Page 34 of The Flight Risk

I know that he’s telling the truth. He’s not just saying that to make me feel better. Something tells me that Oakley doesn’t have a disingenuous bone in his body. I think that his social awkwardness is actually a superpower. It allows him to be completely honest and not just say whatever he thinks he should say. I admire that quality the most about him.

“That’s true.” I apply a little more pressure. “I’ve never really seen you get upset before. Well, except for the other night at the bar.” His body tenses again and his jaw locks. “I thought you were going to rip through all your clothes and turn into a massive green monster.”

His jaw relaxes. “You really do have a thing for Mark Ruffalo.”

“I told you, I am down bad for Mark Ruffalo.” I continue massaging him.

Oakley’s dimples deepen. I love breaking him down. He doesn’t really smile all too often and when he does, it’s the best sight I’ve ever seen. “Going back to that asshole at the bar,” he says. “I didn’t like the way he was talking to you.” Our eyes meet and the air between us gets heavy again, just like it did right before he kissed me. “Or touching you.”

Suddenly, all I can think about is how Oakley touched me and how badly I want his hands on my body again. How I want his lips on my lips again. He’s looking at me with a tenderness I’ve never known before. “It’s in my nature,” he murmurs, “to protect the people who are important to me.”

I realize my hands have become stationary on his thigh and I retract them to my sides. Am I an important person in his life? My head is getting hazy and I don’t know if it’s because I’m tired or the fact that with every passing moment, I am falling deeper and deeper in love with this man.

And that scares the shit out of me.

“Well, I’ve been taking care of myself for a long time, Oakley. While I appreciate you stepping in, I don’t need that.” I stand up, grab the pillow and throw it onto the couch near his feet. I feel the warmth and roughness of his hand when it grabs mine before I have the chance to bolt away from him.

“I know you don’t need it, Tess. You’re the strongest woman I know. I have a feeling that if I wasn’t there, you would’ve kneed that guy in the junk.”

I smirk proudly at the thought and feel flattered that he knows the exact actions I would’ve taken if he hadn’t stepped in. “You bet your ass I would’ve.”

He rubs his thumb across my knuckles. The tenderness is back in full force and it’s overwhelming. His emerald eyes are piercing into mine. “And selfishly, I don’t want you touching any other man.” Butterflies take flight in my stomach and as much as I want to climb on top of him and show him how appreciative I really am for everything he has done for me these past couple of weeks, defending my honor included, I know he needs to rest and recover. As much as I want to tell him that I never want to touch another man either, I’m not ready to admit that out loud yet.

I clear my throat as he loosens his grip on my hand. I tuck my hair behind my ears and cross my arms over my body. “Um, did the massage help? Do you need anything else?” Before he can actually answer any of the questions I threw at him, I say, “I think I’m going to head to bed. I have an early morning tomorrow. Carpool duty.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.” He props himself up on the couch and I swear I’ve never seen so many veins in a man’s forearms and biceps before. He is literally taking me out and he’s not even trying to be sexy. “I need to get some shut-eye, too. And yes, everything you did tonight helped, Tess. Thank you. You just being here helps.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to sleep in your bed tonight? I feel bad that you’re injured and you have to sleep on this couch.”

“You’re cute when you worry.” He drapes sheets over the cushions and smiles. “I’ll be fine.”

I smile and pivot toward the stairs. “Goodnight, Oakley.”

“Goodnight, Tess.”

19

Practice was brutal today. My groin is still hurting and I don’t know when I’ll be at full capacity again. I’m known to not say anything until I’m at an eleven on the one-to-ten scale of pain. I was probably around a ten all practice, despite the massage Tess gave me last night. The athletic trainer could see through my bullshit, though, and forced me to rest while the other goalie got some playing time. I hate being hurt.

I open my front door and am hit with an overwhelming smell of popcorn. Tess is pouring seasoning salt on top and swishing it around, sloshing a bunch of popcorn out of my massive red mixing bowl in the process. She has her hair half-up in a clip and her light gray sweatshirt is hanging off one shoulder, exposing her smooth olive skin and a dark green bra strap. She is also in a matching pair of oversized sweatpants and it’s the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen. A beautiful woman in my house, looking completely at ease and comfortable. It’s a wonder why this woman is still single. She’s a fucking goddess.

Tess finally notices that I’m home and smiles as she pulls the cork from the wine bottle she opened last night. “Hey, Oakley! How was practice?”

I clear my throat. I have to actively distract my thoughts so I don’t have a full-blown erection right now. “It was all right.” I set down my duffle bag, kick off my shoes and place a plastic bag on the counter. Before I came home, I ran to the store to buy more of my favorite electrolyte drinks and protein powder. While I was there, I remembered that I saw an almost empty box of tampons in my bathroom. I put two and two together and decided to grab some more for her, plus her favorite ice cream (butter pecan) and a heating pad. I’m not a guy who gets freaked out by periods. Personally, I think it’s fucking juvenile and showcases toxic masculinity when guys tease girls about PMS or some shit. I don’t have any sisters, but I remember in middle school, one of my closest friends bled through her jeans and she didn’t seem to notice. I didn’t want the same people teasing me for being weird to tease her about something she couldn’t control. I took off my hoodie and discreetly told her why I was going to let her borrow it to put around her waist for the rest of the day. We have stayed really close friends all these years. I’m actually going to her wedding in a couple weeks back in Chicago.

I don’t want Tess to feel like she has to hide the fact that she’s on her period. Ever since she moved in, I’ve had this primal need to take care of her. Almost like she is mine to take care of.

“What’s in the bag?” Tess’ voice brings me back to the kitchen and I start unloading the contents onto the counter.

“Some essentials for the house. And at the risk of sounding weird…”

“Too late, but go on.” Tess smirks before stuffing a handful of popcorn in her mouth.

“I noticed the open tampon box in my bathroom…” Tess slows her chewing and her cheeks are faintly pinker than before. I clear my throat and continue while I put the brand new box of tampons on the counter. “I noticed you were running low. I also got your favorite pint of ice cream and a heating pad. I don’t know how bad your cramps get and I want you to…why are you looking at me like that?”

Tess looks confused. Maybe I mortified her. Maybe I overstepped. She inspects the pint of ice cream and utters, “Butter pecan. This is my favorite. It’s so underrated.” She sets it down and shakes her head. “Again, this begs the question: How are you real? No guy has ever done this for me. Actually it’s common practice for me to avoid the male species around this time of the month. I have found they spook easily.”

“Not me.” Suddenly I want to punch anyone who ever made her feel uncomfortable about this.