Page 31 of Cross Checked
The nickname landed softer this time, like he was testing how it felt in his mouth.
I should have hated it.
I did not hate it.
“That’s because you’re used to being the version they gave you. I’m offering to showcase you. The real you.”
He looked at me for a long second. Thoughtful. Curious. Maybe a little wary. “Maybe.”
“You’re avoiding the part where you agree.”
“I haven’t said no.”
“You haven’t said yes either.”
“I’m thinking.”
I smiled. “Take your time. I know this is a big emotional journey.”
His dimple cut deep into one cheek. “You mock me a lot for someone asking for access to my life.”
“I mock everyone. It’s how I build trust.”
“Is it working?”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out immediately.
Because the honest answer was yes.
And that was deeply inconvenient.
Cade’s attention dropped to my mouth for the smallest second before coming back to my eyes, and every nerve in my body noticed like a traitor.
“I think,” I said carefully, tracing my fingertip over the lid of my coffee because my voice needed to stay steady if nothing else did, “it could work. We already know each other socially. We have mutual friends. You’re not some random athlete I’m chasing around with a recorder.”
Cade leaned back slightly, one arm stretched across the back of the couch while his fingers drummed lazily against his coffee cup. “Just a very specific athlete.”
I fought the smile threatening my mouth and failed a little anyway. “A very academically useful athlete.”
His brows lifted slowly. “Useful.”
“It’s an incredible compliment,” I deadpanned.
“Objectifying, honestly.”
I laughed softly, leaning farther back into the couch as I crossed one leg beneath me. “Do you need a moment?”
Cade’s grin came slow this time, dimples cutting into his cheeks while his eyes held mine a second too long to feel harmless anymore. “I’ll recover.”
The way he said it should not have made my stomach flip the way it did. And when I laughed, his whole face changed with it.
That was the problem.
Not that Cade flirted. Plenty of men flirted. Most of them were boring about it. Cade didn’t flirt like he was trying to win. He flirted like he was fascinated by the reaction, like every smile he pulled from me surprised and pleased him at the same time. Like the goal wasn’t conquest but connection.
And that was the kind of thing that could make a girl forget she had rules. Too bad I couldn’t forget, I refused to forget.
“So, what would this actually look like?” he asked. “You coming to practices? Games? Team stuff?”
