The End Zone: SPORTS ROMANCE (Contemporary Sport Bad Boy Alpha Male American Football Romance) (New Adult Second Chance Women’s Fiction Romance Short Stories) Read Free Page B

Chris than she had in years of watching sports analysis.
    When they arrived at her apartment in the middle of the city, she was surprised that forty-five minutes had gone by. It seemed more like five.
    “Well, thanks for the ride,” she said. “I’m glad I didn’t have to pay some smelly stranger to bring me back.”
    “I’m glad too,” he said. “At least you think I smell good.”
    “I never said that,” she said with a small laugh. He chuckled with her for a moment and when it ended, she found herself still looking into his eyes, more than a little reluctant to leave.
    Finally, she took a breath and told herself that if she didn’t go now she never would.
    “Well,” she said as firmly as she could, “I guess I’ll see you around.”
    She turned and started towards her building.
    “Hey, Michelle,” he called after her, “wait.”
    Against her better judgment, she turned back to him. The car window was open and he was leaning over towards the passenger side.
    “I was wondering if maybe I could call you sometime,” Chris said. “We could get drinks or dinner or whatever.”
    Her heart sunk and she bit her lip. She knew what she should say, what she had to say. She knew she couldn’t get involved with anyone like Chris as her heart wouldn’t be able to take it.
    “Look,” he said before she could answer, “I promise I won’t prank call you in the middle of the night. I also promise I won’t give your number out to any of my friends.”
    He was smiling in a joking kind of way and she wanted to smile back. But, she still couldn’t quite force herself to do it.
    “I just really want to see you again,” Chris said. His smile was fading to be replaced by a sincere expression. It was something she hadn’t seen from him as of yet. Something very genuine.
    It was something that made her remember Deshante, the little outcast on her football team. She remembered what Chris had told him, how he had caused a smile to cross the boy’s face when no one else had been able to.
    Suddenly, she realized that she couldn’t refuse that sincere look no matter how hard she tried.
    “Ok,” she said moving towards the car. She gave him her number which he typed into his phone. He promised to call her during the week so that they could work out a date.
    As he drove away and Michelle walked slowly into her apartment, she prayed to god that she had not just made a huge mistake.
    *****
    Chris pulled up to the restaurant with his heart beating loudly in his chest. It had been one week since Michelle had given him her number and three days since he had called.
    They’d set up a date at a restaurant Michelle liked. It was called Millennium and apparently all the dishes were vegetarian or vegan.
    Alone in the car, Chris allowed himself a small chuckle. He had never eaten vegetarian in his life. Almost every meal he’d ever eaten had contained meat. The fact that he was putting his meat loving pride aside was, he decided, a sign of how much he liked this girl.
    Taking a deep breath, Chris finally got out of the car and allowed the valet to park it for him.  Michelle would probably be waiting inside as she had insisted on meeting him there.
    As expected, when he got to the front door he found Michelle already waiting in the lobby of the dimly lit, high-ceilinged restaurant.
    She stood when he came in and gave him a bright smile that made her green eyes sparkle.
    When he looked down at the rest of her, his breath nearly caught in his throat. Her hair was down and lay in soft waves that framed her face. She wore dark skinny jeans that skimmed her long, shapely legs. A sparkling top glided away from her long, thin torso and the v-neck revealed just a hint of creamy peach cleavage. He swallowed hard before moving to her.
    “Hey gorgeous,” he said.
    “You clean up pretty well yourself,” she said.
    “Sorry, I’m late. Were you waiting long?” he asked.
    “Not really,” she said. “I asked if I could save the table