My hands fell to my sides. “If you weren’t asking for a massage, why did you say that stuff about not having a Jacuzzi?”
He glanced over his shoulder with an amused smile on his lips. “Just making small talk.”
I felt my cheeks flame. “Out of the blue, a girl starts massaging your shoulders, and you wait until now to ask why?”
His smile grew. “Technically, I never asked why, so you’re not allowed to stop.”
I slumped on the couch and pressed my fingertips to my forehead. “You thought I was hitting on you, didn’t you? Likethat’show I’d do it.”
He turned all the way back to me, laughing under his breath. “Seems as good a way as any.”
I picked up the couch pillow and smacked him with it, which only made him laugh harder. I went to whack him again, and he grabbed my wrist. This led to a struggle, which I quickly lost. I found myself pinned on the couch, my head on the armrest, while he leaned over me, still laughing. “How would you have hit on me, Madeline?”
“I guess you’ll never know.”
“Now I’m curious.” He released me and straightened. “Give it a shot.”
Strands of my hair had fallen in my face during our struggle. I pushed them away and sat up. “You want me to hit on you?”
He nodded as though it wasn’t a ridiculous request. “I did say that being in my debt would require certain duties. Plus, I keep seeing your acting methods. But how do you flirt when you’re not performing?”
I tried to think of some flirty retort. Nothing came to me. Turns out the worst way to come up with something clever is to have a guy sitting across from you critiquing your attempts. We stared at each other, growing quieter. He didn’t break eye contact.
I leaned forward. He’d asked for a demonstration, and I wanted to know where we stood. This could accomplish both. I slid my hand across his cheek and into the tangle of curls above his ear. Such soft hair. It seemed odd that his hair was so silky when everything else about him was strong and rugged.
As my fingers trailed down his neck, I closed the gapbetween us. My lips came softly down on his for one second, two, three ...
When I finished the kiss, I lifted my head to see his response. He smiled lazily at me. “That’s how you flirt? Very direct. Right to the point.”
Was this all a joke to him? Was I just a punch line? I straightened and would have moved away from him, but he pulled me back to him. This time he kissed me. It was more insistent, longer.
One of his hands went to my waist, the other found its way up my spine until it settled at the base of my neck.
So this meant we were more than friends, that he wanted to be a couple.
Or maybe not. I’d already kissed Cooper two times before today. Maybe he just thought of me as a friend with benefits. I was not about to be that.
I pulled away from him again. “You came over here to talk. We should do that.” I wanted to ask if we were a couple now but didn’t want to be that blunt. “Where do you see us in the future?”
He took a deep breath and nodded as though he’d been expecting the question. “I’m pretty sure San Diego State will offer me a scholarship. A decent amount of NFL players come out of that college. I’ve got a chance.”
I quirked my head, not understanding.“I was thinking of a future a little closer to the present, like at school tomorrow.”
“Oh.” He took hold of my hand. “Tomorrow at school will be great. I was just bringing up college because if I make it to the NFL, I’ll be able to”—he rolled his free hand in the air—“you know, buy a Jacuzzi and not worry how much it costs to heat.”
I felt like we were having two different conversations. “I never realized Jacuzzi ownership was so important to you.”
“It’s not. I just meant that ...” His gaze circled the living room again. “You’re used to all of this.”
Still two different conversations. “I grew up here, so you could say I’m pretty used to it. What does my house have to do with anything?”
He dipped his chin. “What I’m saying is that you’ve always dated rich guys. That isn’t me. At least not now.”
That’s what he was worried about? “I wasn’t dating thembecausethey were rich. That was never the criteria.”
His eyebrows raised in disbelief. “Every single one of them drove a sports car.”
He knew the car types of my past boyfriends? “Circumstantial evidence. I’m much more interested in a guy’s personality. And his loyalty. And the way he makes me laugh. Also his kindness to strays. Looking good in shoulder pads is a plus.”
