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“Huh. I’ll remember that.” He seemed amused and intrigued. Like he was putting that information away into his memory banks.
She broke the top of the cupcake into two pieces, and then it took her two bites to finish each half. She couldn’t take one more accidental icing incident, so she was very careful to not smear any on her mouth.
“Any thoughts yet?” Luc’s question was so vague that she had no idea what he was asking.
She awkwardly swallowed the treat and had to cough to make sure it went down. “About?”
“Who you’re going to take to the party?”
She knew who she wanted to ask, but wasn’t sure if it was the best idea. What if he said no? He was going to be there anyway, and if he turned her down it would be awkward being there together. But then there was that whole cupcake thing that just happened…
“Go with me,” Luc said calmly. His cupcake was gone and now all his focus was on her.
“Like a date? No, wait, pretend I didn’t ask that.” Stupid, why did I ask that?
Luc squared off his shoulders and gave a small shrug. “Absolutely like a date.”
The idea sent chills through her. But then her mind went to her brother. She shook her head. It was Kaden’s party at his house. “No. I can’t be your date.”
The grin that never left his face showed that he took no offense to her comment. “Why not?”
“My brother… It’s his party. He won’t be happy about me bringing one of his teammates as my date.”
“Kassie, c’mon. Be my date.”
She knew what she wanted to say. She also knew what would be on the line if she did. But maybe they could make this work. His date. She couldn’t help herself. She slowly nodded her head. “Okay. Yes.”
***
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Luc
Dinner last night was supposed to just be about him making good on their bet. Maybe if he had stopped at dinner he could’ve kept it friendly. But he had to suggest cupcakes. That’s where it all took a dangerous turn. He was playing with fire, and he didn’t care if he got burned.
When he dropped Kassie off at her apartment, he felt the shift in her attitude. She was more cautious, reluctant, but he could see her true feelings in her eyes. She knew as well as he did, that if they didn’t end the night here, they’d be on a slippery slope. He wanted to do right by the code, but he also wanted to say fuck the code.
He shouldn’t have left last night. Would she have let him stay? The odds were in his favor after the way she had accepted his feeding her that cupcake and especially the icing. He had pushed, and she hadn’t shied away. That would be why he had woken up alone, in his own bed this morning, with a boner.
Now sitting with Kassie outside a coffee shop, enjoying the cool, late afternoon weather, she looked nervous. “I’ll be back in Pittsburgh after the game tomorrow night, late. I’ll pick you up on Saturday at five for the party.”
Kassie was quiet. She bit her lip as she swirled her coffee and stared at her cup.
“Kass? You still want to be my date to the party, right?” He did his best not to sound desperate, but it had been a big step to ask her. Possibly a dumbass step, but he didn’t care.
Looking up at him with large brown eyes, her uneasiness was clear. “Luc, I want to, yes. But—”
“Then that’s settled.”
“Do you think we should? I mean, this, it’s fine. It’s just you and me. And we aren’t doing anything but hanging out.”
Her words were exactly what he’d been thinking. They hadn’t crossed that line yet. This was all very innocent still, and it could be stopped. But once they went to this party together, everything would be different.
Maybe he should’ve been more concerned. But he wasn’t.
“You mean when Kaden isn’t around.” He knew exactly what she meant. He’d had the same thoughts. As soon as Kaden saw them together, no matter what they said, the shit would hit the fan. It wasn’t going to be pretty. Luc knew all of this. But his attraction to her was like a drug. It had him by the balls and wasn’t letting go. When he wasn’t with her, he needed to be. Even though the closest to physical they’d gotten was dancing at the club or his finger to her lips, it wasn’t because he didn’t want more. He was doing his best to move slowly. And it was killing him. “If Kaden wasn’t an issue, would this thing we have be so difficult?”
“Probably not.”
