Page 20 of Penalty Kick

“Back in Heather’s office. I was helping him ice his face after Liam…” Talia trailed off. They both knew what had happened between Liam and Dash that day, thanks to Dash’s behavior the night before. His very questionable behavior of putting the moves on Avery, when he knew damn well his buddy was head over heels for the girl. It was just one more reason not to be interested in Dash Lazaro.

Looking over her shoulder toward the office, the memory came rushing back to her.

The heat of his breath against her lips and how it had made her want to melt. No, not melt. That wasn’t right. Explode—that was more like it. Her heart jackhammering away, his lips just a whisper away. She’d had no idea how they had gotten to that point. In that moment though, all she’d known was that she’d never wanted anything more. And when his lips finally touched hers? Well, it was almost as if she’d never been kissed prior to that.

“It was good, wasn’t it?” Felicity said, half question, half statement, pulling Talia from the memory.

She simply nodded. What else was there to say?

“So, is working together going to be awkward? We didn’t make things weird, right?”

“No, not at all. I told you, I’m not interested. You know how important finishing college is to me. I finally feel like I’m back on track after dropping out, and I don’t want anything to mess with that. I have goals and plans. Things I want to accomplish in life, and I can’t do that if I’m focused on some guy.”

“Footballers are bad news,” Gunnar’s booming voice greeted, before Felicity could respond. It was his standard response any time something even remotely guy related came up between Talia and Felicity. Even when the subject of the team or football players was the furthest thing from what they had actually been talking about. But in this case, Talia had to agree with her dad.

Turning to face her husband, Felicity leveled him with a look. “What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?”

“I heard something about a guy. And it’s solid advice. Footballers are bad news.”

“Yeah, just look how it turned out for my mom,” Talia muttered.

Gunnar glared at her, his features taking a moment to relax. “I can’t really argue with that.”

Exactly my point…

“Speaking of bad decisions,” Sax segued. “The Rising king of them just walked in.”

CHAPTER SIX

It was like all the air had been sucked out of the room. Twisting in her seat, Talia watched as Dash seemingly glided across the floor, the sea of people in the bar area parting like he was Moses. Only instead of a beard and tattered robes, he was in dark denim and a black T-shirt. All of which hugged his body perfectly.

Talia was used to hot guys. She was surrounded by them at work every day. Devlin, Link, Axel, and all the rest were the cream of the crop. Each one of them looked like they could grace the cover of a romance novel, drawing in crowds from all over. None of them had anything on Dash in this moment though. He was sex walking.

Stop it…lusting after him will solve nothing…he’s here to cover your shift…

“Bonita,” he greeted, giving her a wink.

A fizzy feeling rose within her, making her want to giggle. OMG, who was she? Shaking her head, she tried to right herself. All the talk about his kisses had made her loopy for a second. That was all this was. She was at work. She might be sitting down due to an ankle sprain, but she was still working. Supervising at that. There was no room for error tonight, making sure that Dash did things by the book.

“Stay away from my daughter, Dash,” Gunnar growled.

Having the good sense to wince, Dash’s smile fell from his face, turning his attention to her father. Talia could tell he wanted to make some smart-ass comment in response, but he held back.

Good move, Dash…

“Look, Cowboy and Theo just got here,” Felicity said, pointing toward the front door. “We’re on a team with them, so go show them our table. I’ll be there in a second. I just need to talk to Sax about something.”

Gunnar muttered something under his breath that Talia couldn’t quite make out. Whatever it was, she was sure she would hear all about it when they had their weekly lunch tomorrow. Gunnar didn’t hold back, one of many traits that she had unknowingly inherited from him. Still, she couldn’t help but silently laugh as he gave Felicity a quick kiss and turned to go greet his best friend.

“So, what do I need to know?” Dash asked.

“First thing, you’re overdressed,” she told him. Waving her hand in front of his torso, she tried to tamp down the sudden giddiness she felt, the anticipation of watching him as he removed his shirt bubbling up.

“Easily solved.”

Reaching above his head, he grabbed the tee by the neck, pulling it up and over his head. Within seconds, his beautifully tanned skin was on display. The ripple of his muscles paired with the intricate design of the tattoos on his right arm stole her attention. None of this was new to her, but somehow she was unable to look away.

Tossing her his shirt, he gave her another wink before sidling past to round the bar. “I take it back here is my new home for the evening.”