Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 73794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73794 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
“And so you can have the place to yourself.” Scotty’s eyes danced, warning more teasing was incoming.
“After today? I’m exhausted.” I made a show of yawning and stretching. “No wild parties. Heck, I doubt I even have the energy to read or watch a movie.”
“You might be alone, but you wish you had plans. You’ve got a C-R-U-S-H on your new BFF.” Scotty didn’t have to look over at Tony for me to know exactly who he meant.
“He’s a friend. Acquaintance. Coworker. Whatever.” I bungled through a denial, only to give up and make a frustrated noise. “Scotty, go mingle with Mom.”
“Yep. You’ve got it bad.” Laughing, Scotty pushed away from the table, taking his empty plate with him. “Luckily for you, I don’t think he has a clue.”
And with one last laugh at my expense, Scotty went off to join our mom. He wasn’t wrong. I might be the one catching unwanted feelings, but I doubted Tony had an inkling despite all our sneaky sex. I suppressed a sigh as I scanned the room. Tony was now standing with a group of fellow football alumni, laughing and steering various friends toward the silent auction tables. He was a smooth operator and probably responsible for the biggest percentage of donations.
Watching Tony work a room was even more of a turn-on than watching him coach. His competence made heat rise in my chest, a strange mixture of pride and pleasure. Scotty was right. I had another hopeless crush despite my best efforts to prevent it. Or, more accurately, my marginal efforts, seeing as I couldn’t keep my hands or mind off the guy.
Later in the evening, we carted away the buffet tables to make room for dancing to a local country cover band that had donated its time to the fundraiser. Eric and the younger teens departed around that time, but Maren dragged Jonas onto the dancefloor for a silly line dance number. I walked my mom to her car, wishing her a safe drive back to Portland, before returning to lurk along the back edge of the event tent. I’d agreed to help with cleanup, so I couldn’t exactly leave, but watching happy pairs spin in time to the music was hardly my idea of fun.
Right then, almost as if I’d summoned him, Tony came up alongside me.
“Angel’s about to close the silent auction bidding and says we’re on track for even more donations than we hoped for.”
“That’s awesome.” My voice came out flatter than I intended, and Tony frowned.
“You okay? You look tense.”
“Nah. Long day. That’s all.” I offered him some approximation of a smile. “Congrats on the win.”
“Eh. That was all the kids. My main job was keeping them from running up the score.”
I chuckled. “Gotta keep the opponents happy enough to open their wallets after the game.”
“For sure.” Tony reached a hand toward my shoulder, only to abruptly drop it. “Fuck. I hate this.”
“The sneaking around is pretty awful.” I tried not to sound too whiny. It was what it was, and it wasn’t his fault I was starting to chafe at the rules I’d helped create.
“Trying to be discreet sucks, especially when all I want to do is touch you.” Tony gave me a sad, crooked smile that hit me square in the gut. He’d said over and over that he wasn’t into relationships, but I wasn’t sure I bought that. He deserved something open where he could casually touch his partner, dance, and be a couple publicly. As long as we were coworkers, that wasn’t going to be us, and that was what truly sucked.
However, I didn’t want to spend the night lamenting what we couldn’t have. I forced myself to give him a quick, heated look and flirty smile. “Hey, discretion has its perks too. We’ve got a naughty secret to look forward to later.”
“Yup.” Tony glanced away as Angel walked toward us.
“Tony, come dance.” She grabbed his hand and looked over her shoulder at me. “You too, Caleb. This is a fun song.”
And so, I, with my two left feet, ended up shuffling and swaying near but not with Tony and Angel. Tony, naturally, was an amazing dancer who seemed to take pleasure in something I often found excruciating. Yet, I’d happily try for him, and lord, how I wanted the chance to slow dance with him. Our gazes met across the dancefloor, and his eyes echoed that same wish.
“Later,” he mouthed at me. That would have to be enough, our personal after-party for two.
Chapter Twenty
Tony
“Alone at last.” I released a happy sigh as Caleb ushered me into his house, which was blessedly quiet after the chaos of the day. He had flipped on some low lighting in the living area, giving the space a warm and homey glow. “I’ve been counting down to this all day.”