes the worried expressionoff his face and turns to me, scanning my face. I enjoyed wearing my shadesaround him. Kept him from reading me. Now I’m worried he’ll catch on to myinterest, which I can’t act on.
“Well, you sure as hell are a lotmore attractive than Carson, you know that?” he says.
