College had been a saving grace for him. He found his courage to be who he was, but even then he stayed away from athletes. Of course, he’d run in a different circle there. All his friends had been journalists, or at least wanted to be. The closest he’d ever gotten to sports was when his old roommatedragged him golfing. Truth be told, he hated golf, too.
No, he knew he wouldn’t shrink away just because some sports-monkey wanted to belittle him. He’d stand up for himself now; Lucas was sure of it.
He continued pacing the small room, giving himself his pep talk. Just because he was attracted to this man didn’t mean he couldn’t handle the situation. He could keep his attraction a secret and get through this assignment. Hell, maybe he could look back at it someday and laugh at the absurdity of it all. Lucas falling for a jock? Not possible. He could—
The shrill ring of his cell cut into his thoughts and he fished it out of his pocket. “Hello?”
“Lucas?”
“Yes.” Damn, it was Caleb. He knew that voice, and his body was already betraying him. “Caleb?”
“Yup. When do you want to get started?”
That depends on what you want to start. He smiled. Stop it, Lucas!
“Lucas?”
He snapped back to attention. “Sorry. I’m ready any time.”
“Great! Want to meet in about an hour at my place?”
Lucas’ cock twitched. Damn. His place. That had all the markings of a disaster in the making. But apparently his mind was listening to his cock because he heard himself tell Caleb that sounded fine.
Caleb agreed to text him the address so he could use his phone’s GPS, and they hung up.
Within seconds, he had the information on his phone. But what would he do for the next forty minutes until he needed to leave? A growl from his stomach answered that question. The granola bar had definitely not been enough for breakfast. He decided to have a bagel downstairs, so he grabbed his laptop and headed for the elevator.
* * * *
As Lucas stood in line in the little dining area, someone bumped him from behind. He turned to see a pretty young woman with red hair smiling at him.
“I’m so sorry,” she purred, offering her hand to him.
He shook it. “No problem,” he replied with a smile.
“I’m Claire.”
“Lucas.”
“I know. I saw you at the ballpark yesterday. You’re the new announcer, right?”
“No. Well, yes, for now I am, but it’s only temporary.”
She smiled again, this time a little too suggestively, and slid a little closer. He started to get the feeling that the bump had been intentional.
“I’m staying on the third floor,” she volunteered. “Just for a couple of weeks, though. Once my divorce is final, I’m moving back to my place. Just waiting for him to get out, you know?”
Lucas nodded, but no, he had no idea. He had never been married. Never been divorced. Never even lived with someone. Well, he’d had roommates, but that was different than sharing a life with someone.
“I’m sorry to hear about your divorce,” he expressed.
She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “I’m not. He’s an ass. Married less than a year and found him doing my best friend. In my bed.”
“Wow…um, sorry….” He had no idea what to say. What was the proper etiquette in this kind of situation? he wondered.
“Don’t be. He can have her skanky ass and her fake boobs. Mine are real,” she divulged. “Besides, I’m on to bigger and better things,” she added, her voice breathy. She leaned in and whispered, “It’s time I had some fun, too. Don’t you think?”
Sister, you are barking up the wrong tree. “Um, sure.” He grabbed his bagel and turned around for his laptop. “Listen, I have to get going. It was nice meeting you,” he added as he practically ran out to his car.
He didn’t care if he still had at least half an hour to kill, he needed to get away from there. He glanced at himself in the rearview mirror and laughed. His face was beet red and his dirty blond hair was sticking up in different directions. He looked a little like a mad scientist. Lucas shook his head and took a bite of his bagel. He never knew how to respond to pushy women. Well, that was only half-true.He never knew how to respond to women in general. They were so alien to him.
As he pulled out of the parking lot, he tried not to pay attention to the butterflies in his stomach. Theidea of spending time alone with Caleb, in his home, caused all kinds of reactions in his body. He might be attracted to Caleb, but the man was a straight jock and Lucas needed to remember that.