"Are you sure you're not a gamer?"
"I've never had time to play. Martin has promised to show Calder the ropes when he's older so he isn't video game illiterate."
"Lucky for Calder. Martin constantly kicks my ass. The only game he can't beat me at is Madden."
"You weren't bullshitting me about hanging out with Martin all the time."
"When I took over Axl's place, I was in recovery mode from surgeries and had a shit ton of free time. Verily was gone a lot competing, so we ended up hanging out."
"Now it makes sense why he wasn't calling me three times a day complaining of boredom."
"You never visited him here?"
"He always had bongs sitting out, or his rolling station. I don't get the appeal, but this is-was-Martin's sanctuary. Asking him to hide all that . . . not cool. It was easier for him to come to our place."
"What did they do with all of their stuff?"
"It's in storage." I didn't tell Jensen that Martin had opted for the six-month plan with the option to renew for a year. Part of me wondered if he planned on coming back. "I just realized that I told you why I was at the Vikings corporate offices today, but you didn't tell me why you were there. Training camp doesn't start for a while."
He reset the professional distance between us. "They wanted a status update on my injury since I spent a week in Florida with the doctor's team. Everything is still inconclusive and will continue to be until training camp." He stood. "Sorry. I didn't mean to take up so much of your time."
"It's okay. I was just going over last-minute schedule updates."
"For what?"
"Collegiate cheerleading tryouts are this weekend. I'm coordinating the stunt groups, which can be a challenge if we're out of balance on the number of bases and side bases to flyers, not to mention rotating guys in for the coed squad. It's two and a half days of cheer drama."
"That long?"
"It's super competitive and intense." I launched into an explanation of the different squads and the level of experience the athletes needed to have for intercollegiate competition.
He'd paused in the doorway during my spiel. "You bring Calder along?"
"I'm too busy to watch him. My mom and dad pick him up from school Friday and take him for the weekend. I don't see him until Sunday night, which sucks, but tryouts only happen once a year."
"Do your parents live in the Cities?"
"Two and a half hours northwest in Fergus Falls. They have apple orchards, so Calder gets to ride on the tractor and run wild." When he didn't respond, I realized I'd been babbling instead of letting him leave. "Sorry."
"For what?"
"Going on and on and boring you."
His eyes darkened and his gaze dipped to my mouth. "The last thing you are, Rowan Michaels, is boring."
When he loomed over me and I caught the scent of his skin-his cologne, or shaving cream, or even his laundry detergent, whatever it was I just wanted to find the source and breathe him in.
What is wrong with you?
I stepped back. "Thanks for the gift jackass."
That blue gaze turned sharp.
Dammit. "I meant, thanks for the jackass gift."
"My pleasure. Now that we're being neighborly, remember, if you need anything, a cup of sugar, or even eggs"-he grinned-"I'm right across the hall."
"Good night, Jensen."
"Sweet dreams, Rowan."
Five
JENSEN
Early Friday afternoon after Dante had tortured me and he was in a fine mood because of it, I said, "So the cheerleading team tryouts at U of M. You have access to that this weekend?"
"You mean am I helping out? No. If you mean do I have access to the training center? The answer is yes. Why?"
"I wanted to check it out. See Rowan Michaels in action, educate myself, given I was such a tool about who she is and what she does."
Dante leveled his death stare on me. "Really. That's how you're playing this, Rocket? Taking an ‘academic'"-the asshole even made air quotes-"interest in what Rowan's job entails at the U of M?"
"Given the fact that she cheered for me my freshman and sophomore year, I think I owe it to her to see why I hadn't paid attention." That sounded plausible. Hopefully he bought my ain't-no-big-thing attitude, when in truth, Rowan interested me far more than any woman I'd met since before my injury last year.
"You owe it to her," Dante repeated. "That better not be Jensen-speak for wanting a piece of her, because I have a major problem with that."