might perpetrate in his life?
It wasn’t rational, but he wasn’t in a thinking place right then. So he pulled on his pants one-handed. It was hard, which only made him more pissed off.
Meanwhile, Tori shifted to her knees, completely unconscious about her nudity. He didn’t want to look, but even his angry brain couldn’t resist the sight of the dawn light softening as it stroked her breasts with pale color.
“You’re really upset,” she said softly. Her head tilted to one side and her blond hair slipped down to curtain her shoulder. God, she was beautiful. And in that moment, a choice crystallized before him as stark and clear as if God had put two things in front of him and said, “Pick one.”
On the one hand, he had Tori. She was smart, funny, infinitely interesting and hot enough to boil his brain to mush.
On the other hand, he had his career. The demands of pro basketball were increasing and his body required more maintenance. It was a losing game. He was aging. Injuries came more quickly and healing took longer. There were always younger, faster, stronger men ready to step into his place. Which meant stuff that he could ignore ten years ago were now big deals. And Tori was the biggest deal of all.
He could lose a lot of hours with her. He could take risks with his shoulder, shave off training time, and even blow off a practice or two just to be with her. Hell, he already had in some ways. It’s not like roofing her house was on his list of recommended activities.
Which meant even a summer fling idea was toast. He couldn’t do it and rehab his shoulder.
So there it was: Tori or basketball?
“I’m sorry, Tori. I’ve got to go.”
She nodded, accepting it with calm. “Okay. Want to come over tonight? We still have lots of beer to try.”
He shook his head as he grabbed his shirt off the floor. “Thanks, but no. When I said I have to go, I…”
His voice trailed away because she’d stood up from the bed. Her breasts bounced and her sweet ass was within reach as she grabbed a tee and shrugged it on. He wasted precious moments watching everything jiggle. His morning wood was becoming more insistent, but he just stood there watching. And when she bent over to pull on panties, he broke out in a sweat.
What he wouldn’t give to step up behind her right then and thrust straight into heaven.
Answer: he wouldn’t give up his career.
It seemed like such a small thing. Sex with a hot girl for the summer. But athletics was a game of inches; a pro career was the sum of every single moment spent in training. Or not spent. And he couldn’t afford to let things slide. Even for a summer.
So he backed away from her.
One step, then two while she shimmied into her shorts.
He should have run because a moment later she turned around and smiled at him. The expression was sweet and open. He saw no ulterior motive in her look, no greed or lust or anything. Just a hello and I like you.
He liked her right back.
“I can’t,” he ground out, talking more to his own brain than hers.
“Okay. Not tonight. Tomorrow’s good—”
“It’s not good,” he said, his voice thick, his anxiety ratcheting up another degree. His shoulder pain had eased with the return of blood flow, but the pain throbbed in his mind like a drumbeat. It spelled doom over and over until he used it to strengthen his resolve.
“No, Tori,” he said as he finally straightened up to his full height before her. He wasn’t facing her down; he was squaring off with the steady hammer of fear in his brain. “I’m not doing this. I won’t. I have to focus on my career right now.”
“Of course—”
“Good-bye.” Then he turned and walked away. A steady march. One foot, the other foot. Keep moving. This was his life. He wasn’t going to give it up for a piece of ass. No matter how smart, sexy, or fun she was.
...
Tori watched Mike walk away, his body stiff, his hard tones still ringing in her ears. She wasn’t a good judge of
It wasn’t rational, but he wasn’t in a thinking place right then. So he pulled on his pants one-handed. It was hard, which only made him more pissed off.
Meanwhile, Tori shifted to her knees, completely unconscious about her nudity. He didn’t want to look, but even his angry brain couldn’t resist the sight of the dawn light softening as it stroked her breasts with pale color.
“You’re really upset,” she said softly. Her head tilted to one side and her blond hair slipped down to curtain her shoulder. God, she was beautiful. And in that moment, a choice crystallized before him as stark and clear as if God had put two things in front of him and said, “Pick one.”
On the one hand, he had Tori. She was smart, funny, infinitely interesting and hot enough to boil his brain to mush.
On the other hand, he had his career. The demands of pro basketball were increasing and his body required more maintenance. It was a losing game. He was aging. Injuries came more quickly and healing took longer. There were always younger, faster, stronger men ready to step into his place. Which meant stuff that he could ignore ten years ago were now big deals. And Tori was the biggest deal of all.
He could lose a lot of hours with her. He could take risks with his shoulder, shave off training time, and even blow off a practice or two just to be with her. Hell, he already had in some ways. It’s not like roofing her house was on his list of recommended activities.
Which meant even a summer fling idea was toast. He couldn’t do it and rehab his shoulder.
So there it was: Tori or basketball?
“I’m sorry, Tori. I’ve got to go.”
She nodded, accepting it with calm. “Okay. Want to come over tonight? We still have lots of beer to try.”
He shook his head as he grabbed his shirt off the floor. “Thanks, but no. When I said I have to go, I…”
His voice trailed away because she’d stood up from the bed. Her breasts bounced and her sweet ass was within reach as she grabbed a tee and shrugged it on. He wasted precious moments watching everything jiggle. His morning wood was becoming more insistent, but he just stood there watching. And when she bent over to pull on panties, he broke out in a sweat.
What he wouldn’t give to step up behind her right then and thrust straight into heaven.
Answer: he wouldn’t give up his career.
It seemed like such a small thing. Sex with a hot girl for the summer. But athletics was a game of inches; a pro career was the sum of every single moment spent in training. Or not spent. And he couldn’t afford to let things slide. Even for a summer.
So he backed away from her.
One step, then two while she shimmied into her shorts.
He should have run because a moment later she turned around and smiled at him. The expression was sweet and open. He saw no ulterior motive in her look, no greed or lust or anything. Just a hello and I like you.
He liked her right back.
“I can’t,” he ground out, talking more to his own brain than hers.
“Okay. Not tonight. Tomorrow’s good—”
“It’s not good,” he said, his voice thick, his anxiety ratcheting up another degree. His shoulder pain had eased with the return of blood flow, but the pain throbbed in his mind like a drumbeat. It spelled doom over and over until he used it to strengthen his resolve.
“No, Tori,” he said as he finally straightened up to his full height before her. He wasn’t facing her down; he was squaring off with the steady hammer of fear in his brain. “I’m not doing this. I won’t. I have to focus on my career right now.”
“Of course—”
“Good-bye.” Then he turned and walked away. A steady march. One foot, the other foot. Keep moving. This was his life. He wasn’t going to give it up for a piece of ass. No matter how smart, sexy, or fun she was.
...
Tori watched Mike walk away, his body stiff, his hard tones still ringing in her ears. She wasn’t a good judge of
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