turned it all the way down just as I was belting out snake wants to spit . He was kind enough to finish the lyrics for me.
“Call 9-7-6 and let my hand do the rest,”
I could feel him staring at me. The car became utterly silent. What could I say? Anything I said would be interpreted as either sexy or prudish. I decided to stay quiet.
“And there’s that gorgeous blush again.”
I kept my eyes on the road, but let out a laugh. He never quit. “Well, it is a good song. I’ve loved Crue ever since I first heard Smoking in the Boys Room .”
“Crue embodies hot women, sex, and party time. What’s not to like?”
I couldn’t disagree with him. I did like all of that about them. Motley Crue was my guilty pleasure. Being one of their women swinging from a cage over the stage was a past dream of mine. Hell, I’d probably do it now if given the chance. But was I going to tell Cage that? Hell no.
“I’m not going to comment on all of that, but I do like to listen to them.”
Cage didn’t say anything else. He just put his hand out and pointed to the left again. “That’s my place.”
I pulled up under the overhang in front of his garage. The houses at the beach had the garage in the back since there was no front yard to speak of. It was all beach sand.
He wanted me to come in. I knew what he wanted me to come in for. I wasn’t stupid by any stretch of the imagination.
“Thanks for driving me home, Karen.”
“You’re welcome.” I waited for him to get out of the car, even as he simply sat there smiling at me. “Um, I’ll bring your car back in the morning, okay? Jody can drive me over to drop it off. And again, I’m really, really sorry.”
He gave me a smile that I was sure had melted many panties in the past, but mine were staying firmly in place. “Stop apologizing. It’s done. Now come on. Come inside. I won’t bite …unless you ask me to.”
I tended to roll my eyes a lot, and I’d been trying to stop, but that comment warranted some major eye rolling. I swear I rolled them so hard I thought they’d get stuck. “Lame, Dalton. Lame.” He did make me laugh, though.
“You’d be surprised how often that works.”
“I’m sure it does, but I’m not a puck bunny trying to pick up the hottest player.”
Maybe I could have chosen better words. I seemed to say the exact wrong things around him. Give Cage an inch …
“I knew you thought I was hot.” He toyed with my fingers, but pulled his hand back after a couple of seconds. “Look. I like you. A lot. I’m not asking you to come in and have sex with me—although I’m willing to leave that on the table.” He smiled, but then looked down into the darkened interior of the car, and kept his gaze down as he continued. “Tonight was different, you know? There I was, being an ass as only I know how to be, and you defended me. It was nice. I’m just not ready for you to leave yet.”
And that was when I made the decision to be Cage’s friend. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. My intuition said he was worth it. He was worth the effort of making him my friend. “Okay, Dalton. I’ll come in for a while, but I don’t want any misunderstanding between us. I’m not looking for any kind of relationship other than friendship. Can you accept that?”
The emotion on his face was precious. He gave me kind of a shy, half smile as he turned his gaze back to me. I was sure it wasn’t a look he shared with his peers. He simply looked joyful. This badass, womanizing, KitKat-packing hockey player wanted a friend. “Yes. I would like to be your friend, Karen.”
We got out of his car and walked up several steps to the wide front porch that faced the ocean. I turned around at the top of the stairs and closed my eyes, simply enjoying the sound of the surf.
“It’s beautiful out here, isn’t it? I played in Nashville for a couple of years when I started out in the NHL. Even though Nashville has some really cool places to go, I
“Call 9-7-6 and let my hand do the rest,”
I could feel him staring at me. The car became utterly silent. What could I say? Anything I said would be interpreted as either sexy or prudish. I decided to stay quiet.
“And there’s that gorgeous blush again.”
I kept my eyes on the road, but let out a laugh. He never quit. “Well, it is a good song. I’ve loved Crue ever since I first heard Smoking in the Boys Room .”
“Crue embodies hot women, sex, and party time. What’s not to like?”
I couldn’t disagree with him. I did like all of that about them. Motley Crue was my guilty pleasure. Being one of their women swinging from a cage over the stage was a past dream of mine. Hell, I’d probably do it now if given the chance. But was I going to tell Cage that? Hell no.
“I’m not going to comment on all of that, but I do like to listen to them.”
Cage didn’t say anything else. He just put his hand out and pointed to the left again. “That’s my place.”
I pulled up under the overhang in front of his garage. The houses at the beach had the garage in the back since there was no front yard to speak of. It was all beach sand.
He wanted me to come in. I knew what he wanted me to come in for. I wasn’t stupid by any stretch of the imagination.
“Thanks for driving me home, Karen.”
“You’re welcome.” I waited for him to get out of the car, even as he simply sat there smiling at me. “Um, I’ll bring your car back in the morning, okay? Jody can drive me over to drop it off. And again, I’m really, really sorry.”
He gave me a smile that I was sure had melted many panties in the past, but mine were staying firmly in place. “Stop apologizing. It’s done. Now come on. Come inside. I won’t bite …unless you ask me to.”
I tended to roll my eyes a lot, and I’d been trying to stop, but that comment warranted some major eye rolling. I swear I rolled them so hard I thought they’d get stuck. “Lame, Dalton. Lame.” He did make me laugh, though.
“You’d be surprised how often that works.”
“I’m sure it does, but I’m not a puck bunny trying to pick up the hottest player.”
Maybe I could have chosen better words. I seemed to say the exact wrong things around him. Give Cage an inch …
“I knew you thought I was hot.” He toyed with my fingers, but pulled his hand back after a couple of seconds. “Look. I like you. A lot. I’m not asking you to come in and have sex with me—although I’m willing to leave that on the table.” He smiled, but then looked down into the darkened interior of the car, and kept his gaze down as he continued. “Tonight was different, you know? There I was, being an ass as only I know how to be, and you defended me. It was nice. I’m just not ready for you to leave yet.”
And that was when I made the decision to be Cage’s friend. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. My intuition said he was worth it. He was worth the effort of making him my friend. “Okay, Dalton. I’ll come in for a while, but I don’t want any misunderstanding between us. I’m not looking for any kind of relationship other than friendship. Can you accept that?”
The emotion on his face was precious. He gave me kind of a shy, half smile as he turned his gaze back to me. I was sure it wasn’t a look he shared with his peers. He simply looked joyful. This badass, womanizing, KitKat-packing hockey player wanted a friend. “Yes. I would like to be your friend, Karen.”
We got out of his car and walked up several steps to the wide front porch that faced the ocean. I turned around at the top of the stairs and closed my eyes, simply enjoying the sound of the surf.
“It’s beautiful out here, isn’t it? I played in Nashville for a couple of years when I started out in the NHL. Even though Nashville has some really cool places to go, I
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