Free Grid Iron Bad Boy: A Football Romance by Eddie Cleveland

I shake my head.
    “I do.” His eyes trail down to my mouth and my body burns with the desire to feel his lips on mine. I don’t move, willing him to kiss me with my thoughts.
    “Come on,” he murmurs, “we should probably get going now.”
    I try not to let the disappointment that’s hitting me like a tidal wave wash over my face.
    “Yeah, sure. Let’s go.” I agree reluctantly.
    I guess it’s time to see what the “main course” of this date is. Even though, right now, all I want to do is skip straight to dessert.
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Chelsea
    C ameron pulls into the parking lot of an apartment complex. A block away, I can see the bright lights of the university casting shadows on the campus buildings. He snaps the kickstand into place on the bike and gets off, holding his hand out to help me do the same.
    I grasp his hand and let out a gasp when he slides his other arm around the small of my back and lifts me from the seat, gently placing me on my feet.
    “Where are we?” I twirl my locks around my finger as I look at the towering building to the side of us. With the distinctive balconies outside every door, it’s no secret that this is where he lives.
    “At my place,” he confirms my suspicion.
    I pull off my helmet and hand it to Cameron and he secures it alongside his on the bike. “Your place?” Is this his idea of a date? Watch a nice sunset on a mountaintop for half an hour and then go back to his place for sex? My thighs clench together without my permission and my nipples pebble. I’m not that kind of girl.
    Right?
    My body isn’t finding my argument very convincing.
    “Listen, I’m not sure what you have in mind, but I meant it when I said I’m not like the other girls, Cameron. I, uh, think you’re a great guy, but I’m not here to have a one-night stand,” I’m surprised by how much conviction I manage to put in my voice, even when I lack it in my heart.
    Cameron tilts his head slightly and smiles. His damned, cocky smile that makes me crazy. “Are you done?”
    Am I done? Now he’s being rude to me? “Yeah, maybe I am done.” I throw my shoulders back as anger licks up the back of my throat. “If you thought you were gonna take me on a hike that you’ve probably taken a million girls on and then bring me here to fuck me like you do with everyone else, then you’re wrong. Now I’m done,” I huff. I want to smack that smirk off his face. He always looks so proud of himself.
    “You’re pretty full of yourself, aren’t you?” He finally answers.
    “Excuse me?” Like I’m going to stand here and be criticized by Mr. Arrogant himself.
    “I parked the bike here because this is where I live, Chelsea. Not because I’m trying to get into that chastity belt of yours,” he scoffs and my shoulders tense up as embarrassment heats my face. “There’s a concert tonight on campus that I wanted to take you to and I figured we’d walk over there together,” he points over my shoulder to the University of Colorado, lights burning in the distance.
    “Oh,” my anger deflates like air from a balloon. Something I didn’t expect to feel washes over me: disappointment.
    “So, if you’re finished telling me off for things I haven’t done, maybe we can head over there and have some fun? I mean, unless fun is off the table, too? Is that too much like the other girls?” His eyes twinkle as he teases me.
    Maybe I need to let loose a bit more. If I let myself have more fun, I probably wouldn’t be wound tighter than a clock.
    “No, uh, I’m good with that,” I mumble back.
    “Great, let’s go then,” he holds out his arm for me to wrap mine around. It’s old fashioned and completely unexpected from Cameron. Maybe I need to stop selling him short. I steady myself on his arm and we walk out of the parking lot in silence. I hope I haven’t ruined a perfectly good night.
    “Hey,” Cameron interrupts my swirling insecurities, “you don’t have to keep telling me that you’re not like all the