Page 16 of Offsides

“No, but that certainly answers mine,” he muttered.

“Britt.”

“First, it’s Cowboy,” he said, stepping in closer. Only a few feet separated them now, and Theo wasn’t sure if being this close made her want to kiss him or punch him. “Second, I want to apologize. I acted poorly last night. I should not have walked out. I should have been more professional, and I’m sorry.”

Theo forced her mouth closed, not wanting it to hit the ground they were standing on. Did he really just apologize? She had to be hearing things. The sincere look in his eyes told her she wasn’t. That he really did feel bad for walking out on their “date” last night.

“It seems we have started out offsides,” he continued.

“Isn’t it offside? Singular?” she asked. She didn’t mean to come off sounding harsh; he was trying to apologize. But she also knew the rules to the game. Sure, most fans used the singular and the plural interchangeably—leading to ever ongoing debates—but she would have thought that he would have used it properly.

“A lady who knows the game; I like it. Legally speaking, yes. But there’s two of us, so I went with the colloquial plural.” He smirked, sending a zing through her.

“Apology accepted.”

“Good. Can I make it up to you?”

Can he make it up to her? Now she had to be imagining things. Biting the inside of her lip to make sure she was awake, Theo let out a sigh when, sure enough, she felt her teeth meet the flesh there. Okay then.

“Just what did you have in mind?” she asked skeptically.

“Be at the stadium tomorrow morning, ten a.m.”

“Ten a.m.? But the kickoff isn’t until three!”

Cowboy slowly walked back to his bike, mounting it with ease. It roared to life as he turned to face her.

“But the team reports in at ten. I’ll see you there.”

In one quick motion he slammed his helmet over his head and sped off, leaving Theo standing there in the dead-end street. She blinked hard, her mind reeling from the whole interaction.

The team reports in at ten, he told her. There was only one reason she would need to be there at the same time as the players.

He was giving her the access she’d requested.

Chapter Six

A calm but expectant quiet filled the stadium. Like it somehow knew that in a few short hours the walls would echo with the sounds of cheers, chants, and screams from thousands of fans. A chill ran up Theo’s spine as her eyes roamed over the empty seats, letting it all sink in.

She had no idea what to expect when she got here. Cowboy hadn’t exactly been overly forthcoming before riding away yesterday, and then he proceeded to ignore the text she’d sent asking if she needed to bring her crew. Out of caution, she’d left her team’s normal schedule in place, opting to toss a small handheld camera in her tote bag. This way she was ready to go if the opportunity presented itself, but wasn’t risking starting whatever this was off on the wrong foot with Cowboy. He had said it himself—they had started out offside. Getting this onside was now her goal.

If only she knew what this was.

Sure, she knew she was getting the access she’s asked for. At least, she was pretty sure she knew that. What form that was going to take on was another thing altogether though. Regardless, she was thrilled that she was getting it. She would make this work however it was being provided.

“Mornin’,” Cowboy’s deep voice called out.

Theo’s body came to life at the sound of his drawl, the hairs on her arms standing at attention. She whipped around, her eyes immediately finding Cowboy striding toward her, his cocky confidence on display. He was wearing dark gray dress slacks that looked like they had been stitched just for him and a polo shirt that was a few shades darker than the team’s trademark electric blue. Theo had no idea how, but the color seemed to make the brown in his eyes even deeper.

Better add not getting lost in those eyes to your to-do list…

“So what’s the plan?”

“You waste no time, do you?” he asked with a laugh. “You don’t want to poke around the stadium? Take a moment to enjoy it like this? Run across the pitch?”

“I’ve seen the stadium. We have plenty of stock footage of it empty. And why would I want to run across the field?”

“Because it’s fun?”