Page 42 of Off the Clock

I chuckled. “Gotta keep the opponents happy enough to open their wallets after the game.”

“For sure.” Tony reached a hand toward my shoulder, only to abruptly drop it. “Fuck. I hate this.”

“The sneaking around is pretty awful.” I tried not to sound too whiny. It was what it was, and it wasn’t his fault I was starting to chafe at the rules I’d helped create.

“Trying to be discreet sucks, especially when all I want to do is touch you.” Tony gave me a sad, crooked smile that hit me square in the gut. He’d said over and over that he wasn’t into relationships, but I wasn’t sure I bought that. He deserved something open where he could casually touch his partner, dance, and be a couple publicly. As long as we were coworkers, that wasn’t going to be us, and that was what truly sucked.

However, I didn’t want to spend the night lamenting what we couldn’t have. I forced myself to give him a quick, heated look and flirty smile. “Hey, discretion has its perks too. We’ve got a naughty secret to look forward to later.”

“Yup.” Tony glanced away as Angel walked toward us.

“Tony, come dance.” She grabbed his hand and looked over her shoulder at me. “You too, Caleb. This is a fun song.”

And so, I, with my two left feet, ended up shuffling and swaying near but not with Tony and Angel. Tony, naturally, was an amazing dancer who seemed to take pleasure in something I often found excruciating. Yet, I’d happily try for him, and lord, how I wanted the chance to slow dance with him. Our gazes met across the dancefloor, and his eyes echoed that same wish.

“Later,” he mouthed at me. That would have to be enough, our personal after-party for two.

Chapter Twenty

Tony

“Alone at last.” I released a happy sigh as Caleb ushered me into his house, which was blessedly quiet after the chaos of the day. He had flipped on some low lighting in the living area, giving the space a warm and homey glow. “I’ve been counting down to this all day.”

“Me too.” Caleb’s grin was wide as usual, but his eyes were more solemn as they’d been at the fundraiser. The secrecy was beginning to wear on us both, but I didn’t see an easy way out, and I sure didn’t want to give this up yet.

“Come here,” I demanded, setting my backpack near the door.

“What’s with the bag?” he asked as he followed my order, crossing the room to loop his arms around my neck.

“You said you wanted me to spend the night.” My cheeks heated. Maybe I’d broken some unsaid rule of casual hookups. “Figured I might want clean clothes to avoid the walk of shame back to Eric’s place. Trust me that the teens, especially Wren, would notice I was wearing the same shirt.”

“Smart call.” Caleb smiled up at me, eyes back to their usual sparkling blue. “And you are most definitely staying all night.”

“Good.” I pulled him in for the long, slow kiss I’d been hungry for all damn day. As always, Caleb met me kiss for kiss, eager and giving, welcoming me every bit as much as his cozy home. Breaking the kiss, I blew out a breath, resting my forehead against his head. It felt like my first true exhale the whole day, like now that we were here, I could finally relax.

And oh God, thinking of Caleb as a place to escape to was dangerous as hell. Seeking safety in another person was bound to lead to disappointment, as was cultivating a need for him.

Releasing him, I walked over to his crowded bookshelves as I tried to quiet my brain.

“Now what are you doing?” Tilting his head, Caleb narrowed his eyes at me.

“We have all night.” I managed to banish the rising anxiety from my voice as I studied his books. “I want to see which of your books I’ve read.”

“You read sci-fi?” Caleb sounded suspicious.

“Yeah, I listen to audiobooks mainly while working out or traveling, plenty of sci-fi along with several other genres.”

“A lot of my stuff is queer sci-fi.” Caleb quirked his mouth as if I might have a problem with it. “But there’s some mainstream titles too.”

“Neat. Loan me your favorite queer title?”

“You wanting to start a book club?” He studied me closely.

“Maybe.” I liked the vision of us trading books and discussing them sprawled on his couch or bed. “And you introduced me to queer sex. Might as well get me hooked on a new genre of books as well.”

“So now you’re hooked on queer sex?” Caleb made a sour face like I was already auditioning replacements.

“I’m hooked on you.” I pulled him close to me again and kissed his temple. “It’s entirely possible you’ve ruined me for all others.”