“Biology…” He paused for a moment when Carlos started coughing. Raine still had her camera up, currently laughing so hard she had to hold onto her sides to keep from bending over.
“All good over there?” Dakota didn’t know whether to smile or intervene.
“Sucked in my spit too fast while trying to breathe life into this thing.” Carlos gave us a thumbs-up, indicating it wasn’t a big deal.
“That’s what she said?” Raine asked through tears of laughter.
Carlos gave her a lopsided grin through his coughing. “Exactly.”
“Anyway.” Dakota shook his head, amused as he redirected his attention back to the conversation at hand. “Biology. Specializing in genetics.”
I whistled and positioned my palms on the manikin’s chest. “Jeez, very impressive. That sounds like a heavy course load. Paired with football, you must not get a ton of time to relax.”
“Not really.” He placed his hands next to mine, positioning the heel of his hand at an exaggerated angle so I could see my mistake. “Lean in more so you’re able to apply more pressure.”
I mirrored his stance. He hummed in approval.
“Now I can start pumping?” I looked to him for the go-ahead.
“Whenever you’re ready.” Dakota pulled away again so he could watch my form. He waited until I counted out thirty pumps before asking, “So I’m curious…”
“Go on.” My stomach fluttered at his deep, calm tone.
“If I hypothetically invited you somewhere nice,” he started. “Would that count as us going out? My intention isn’t for it to be a date. And I’d cease all flirting if that makes you feel any better.”
I let out a breath. If he asked me this a day earlier, I would have said ‘yes.’ Maybe he’d even get a ‘hell, yes.’ Instead, I drafted out ways to let him down.
“Don’t feel pressured to answer now. I wanted to give you time to think about it,” Dakota said. “I wasn’t trying to put you on the spot. I figured I might not see you until next practice, and I’m still in the market for pigeons so, I can’t exactly send you a message.”
My cheeks warmed and I laughed. “Right. And don’t worry about it, I don’t feel pressured but…”
“I don’t need an answer now,” he insisted once more.
Unable to resist my curiosity, I asked, “Where would this not-date be?”
Dakota scratched his jaw. “A museum. I saw a new exhibit open that I think you’d like. Some of my other friends would be going to, so that adds to the not-date aspect. We could all carpool as well.”
I forced myself to push aside emotion for the next few minutes. This was for the best in the long run. Saying no now would be easier than getting entangled with a guy who was hiding something on the surface. I survived heartache once. I didn’t have the tenacity to do it again.
“No, I don’t think I’ll be able to go,” I said, holding back the urge to apologize because I used to do that often with Tyler. My throat hurt at having to swallow down an explanation too.
Impressively, Dakota didn’t miss a beat. He gave me the same smile he’d given me the day I met him at the stadium. If his friends’ worrying about his inability to open up and all the articles on the athletes last year were red flags, well, Dakota’s solid response was the opposite. You can tell a lot about a person from how they handle rejection.
“No worries at all,” he promised. “Sorry, if the invite made you uncomfortable in any way.”
“No, it was sweet.” I let out a breath, wanting to retract my previous statement. It was possible I was being too cautious with him.
He chuckled at my words and gesture to Eames. “How about we finish up here? I think you were ready for the next step.”
“Oh, right.” I blinked and leaned down to exhale into Eames’s mouth. Before my lips could touch the plastic, Dakota’s hand blocked me. He had meant for me to see the hand before I made contact, but my reflexes weren’t on par today.
My lips pressed against the back of his hand. Dakota’s skin felt soft against my mouth. He smelt like SPF. Anxiety crept into my bones when I realized I’d placed my lips on his hand like he was a king.
“You forgot a step,” he explained as he pressed one hand against Eames forehead and the other on his chin. “Gotta tilt the head back a bit to straighten out the airway.”
I swallowed and glanced over at Carlos and Raine to see if they caught my awkward blunder. Neither one of them was paying us any mind. Now, Carlos was the one with the camera in hand as Raine reenacted the final scene ofRomeo & Juliet.
“Sorry about that.” I smiled at Dakota before taking Eames’s face between my hands and starting breaths.
