AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I could feel my heart beating rapidly again, that rush of blood back in my ears. There was something intoxicating about a man that didn’t try to change you. I had a sailor’s mouth, something that Harley was working on, but it didn’t seem to bother Orion. A lot of people would call me a shrew or a bitch, but Orion gave as good as he got, and I’d be lying if I said that I couldn’t appreciate that.
Swallowing, I said, “Even if I am attracted to you, I don’t date athletes,” I repeated. “My sanity is far too precious to me.”
“I’m not the cheating type,” he said, and I believed him.
“That still doesn’t change anything,” I replied, doing my best to stay strong.
Looking into Orion’s chocolate gaze, I knew that I was making him pay for Cap’s mistakes, but I just couldn’t help it. My refusal to date basketball players was as ingrained in me as my need to sleep each night. I’d been feeding that oath for almost ten years, and I honestly wouldn’t know how to date a professional athlete after all this time.
There was also the fact that Orion played basketball. At one point or another, he was bound to play the Hillside Lancers, and if I could avoid seeing Cap Aldrich ever again, then I would. No matter what, I still couldn’t help but feel stupid whenever I thought of him, so I could only imagine how that would intensify if I ever saw him face-to-face. Yeah, he had moved on years ago and probably didn’t even think about me anymore, but still. A woman’s heart had no bottom, and the scars from heartbreak had the potential to run deep, the scars from stupidity more so.
Trying to lighten the mood, I said, “Besides, do you really want to date a girl that has a problem with one of your best friends?”
“Once you meet Raven, you’ll love him just like everyone else,” he replied easily. “So, I’m not too worried about that.”
Afraid that I might just give in after so many years of fostering my hate for basketball players, I said, “I need to get down, Orion.”
He let out a heavy sigh before stepping back, then assisting me off the table. “This isn’t over, Sinclair.”
Ignoring that, I said, “Let’s get back to your therapy.”
Taking his seat back on the stool, he said, “I’ve been doing my stretches.”
“And how did your shoulder feel after the game?”
“It still hurt, but not as badly as before.”
“Well, all of your MRIs came back clean,” I remarked, though he already knew that. Money had a way of garnering immediate results, and if people knew the actual details of athletes’ medical care, it’d blow their minds.
“Yeah, I heard,” he replied a bit too politely.
“That doesn’t mean that you still don’t have to watch it,” I said, sounding like a nagging wife.
“I’m aware.”
This wasn’t going to work.
“Let’s do some internal and external band rotations,” I suggested. “From there, we’ll do a stint in the rotator.”
“Whatever you say, doc.”
“I’m not a doctor,” I automatically replied.
His brown eyes latched onto my blue ones. “Then what do you want me to call you?”
“Everyone calls me Sinclair.”
“And since I’m just like everyone else…”
Two hours later, Orion Knight was exiting the building, and nothing was more exhausting than a grown man pouting. The rest of his session had been nothing but polite indifference, and while that was my usual preference, Orion had gotten under my skin somehow, and I was none too happy about it.
Maybe Walmart was hiring.
Chapter 13
Orion~
Ihad a game tonight, but all I could think about was Sinclair’s refusal to date athletes. Granted, she had listed some valid concerns, but what the fuck? So, she was never going to date a guy that had to travel for work?
