Page 74 of Playing to Win
Callie rolled her eyes. “So yeah. This guy. We were high school sweethearts. Both played basketball, both good. Yada, yada, yada. He got a scholarship to play at UCO in Edmond. We decided to stay together even though we weren’t going to the same schools. Edmond and Norman aren’t that far from each other and we figured we could work it out.”
“Okay. So when did the whole realizing he was an ass come into play?”
“Well, they were gone to an away game and I wasn’t going to be able to go because I had a class that afternoon. But it got cancelled because the TA who taught it got food poisoning or something. I don’t really remember why. So I thought I would surprise him. I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it in time for the game, but they were staying the night in a hotel and I thought we could hang out, maybe go for a pizza or something.”
Kyle hated the look on her face. He had a feeling he knew what was coming, but it didn’t make it any easier to hear. He wished he could erase the hurt he heard in her voice, make her forget what made her so scarred.
“When I got to the hotel, one of his teammates was in the lobby. They told me his room number and then kind of laughed when I told him I was going to see Matt. He told me good luck, but at the time I had no clue what he meant. When I knocked on the door, a girl in a sheet answered. At first, I thought I had the wrong room. But then I heard his voice asking her who it was. I barged in and saw him with two other girls in the room with him. Apparently they were having a grand little naked pillow party that I interrupted.”
Kyle could feel his face turn red in anger. His breath started coming faster and he had to make himself relax his fists, which he had curled into fists at his side. What the jerk did to Curly was awful, but the blatant disrespect he showed to the other three women was just as bad. Granted, they all agreed to it, but as a man, that’s not something you go along with, even if it is suggested. At least not in Kyle’s world.
“The worst thing was he had the audacity to blame it on me. He said I was ‘emotionally unavailable’ and focused too hard on school and my dancing. Told me I backed him into a corner and he finally just broke. Then he told me that all athletes had girls throwing themselves at them night and day—that it was impossible to resist.” Callie wiped a tear that was running down her cheek. “Damn it! I hate crying over him! I’m not even sad anymore. I just get so pissed off whenever I think about it! What kind of person does that?”
“A piece of shit, that’s who. One who had no respect for you or women in general. You didn’t think it was your fault, did you?”
“For a long time, yeah, I did.”
“Aw, Curly. I’m so sorry.”
“So that’s why I swore off dating athletes. If Matt said it happened to all of them, which I do believe, then the chances of that happening to me again drastically increased if I dated another athlete. And his friend I saw in the lobby obviously knew about it or he wouldn’t have wished me good luck. Which further enforced the belief that all athletes were the same.”
“Let me tell you one thing, this twat you dated may have been an athlete, but he was not a man with any sense of ethics or morals. And even though, yeah, a lot of athletes get those crazy chicks who throw themselves at us, it doesn’t mean we take them up on it. That’s a choice a person decides to make. What a douche bag. Please tell me you don’t believe that anymore.”
Callie looked at him, her eyes shining. “Not since I met you. You’re one of the good ones, Dimples.”
Kyle leaned in and pulled her to him. He kissed her gently, one hand in her hair and the other caressing her cheek. He began trailing kisses down her neck, smiling as he heard her gasp into his ear. He loved all the little sounds she made when he was kissing her. He loved making her smile. He loved the softness of her skin and the smell of her hair. Hell, he just loved her.
Kyle undid the first two buttons of her blouse and kissed his way along her collarbone, stopping at the freckle he loved so much. “There’s my favorite freckle,” he said, his words whispering against her skin.
“It’s beginning to be my favorite, too,” she said breathlessly.
Kyle laughed and moved on to kissing her bare shoulder. “I love your skin, Curly. So soft. So smooth. And you always smell so good.”
“Thank the lord for the invention of Bath and Body Works. I’m addicted to their lotion.”
“I’m addicted to you.” Kyle unbuttoned the rest of her blouse and pushed it off her shoulders, letting it fall to the couch, revealing the yellow tank top she had on underneath. “You are so beautiful.”
Callie reached down and shyly pulled her tank top over her head and dropped it to the floor, revealing a white lace bra that hugged her soft breasts. Kyle drew in a quick breath, his heart beating a drumline in his chest. “Are you sure about this, Curly? I don’t want to rush you.”
Callie grinned mischievously. “If you’re not, I can play you a game of Horse to decide. Winner gets to choose.”
Kyle laughed, picked her up off the couch and into his arms. As he started walking to his bedroom he said, “Something tells me a game of Horse won’t be necessary this go round.”
“Afraid you’ll lose?”
“Oh, I know I’d lose. I’d lose on purpose as fast as I could. With you playing looking like that, I would only be able to concentrate on one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Wondering if your panties match that fantastic bra.”
As Kyle laidher on the bed and pulled his shirt over his head, Callie drew in a deep breath. She knew he was gorgeous, but the picture she had in her mind of how he looked shirtless didn’t hold a candle to him in person. Smooth, tan skin. Strong, lean muscles. Who needed Channing Tatum? Kyle was her own Magic Mike.
“What are you grinning about, Curly? You like what you see?” Kyle asked, pushing his shorts down off his hips, letting them drop to the floor and as he began walking toward her. Out of the corner of her eye, Callie saw Garth darting out from underneath the bed.
“Kyle, watch out for—” Before she could call out Garth’s name, Kyle’s feet got tangled up in his cat, he tripped, and smacked his head on the corner of his dresser.
“Oh my gosh! Kyle, are you okay?” Callie asked, holding back a laugh.
