“Um, you literally came willingly to my hotel room with me. What did you think was going to happen? And I asked you. You totally verbalized consent.” Cal pushes up on his elbow. If I’m not mistaken, he winces slightly. His left hand cups his right shoulder and he lies back down.
Something’s wrong.
“Slow your roll, sport. I meant, when I was on the bus down here, and changing in the bathroom at the Javits Center, I did not picture the night ending like this. And what’s up with your shoulder?”
If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was injured. Callaghan doesn’t respond as he rolls onto his back, his face contracting in pain.
Oh my God, what if I hurt him? His career is at its zenith, and our sex was no less athletic than it was a dozen years ago. But this time, there’s a lot more of me to go around. I mean, it’s for certain that I’m going to be sore for days after this.
But what if I broke him?
“Did I hurt you? What’s up with the shoulder?” I repeat. Then I say what I’m really thinking. “Did I break you?”
“It’s nothing.”
He didn’t answer the question. Oh shit. “Cally, tell me. Did I hurt you? You don’t have to spare my feelings. I’m realistic about my situation here.” I gesture down my body, which is exposed from the waist up. “I know I’m a lot bigger than I used to be.”
In reality, he is too, except he’s pure muscle.
Cal’s eyes fly open. “Are you shitting me, Hannah? Did you just imply that you injured me because of your size?”
I shrug. “It’s a legit fair question.”
Cal sits up. I notice he doesn’t use his right arm to help. He slides back to rest against the headrest, his bare chest glorious on display. I wonder if he’d mind if I licked it.
Again.
His voice is low and dangerous. “I’m going to say this once, and once only. You are beautiful. You were gorgeous in college, and you’re even more so now.” He trails a finger from the corner of my jaw down my neck and then curves around my breast. “All of you.”
While I appreciate his sentiment—and I really do—his words make me uncomfortable. Like he’s being serious instead of just having fun.
Because if he’s serious, then I don’t need to deny that I think of him as a lot more than a casual hookup, and I always have. And I can’t deny that his words make me feel tingly and squishy inside.
That they make me feel special.
I can’t let myself feel those things for him again.
This can’t be more than what it is right now, no matter how much I might want it to be. He’s never promised me more, and he never will. He’s not in a place to.
I don’t know what to think though. It’s not like he’s using me for status. That’s laughable. Callaghan’s reputation with the ladies may be legendary, but knowing what I do of him, I have a feeling it’s more publicity than reality, just as it was in college. Behind closed doors, he’s not at all the man the media portrays him to be. He’s so much more. He’s brutally honest—to a fault—but it’s because he feels so passionately about the things that matter to him. “Okay, well, still, I didn’t have this in the cards for this weekend. Or ever again, to be honest.”
“It wasn’t on your secret agenda?” He smiles, waggling his eyebrows. He totally has the sexy smolder down, but I wish he knew what a freakin’ turn-on his smile is. On the other hand, I like that he reserves it for me.
“Um, no. I’m not a stalker.” A moment of panic races through my veins and lands squarely in the pit of my stomach. What if he asks why I’m there in the first place? My assignment is top secret. No one’s supposed to know who is supplyingThe Looking Glasswith their information this weekend.
“Yeah, your name’s not Katherine.” He shakes his head slightly. “What the hell, man? We’ve been divorced for years. So, um, thanks for covering for me.”
It’s my turn to laugh. “Obviously, it was a stretch, pretending to be there with you. I find you revolting, honestly. I just thought I should make it look realistic.”
“Well, it sounded realistic when you were screaming my name.”
I feel heat flood my face. He does have a point. “There isn’t an apartment full of your teammates on the other side of the door to make fun of me this time. Do you know they called me ‘Back Door Girl’ after that night?”
Cal scrunches up his nose. “Ouch. That’s brutal. They’re a bunch of dicks.”
“Yeah, well, boys are stupid.” I need to change the subject from that night. I don’t want to get into what happened after he left. Even briefly thinking about it makes me start to sweat a little. “But what about Katherine? I take it you didn’t know she’d be there?”
“No, but it doesn’t surprise me. She was always more about being a WAG than a wife. I’m still not sure she knows what sport I play, let alone anything about soccer. I’d bet she was there ‘networking.’” He holds up two fingers to make air quotes. “Trying to find her next ex. She never cared about me. Only what my name and prestige could do for her. So I really owe you big time for getting me away from her. I should, like, pay you to always be my girlfriend when she’s around.”
