Un-Valentine's Day

Scene 9: A Chance Encounter

Noah grabbed a couple towels from the linen closet and handed them to Cassie. Thank God he’d splurged and rented the jerseys and camo pants. There’d been a dozen teams at the arena today and each had used a different paint color. She looked spectacularly cute with a rainbow of paint in her hair and on her face, but… His chest tightened uncomfortably. She’d wanted an Un-Valentine’s Day, but had he gone too far with the paintball?

“Go on. Get in the shower. My apartment doesn’t need redecorating.” He gently prodded her paint-streaked-butt in the direction of the bathroom.

She took the towels and grinned. “You sure you don’t want a little splash of color? All I’d have to do is shake my head like a wet dog.”

Her amused laughter as she hurried into the bathroom made him relax. Clearly, she’d had a great time today, despite being ambushed by members of her own team.

Hearing the water in the shower turn on, he walked back to the kitchen and got busy with dinner preparations. At the GameHard cafeteria, he’d only ever seen her eat salads and deli sandwiches, but tonight they were having his favorite dinner—beer, pizza, and chips. He picked up the phone and, having no idea what kind of pizza she liked, ordered a meat lovers and a vegetarian. That should cover all the bases. Two bags of chips from the pantry, one barbeque, the other dill pickle, and some dip from the fridge completed the menu.

He opened the fridge and grabbed two cans of beer. Balancing the load in his arms, he strode into the living room and dumped everything on the coffee table. Now for the entertainment. They couldn’t watch TV, since there’d be nothing but chick flicks on. A movie might work, as long as it didn’t have any sex. He scanned his selection of DVDs. Yeah, that was a no-go. They could play a video game if he could find one that wasn’t too violent. He flipped through the pile of game boxes until he landed on Left 4 Dead. A zombie apocalypse—just the thing he needed. Sure there’d be blood and guts, but it wouldn’t be human. And zombies were far from cupids. Perfect.

Happy with his choice, he slipped it into the game console and cracked open a beer while he waited. Just as he was about to sit on the couch, he remembered the paint. There’d been so much of it on his back, it had soaked through the jersey. Not to mention his blue hair. He set the beer on the table and walked to his room, pulling off his dirty shirt as he went.

The door to the bathroom opened just as he passed in front of it. Cassie stepped out, and his heart stopped. Dead. Without even the slightest thump-thump. She looked like a wet dream, literally. Drops of water ran down her bare shoulders, the thin streams disappearing under the towel knotted between her flushed breasts. Breasts that heaved as she stared back at him. He forced himself to swallow, and his heart kicked back into action, speeding like a racecar.

When he dragged his gaze up to Cassie’s face, her wide eyes were focused on his chest. Was he that much of a mess? Concerned, he swiped his hand over his pecs. She made a small sound—a moan? a groan?—as her eyes followed his movements. “Cassie? Is something wrong?”

Her cheeks glowing pink, she slowly raised her head and licked her lips. Seeing the rosy tip of her tongue made the room spin. He smacked his hand against the wall for balance, hardening at the memory of her taste. Inhaling deeply, he turned away and beat feet into his room. Calm the fuck down, asshole. He’d made Cassie a promise and he meant to keep it.

Clothes. She needed something clean to change into. After grabbing a T-shirt and the smallest pair of sweats he owned, he brought them to her. “These should fit.” She eyed him up and down and raised a brow. He grinned. “Okay, maybe not. Roll them up. No one will see you besides me. I’ll throw all our stuff in the washing machine after my shower.”

She let go of her towel to take the proffered clothes. Fall, fall, fall. But the damn towel stayed put. Smiling, she walked into his room and closed the door.

Noah checked his watch. The pizza delivery guy had said thirty minutes, but in case he arrived early, Noah pulled forty dollars out of his wallet and set the cash on the coffee table.  That done, he stepped into the bathroom for a much-needed shower. A much-needed cold shower.