The Risque Contracts Series(32)
A young, male flight attendant served us drinks, then asked, “Is there anything else I can get you, Mr. Mariano?” He didn’t once glance in my direction, too busy staring at my woman’s chest. Resisting the urge to resolve the situation with a broken nose, I growled, “No, I’ll take care of her. You won’t be needed any further.”
His dopey smile drooped and he finally looked my way. A glance at my expression had him scurrying to another part of the plane, leaving us alone.
Elisa smacked my arm lightly and glared. “You didn’t have to be so rude to him, Brysen.”
I rolled my eyes, but kept my thoughts to myself. If I opened my mouth, I was sure I’d say something in Cavemanese and I didn’t want to piss her off and start our weekend on a bad note. Though Caleb was a scotch man, he’d stocked the bar with beer for me and I took a swig of the pale ale. I almost moaned. It was the best thing I’d ever tasted, though I was positive Elisa would taste better. That’s when I noticed the label marking it as a winner of the World Beer Awards. I chuckled at Caleb’s need to always have the best, but that didn’t stop me from texting my housekeeper to order some.
To my surprise, Elisa had ordered a beer too, not wine or champagne. That was fucking hot as hell. Her expression of delight while drinking it had me doubling my order. I hoped to be the one putting that look on her face for the rest of our lives, but I still enjoyed seeing it now.
I unbuckled and turned toward her in my seat. It was time to get down to business. “We need to get to know one another.”
Elisa nodded. “Okay. Tell me about your injury.”
I was used to this question, but it didn’t make it any easier to talk about. Although, telling Elisa the story seemed less uncomfortable. “The short version is I was taken down during a pass and landed wrong. The landing was bad enough by itself, but the other player came right down on top of my shoulder. I tore both ligaments in my AC joint. It took two surgeries and eight weeks of physical therapy for the doctor to tell me it wasn’t likely I would ever regain full motion. I could hope for the best and continue to play, but I knew I’d be playing backup for the rest of my contract. I’d had a true movie moment where the quarterback’s very last throw of his career wins the game. I decided to let the team buy out my contract and end on a high note.”
I had Elisa’s full attention. I loved that she was so openly interested in my life and her eyes hadn’t glazed over at the talk of football. A while back, I’d discovered she’d been raised as a New York Giants fan. Elisa was gorgeous, laid back, a beer drinker, and I could teach her all about football. So, I decided those things outweighed her choice of team. However, we’d need to correct the fault before long. Our kids would be Jets fans; I had no wiggle room on that issue.
“What else?”
I reached across her seat, grabbed her hand, and brought it back to my lap. Absently playing with her fingers, I gave her the basics. “I’ll be thirty-one next month. No siblings, though Maddie is like a sister to me. My parents live in Syracuse, both teachers. I’ve tried to get them to retire, it’s not like they need to work, but they constantly remind me they would be bored. I’ve got my hands in several businesses right now, basically trying to decide what I want to do with the rest of my life. Lately, I’ve been concentrating on the ones that will keep me close to home so I can be with my family.”
“But, you’re looking to buy a house just outside the city.” Elisa’s face was adorably confused. “Wouldn’t being close mean moving upstate?” I mentally fist bumped myself at the disappointment she wasn’t able to disguise in her deep brown eyes.
“Not my parents, my wife and kids, baby,” I informed her with a wink, my fingers tracing lazy circles on the inner skin of her forearm. Tiny goose bumps followed their path.
She looked at me oddly for a moment, then burst out laughing. My only response was a single eyebrow arched in question.
“I’m sorry,” she sputtered. “The image of football’s star manwhore settling down with a wife and kids is hilarious.” I vehemently disagreed, but showing was better than telling, and I fully intended for her to have no doubt about our future together by the end of the weekend.
“The right woman can change everything,” I said meaningfully, then changed the subject. “Your turn. Tell me more about you.”
Her cute, freckled nose scrunched and I could see her mind whirling, trying to get out of talking about herself. Eventually, she sighed, “I’m twenty-five, I have one sister, she’s twenty. My parents are gone, no other family. I have a degree in business management from Columbia and I’m a real-estate broker. There, you know everything.”