“Are you sure? Because it really hurts when you do that thing with your thumb—” He jerks his hand back with exaggerated pain, then grins. “See? Agony.”
“I see that you’re wasting my time.” She makes a note on her tablet. “Ice it if it bothers you.”
But Rodriguez isn’t moving. He’s still perched there, leaningslightly into her space in that way he does when he’s trying to flirt with someone.
“You going to Coach’s barbecue next week?” he asks, tone casual.
“Haven’t decided.”
“You should come. Whole team will be there. It’s fun.” He shifts closer. “I could pick you up if you need a ride. I know you’re new to the area, probably don’t know where Barrett’s place is?—”
I make a sound, low in my throat. Not a growl, but close.
Several heads turn.
“Cap?” Dex says from where Jake’s re-taping his ankle two tables over. “You okay over there?”
“Fine.”
“You just made a noise.”
“I didn’t.”
“You absolutely did.” Dex is grinning now, the bastard. “Sounded like something from a nature documentary. You know, when the big predator sees another male encroaching on his?—”
“Shut up, Dex.”
“—territory,” he finishes, not shutting up at all.
Across the room, Marnie has stepped back from Rodriguez, putting distance between them. But I catch the moment her eyes flick toward me, assessing, before returning to her tablet.
She knows. Of course she knows.
“Your blood pressure’s spiking, Cap,” Dex observes cheerfully. “I can literally see your pulse from here.”
“My blood pressure is fine.”
“Sure it is. That’s why you look ready to murder Rodriguez for asking Doc to a barbecue.” He tests his ankle, satisfied with Jake’s work. “She’s just doing her job.”
“I know that.”
“Then maybe stop white-knuckling the treatment table.”
I force my hands to relax, focusing on the mostly-melted ice pack on my shoulder. Across the room, Rodriguez is finally hopping down from the table, but not before saying something else that makesMarnie laugh, reaching out to grasp his forearm for balance. He shoots me a look on his way out, winks at me like the smug fucker he is, and I have to actively restrain myself from following him into the hallway.
“Easy there, Cap,” Jake murmurs, appearing at my side with fresh ice. “You’re gonna blow a fuse looking at her like that.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re the opposite of fine.” He starts replacing my melted ice pack. “You’re sitting here watching Doc work on other guys like someone’s stealing your favorite stick.”
“She’s my PT. I have a professional interest in?—”
“In the way Rodriguez leans into her space? In whether she laughs at his jokes?” Jake’s voice is quiet enough that only I can hear. “Cap. You’re fucked.”
The assessment is so accurate I can’t even argue.
“Noted,” I mutter.
