When the bell above the door rings five minutes before we close I look up to glare at whoever walked in hoping to intimidate them into turning around and leaving. Instead, a flurry of butterflies explodes in my gut. Stop it!
Theodore strolls toward me with all the confidence of a man who not only owns the room, but owns me as well. My attention is divided between his sexy smirk and his broad shoulders, thick arms and chest all encased in a long-sleeved thermal that hugs his defined muscles. His chest is further defined by the slight pull of his backpack straps draped over his shoulders. He steps to the register, braces his hands on the counter and leans in close. “Kitten.” I watch his green eyes travel around my face to the silk scarf tied around my ponytail and finally simmer on my mouth. He leans in an inch more.
I recoil slightly. “What are you doing?”
His eyes narrow. “What does it look like I’m doing? I haven’t seen you in days, I’m gonna kiss you.”
I look around the room noticing more than a half dozen sets of eyes on us, most of them female. “Are you kidding?” I hiss. “Do you know how fast that’ll get back to your coach?”
He scrunches up his face adorably and leans away, putting a platonic amount of distance between us. “Yeah, about that. I am getting a little tired of sneaking around. I think we should come clean and let him know we’re hanging out.”
“Excuse me,” a guy wearing a beanie with a full beard steps beside Theodore as if he doesn’t even notice he’s there, which is impossible because he’s over six-feet of stacked muscle. He holds out his cup. “Could I get a little more honey for my tea?”
Theodore snorts. This gets the guy’s attention and when he makes eye contact with the big football player he shrinks a little.
I grab the honey and squeeze a healthy amount into the cup quickly before he wets himself under Theodore’s stare.
He mumbles a quick thank you and scurries off.
“You came all the way here to tell me you think we need to come clean with your coach that we’re hanging out?” In a whisper, I repeat it all back to him so he can hear how outrageous it sounds.
His eyebrows drop low. “No. I was tutoring across campus—”
“You tutor?”
“—and I missed you.”
My jaw falls open and I quickly slam it shut.
He seems amused by my reaction and smiles. “And yes, I tutor a few of the guys on my team. Math doesn’t come easy to everyone.”
I blink and shake away thoughts of Theodore’s perfection—beauty, strength, talent, and brains.
He sighs. “I’ve dropped a lot on you. I’ll take a black coffee and I’ll wait for you outside.”
I pour his coffee and when I refuse to take his money for it he shoves a twenty in the tip jar. He saunters away and I watch him go as a horrifying thought sweeps through me.
Without my given permission to do so, I’ve fallen for Theodore Web.
After I lock up, I find Theodore sitting on the table outside the shop, his feet braced on the bench seats while he talks to a guy and two girls I recognize as customers from tonight.
He sees me coming and turns his head away from his company mid-sentence to hit me with a devilish smile. I roll my eyes because anyone in the vicinity would be able to tell that we’re more than friends just from the way he looks at me. Are we really fooling anyone?
“Kitten, this is my teammate Ollie and his friends Jill and Brenna.”
All three of them look at me with pity.
I greet them all with a half-assed smile.
“Kitten?” Ollie says and the girls chuckle.
The taller of the two girls says, “Awww, that’s cute.”
“About as cute as your corpse will be—” I’m cut off when Theodore tugs me firmly between his knees and wraps his arms around my middle. My mind reasons that he’s exposing himself by this public display, but my stupid, traitorous body feels protected and safe and longs to curl into his chest.
But Ollie plays for my dad and if he doesn’t know I’m the coach’s daughter yet, he will eventually and I can’t risk exposing Theodore. I try to wiggle out of his arms without being too obvious.
“I’ll see you guys around.” Theodore stands but keeps his hold on me as he ushers me forward. Once we’re far enough away from the threesome, he buries his face in my neck and kisses the spot where his mark has mostly faded.
“You’re a popular guy.” I assumed the first night I saw him that he was more of an introvert, an outcast like me. It seems every time I turn around I learn something new about him.
“Ollie’s a good kid.” He untangles himself from behind me and walks alongside me toward the parking garage. “The girls are…”
I spot the discomfort in his expression. He’s hooked up with one, possibly both. “Huh…” I shrug. “At least you remembered their names.”
He throws back his head with a burst of laughter, and hooks me around the shoulders pulling that warm feeling once again from my belly. “Come home with me.”
“I have the truck.”
“We’ll drop it off.”
I stop walking and he stops with me. “You can’t be serious about outing us to your coach.”
He runs his teeth over his bottom lip toying with his piercing for a moment before he answers. “I’ve thought about it and yeah, I think we should do it. Legally he can’t do shit to me. He can push me harder on the field, but that’ll only make me a better player.”
“Listen, Theodore, when we started hooking up I would’ve been happy to throw it into my dad’s face. But then I got to know you and especially after seeing you play, I’m no longer comfortable using you to hurt my dad if it means ruining your future.”
“Your pops doesn’t have the power
