“I did not vomit. I burped.” She cleared her throat and tipped up her chin. “But you haven’t made my questioning very easy. So, I’m going to negotiate with you. And I won’t go easy on you either.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“I get five questions.” She held up her hand when I started to interrupt. “One of those questions is off the record. I get to ask you something that you have passed on this week. I won’t write about it, but I want to know.”
“Why?” I grouched.
“Because I’m spending weeks with you, and I’m curious. You can ask me anything. It’s all off the record.”
“No.”
“No?” she said. “Fine. You’re on your own tonight, then.” She flashed a wicked smile.
“You really are a pain in the ass, sweetheart.”
“No argument there.”
“There’s always an argument with you.”
“So, what’s it going to be? Just the usual three questions?” She smirked.
“Fine. Five. One is off the record.” I glared at her.
“Deal.”
“Why do I feel like I’m making a deal with the devil?”
She chuckled, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
Because I knew she was going to ask me something I didn’t want to answer.
But for whatever fucked-up reason, I was willing to play along because I wanted her to come with me tonight.
And that made no sense.
nine
Brinkley
He finished up his workout, and I fought the urge to stare at him as he walked my way. He’d taken off his shirt today, and considering we’d swam together multiple times, I’d seen his chest before. I’d stared. I’d drooled. I’d forced myself to look away. But today, I was propped up on one of the benches, and I didn’t want to look away.
Let’s chalk it up to research.
His arms were pure muscle, his chest chiseled and cut. But it was his abs that had my attention. The man had at least an eight-pack. I’d been dying to count them the other day, but I didn’t allow myself that pleasure. Today, I was going to a high school surprise birthday party with him. The least he could do was let me peruse his perfect body.
He had a towel over his face, wiping away the sweat, and my gaze lingered on his tanned torso, moving down to a bit of dark hair that led to his happy trail. I licked my lips as I wondered what lay beneath those gym shorts. He’d made several references to the size of his hands and his feet, and if the myth was true, he was most definitely packing the goods.
I was in the moment just as a bulge strained against his shorts. Hell, the thing grew right before my eyes. I quickly snapped my gaze up to find him watching me.
“Like what you see, sweetheart?” His voice was all tease, but it was gruffer than usual.
“I—no. I was just—” I tripped over my words. I paused to clear my throat and pull myself together. Was it hot in here? “I was thinking about the questions I was going to ask.”
“I see,” he said, running a hand over the scruff on his face. “Well, let’s get to it.”
I tried to shake off the fact that his giant schlong had just reacted to my attention. I followed him out to the kitchen, and he pulled out a fruit platter and two bottles of water. He had hired a woman to come here and stock his fridge and clean for him this last week, and I was definitely reaping the benefits of all the food in his house.
We sat at the kitchen table, and I pulled out my iPad that I’d brought with me these last few days so I could record and take notes at the same time. It helped me from staring at the guy the whole time, at least.
“So, I’m going to ask you the one that’s off the record first, just so you don’t try to weasel out of it by the end.”
“Fine. If it ends up outside of this room, I’ll cancel the interview indefinitely.”
“I’m a professional. You don’t need to threaten me. Have I told anyone anything thus far?”
“I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to see what Brandy knows tonight,” he said, but his smile was playful.
The man was impossible to read.
“Okay. I was weighing my choices, but I’m going to go with this one because it’s always bothered me.”
“I can’t wait to hear it,” he grumped.
“Why did you have such an over-the-top reaction when I walked into the bathroom that day?” I could still remember it so vividly. The way he’d looked at me like I’d done something terrible to him. He was so angry, and I didn’t understand why it was such a big deal. I didn’t catch the guy with his pants down. And he’d made it clear that it wouldn’t matter if I did.
He pushed to his feet and walked to the counter to tear off two paper towels for us. We already had napkins, which sat beside our plates that were loaded up with fruit, but he was clearly thinking over his answer. He dropped a paper towel down in front of me and then sat back down. His green gaze locked with mine, and he just sat there for the longest moment before he finally spoke.
“A year ago, my mother started chemo. She’d been diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer. And the day you walked into the bathroom was the day we got the results that it hadn’t spread, and the chemo had worked. I just needed a fucking minute to process it. I’d thought of every awful thing that she might say when she called, and when it was good news, I was relieved and emotional, and I don’t know… I guess I overreacted.”
My heart sank. I’d thought of a million reasons why he’d freaked out that day, and none had ever been anything close to this.
A lump formed in my throat, and I tried to find my words, but it took me longer than it normally did.
I wasn’t that girl. I didn’t get weepy during commercials and fall apart over relationships.
I was usually pretty rock solid. Strong. Determined.
But something about what he’d shared had me off kilter.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, shaking my head a few times in hopes of pushing away the building tears that threatened. “My dad had cancer a few years ago. He’s okay now, but it was really scary. It’s the reason I moved back to San Francisco after I graduated. So, I understand all those feelings. And I should have respected your privacy.”
“Well, don’t be nice now. That’s not how this works,” he hissed, and then we both laughed at how ridiculous he was being.
“How does this work, Captain?” I asked.
“Turn the recorder back on and ask your next question.”
I nodded and pulled myself together. I enjoyed this part of our day together because I got to ask what I wanted to ask. But working out with him showed me a different side of him. The man was committed more than anyone that I’d ever met or shadowed or written about.
He woke up every single day and put in the work.
He ate well. He didn’t drink a whole lot, and he had shared that during the season, he didn’t drink at all. He was the epitome of a superior athlete.
“Tell me how you build chemistry with your teammates,” I asked. I’d always wondered why some people just worked together and others didn’t. I’d seen some of the best QBs play with top-notch receivers, and they couldn’t put a play together. I’d never understood it.