A soft hand landed on my forearm. "In all seriousness. This is a no-judgment zone. Talk to me."
"Where do I even start?"
"With the hardest thing first."
I blurted out, "I hardly ever think about sex. I haven't since before Calder was born. I spent the first year of his life exhausted. I spent the second year trying to find my balance between being a mother and a trainer and all the cheer stuff. The last time I had sex was three years ago at my friend Marissa's wedding and it was so hurried I don't think it counts." My face flamed from the rapid-fire admissions and I couldn't even look Daisy in the eye. "I haven't been on a date since Rand."
"Rand was a freakin' tool," Daisy retorted.
"It still stung that he never called me again."
"But it's not like guys aren't hitting on you all the time, Rowan. Why do you always say no when you get asked out?"
I met her gaze. "Because I haven't met any man that I've wanted to say yes to."
"Until Jensen."
"Until him."
"Why him?"
"Don't you think I've asked myself that a hundred times? Yes, he's so good-looking it borders on obscene. Yes, he's worked his butt off for that jaw-dropping physique. Yes, he's got more charms than a jewelry store. Yes, he's cocky. He's the very last type of man I should be fantasizing about locking in my bedroom for days." I tilted my face away from her probing gaze. "I've never experienced such an overwhelming physical reaction to a guy. He gets close to me and all I want to do is climb him like a tree. So instead of sex being the last thing on my mind? I'm thinking about sex all the damn time." I paused. "Even that's not the whole truth. I was thinking about saying ‘screw it' to the no-fraternization rules and begging him to screw my brains out before he brought up the IR list exemption."
Silence.
I glanced up.
Daisy's mouth hung open. Not only because I'd honestly voiced my inner turmoil, but her gaze winged between me and whoever stood behind me.
A shadow fell over me as Daisy's crush stepped up to the table.
Floor, please open up an escape portal for me right freakin' now.
"Sorry to eavesdrop, ladies, but I needed to grab Daisy's attention." He crouched down in his fancy-ass suit and kept his focus fully on my flustered friend. "You and I are having dinner at Ike's immediately after you set your lovely, but conflicted friend, on the right path."
"You'll wait for me? Even if this conversation takes another two hours?" she said skeptically.
"I'll wait. But let's see if I can't speed things up." Mr. Crushworthy-in-a-Suit smiled at me. "I overheard more than I should have. You don't know me, but I am a man who knows exactly what I'd want from a woman who has an intense physical attraction to me." His gaze didn't waver from Daisy's when he said, "She should act on it. Trust me: A man likes it when a woman takes it to the next level." He pushed to his feet and walked away.
Daisy's eyes tracked his every movement and she allowed a cocky grin before refocusing on me. "See? Even Markus agrees you should take that leap of faith."
"Omigod, that's Markus?"
"Yep. He's a hottie, isn't he? He's a guy, take his advice."
"I'll bet Markus would tell me to bang my TA if he thought it'd convince you to bang him."
"I'm a sure thing for him tonight, so I am not letting you deflect this convo back to me." Daisy leaned in. "It's about damn time you found a man who trips your trigger. I hate that you've equated selfless with sexless. It's always made me sad that you put your physical needs at the bottom of your ‘life priority' list. Just once I'd love to see you flip that list on its head and do something out of the norm, maybe a little out of control, maybe even something with the potential for regret." She pointed at me. "Don't give in to the panic like it's third and long. Go for it like it's a guaranteed first down."
I rolled my eyes. "As long as we're using football euphemisms, the truth is I'm afraid I'll fumble in the end zone. God knows Jensen doesn't have that issue, since he's used to scoring."
Daisy laughed. "You'll be fine, Ro. Very greedy, I suspect, when you're faced with him completely out of that uniform. So my advice? Make certain when you blow the whistle and it's game on, that you've allowed yourself enough time to get to the goal and you're not rushing the play."
I snickered.
"You are one sexy mother-literally. You deserve to score with one of the finest men to ever grace the gridiron."