Rush: The Season (Austin Arrows Book 1)(44)

Again, I ignore my wayward thoughts and somehow I manage to nod.





Kingston

It’s safe to say I should’ve waited until after breakfast to kiss Ellie. However, I seem to be lacking even a modicum of willpower when it comes to her. From the second I saw her standing there in that towel…

Heaven help me.

As I lead her into the restaurant, I’m grateful that I didn’t tuck my shirt in. My dick is so f*cking hard it hurts, and my jeans have become uncomfortably tight. But, as I’ve said before, my dick doesn’t rule my world, so it only takes a few minutes to get myself under control. By the time we’re seated, I only have to make minimal adjustments.

Ellie pushes the menu to the side without looking at it, which piques my curiosity.

“You still eat here?” I remember that she used to love this place, but from what I know, she doesn’t come by much anymore.

Her smile is slow and sweet. “Not as much as I used to. Bianca prefers IHOP these days.”

Interesting. This place used to be Bianca’s favorite breakfast place.

“What about you?” she asks.

I nod. “I get by here as often as I can, but not usually during the season.”

“So why today?”

“Couldn’t pass it up,” I admit.

I wanted to take Ellie somewhere we could relax and enjoy. It isn’t much, but it sure beats those fancy places, which I’m not fond of at all. I’ll suffer through them, and I’ve even taken previous dates to those types of places, but I’d rather go somewhere that doesn’t involve ties and dress shoes. I’m more the T-shirt-and-jeans kind of guy, and I don’t require my orange juice to have fizzy shit in it, either.

The waiter stops by, taking our drink and food order since we’re ready. When he heads back to the kitchen, I rest my arms on the table and stare at the beautiful woman across from me. All morning I’ve been antsy. From the time my eyes popped open at six, I’ve thought of little else other than her. During my morning run, I managed to block her out long enough to get through it, telling myself the reward was getting to see her again.

“So what prompted you to ask me out?” I ask, my grin widening.

Color blooms on Ellie’s cheeks. “I think it’s the other way around.”

“Technically”—I laugh—“you’re the one who sent me the text.”

“Well, I figured someone had to light a fire under your ass.”

She might’ve been right about that. Something about this whole pretend thing is throwing me off my game. I’m fairly familiar with women asking me out, but I prefer the opposite. Who said chivalry was dead? However, when Ellie sent the text, I knew she wasn’t actually asking, which made it interesting, I guess.

“Well, I’m glad you told me to ask.”

Ellie chuckles, thanking the waiter when he delivers orange juice and water for each of us.

“When’s your next practice?” Ellie asks, adjusting her napkin in her lap.

“Tomorrow morning. Then tomorrow afternoon we’re on the road. Game on Tuesday night. More travel on Wednesday, then a game on Thursday before we head back here. The next two games after that are here.”

“You’re playing Colorado on Tuesday, right?”

“We are.”

“I’m sure Heath’s already spouting shit, huh?”

Ellie gets along with both of my brothers really well. They happen to be quite fond of her. At one point, I had to threaten Heath to lay off. He got it in his thick skull that he was going to ask her out. Of course, I made sure he understood that wasn’t an option. It might’ve required a headlock and a little wrestling, but I won.

“He is. As always.”

“So what’s it really like traveling with the team?”

I lean back and rest my wrist on the table, watching Ellie closely. “Do you really want to know the answer to that? Considering you’re probably already aware?”

Ellie chuckles softly, blushing once again. She leans in and lowers her voice. “No, I don’t want to know, but for the life of me, I don’t know what to say to you. It’s weird being on a … date.”

She’s so damn cute when she’s being brutally honest. The slight color to her cheeks reflects her embarrassment, and I want to reach over and pull her into my arms, but I don’t. Figuring I’ll help her out and make this date a little less awkward, I decide to talk about things that are important to her. “How’s Bianca doing in school?”

As I expected, Ellie’s face lights up, and the tension eases out of her shoulders. She never has had an issue talking about her daughter, and truth be told, I admire her for it.

“She’s doing well,” she admits. “She’s taking more pre-AP classes this year, so there’s a lot of homework, but she seems to be managing it well.”

“No nagging her about getting it done?”

Ellie smiles. “Not yet. I’m lucky, I won’t lie.” Her eyes light up. “Other than monitoring her social media accounts and randomly going through her text messages, I don’t have to hover.”

“You look at her social media?”

“Of course. It’s the Internet. You never know what’s going on out there in cyberspace.”