Page 23 of The Chase

“I hope so. I definitely should have bought you dinner before I took you to bed. Maybe that’s why you didn’t…” he trailed off and rubbed the back of his neck.

I knitted my eyebrows as I tried to figure out what he was going to say. We locked eyes, and the pained look on his face told me everything.

He knew I faked it. I thought I was so good at faking it! At least I never had any complaints before. Usually, men didn’t care if you came as long as they did.

“You know I faked it?” I asked in a low whisper. I felt my pulse beating faster as anxiety coursed up through my body. This was certainly not where I wanted this conversation to go.

“Yeah, I could tell,” he said, and a dark shadow came across his face.

I looked down at the table and couldn’t look him in the eyes. Why did I have to be so awkward about this? Why couldn’t I have asked him what I wanted?

Oh, right, because sex made me feel guilty.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered.

“I hope I didn’t pressure you into doing anything you didn’t want to do. I feel like I messed everything up.”

“You didn’t force me to do anything, okay?”

“I know my sister tried to ward you off of me, telling you I’m not a relationship guy, which used to be true…but I think I want something more.”

“Oh.”

He grimaced, and I felt like a jerk. This man was baring his soul to me, and all I could say was ‘oh.’

“I’m sorry. ‘Oh’ probably isn’t what you want to hear. I’m just surprised. I figured you got me into bed and then you could move on. I didn’t think you were looking for something more.”

He gritted his teeth but shook his head as if shaking it away. “I haven’t had a serious relationship since high school.”

“I…neither have I.”

“She messed me up,” he admitted.

My heart broke for the man across the table from me. I knew there had to be something more to him. He wore a mask to hide his insecurities, just like me.

I reached out a hand towards him, and he smiled at me. “TJ, I’m so sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, baby girl.”

I rolled my eyes at the cheesy nickname. “Ugh! You’re insufferable.”

He gave me that grin again, and I shook my head at him but laughed and relaxed into his company.

CHAPTER NINE

TJ

I smiled at Maxine over the top of my wineglass. I preferred a good beer, but I discovered there were some wines I enjoyed. My sister hated wine, and in our quest to find one she liked, I found my own preferences. Rox still hated wine, but it made me seem all cultured and shit with the ladies.

I really wanted to impress Maxine and make-up for my fuck-ups. She seemed cagey when I told her I was looking for something more than a hookup. I noticed she didn’t say she wanted that too. Maybe I was coming on too strong, but there was something about her that made me stop looking at anyone else in the room.

Especially tonight. She looked good enough to eat, especially in those thigh-high boots. Holy fuck, I wanted to know what it felt like when the heels dug into my back while she wrapped her legs around me.

I needed to slow my roll. I wanted to take whatever this was with Max, slowly. I wanted to make sure she knew I was for real and not just looking for another quick lay. She deserved better than how I treated her.

“So, why did you go into sales?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I wanted to work for the team. I love hockey.”