“Wow, you’re really interested in my life. Are you miffed I didn’t invite you to breakfast?”
Her eyes rolled. “I’ve been up since seven, Helen. Actually, that was the second time I woke up. The first time was to the sounds of what I assumed was either you being murdered or taken to pound town. I see it was the latter.”
My eyes boggled in my head. “You thought I was being murdered, and you didn’t check on me?”
Her nose scrunched. “Clearly you weren’t being murdered because there you stand, but honestly, I didn’t want to chance it. If I’d seen that horror show, I’d need to bleach both my brain and my eyeballs, and I just don’t have time for that.”
I had nothing to say to that. Except if Theo came calling again, I’d be sure to throw a pillow over my face. The idea of Elena hearing what went down between us gave me the heebie-jeebies.
“Hey.” Theo came up behind me and slid his arm around my middle. His hand splayed on my stomach like he owned me, and I liked it. It wasn’t real, but I liked it. “Ready?”
I twisted my head to peer up at him. “Yes. Let’s go.”
The rustle of the newspaper attracted both our attention. “I know you,” Elena drawled. “Theo, right? You’re Abby’s.”
Theo stiffened behind me and pulled me even tighter against him. “Right and wrong. I am Theo, but I’m not Abby’s.”
Elena’s wicked mouth curled into a smirk, and she waved the facts Theo gave her away like a pesky fly. “Oh, I guess my info is outdated. This meeting would be crazy awkward if you were still with Abby, especially since I know what it sounds like when you’re coming.”
I had to laugh, because what the fuck? “You did not just say that.”
Theo’s chuckle vibrated my back. “She did. Jesus, am I that loud?”
Elena nodded with wide eyes. “Honestly, it was like you were in competition with each other. I had to hold my teddy bear, I was so frightened.”
I snorted again. This girl was out of her mind. “Okay, now I’m totally weirded out.”
“Holy fuck,” Theo mumbled against my hair.
With that, I grabbed his hand and tugged him out of the room. He laughed the entire way to the dining hall, repeating the line about Elena’s teddy bear and cracking himself up again.
Thankfully, he’d settled by the time we were seated with plates of pancakes and bacon. Theo had unapologetically mooched off my dining plan, but it was cool. I wasn’t rich, but my dining plan was rolling in it.
I tipped my chin to Theo’s rapidly emptying plate. “There’s more where that came from.”
“Oh yeah?” He grinned. “You’re saying you want to buy me dinner sometime?”
“If that dinner happens in this swanky as hell dining hall, then yep. My dining plan is the deluxe, baby.”
He waggled his brows at me. “You’re gonna be my sugar mama?”
“I’ll buy you mozzarella sticks for services rendered.”
Theo’s grin slowly faded, but he didn’t take his eyes off me. Then he reached for my hand, taking it in his. “This is good, right? I want to keep doing this, but I can’t make any kind of promises.”
I swallowed, fighting the urge to take my hand back. “Which part is good? The free breakfast or the fucking?”
He didn’t even flinch. “Both, Tiger. I can pay for breakfast, but I like sharing it with you because you make me laugh and you’re incredibly gorgeous to look at. The fucking...if you want that to happen again, I’m all in. Told you this morning that was the best I’ve ever had.”
Sliding my hand away from his, I propped my chin on it. “So, you want to fuck me, share a couple meals with me, but not be responsible for my feelings? Or is that not it? You could tell me what you don’t want with me. That might make it easier.”
Sighing, he swiped his hand over his mouth. “I don’t want to be a jackass to you.”
“Got it. That’s an admirable goal.”
“Helen...I like you, but I was just with a girl for two years and I haven’t been with anyone else since. I’m not looking for something serious. That’s not where my head is right now.” He steepled his hands under his chin, pausing like he was waiting for me to speak. I wasn’t letting him off that easy. Not until he told me what I’d asked.
“I guess, yeah, I don’t want to be responsible for your feelings, even though I will always go out of my way to make sure I don’t screw you over. I don’t want complicated. The other thing I’m dealing with, beyond Abby and all that shit, is my father and his severe disappointment in me for quitting wrestling and losing Abby. The thought of introducing him to someone new and all that comes with it—” He shook his head hard. “No, I’m not there right now. If you need me to say what I don’t want, it’s this: a relationship with a future. Expectations to take certain steps. Promises.”
His words hit me harder than I thought they would, and that was no good. I wasn’t having feelings for this rich boy with twinkly eyes. No matter how hard he made me come, or how sweet he had been to my sister. He didn’t get to draw a line between us, because I’d drawn it before I’d ever met him, and no man, no matter how lovely his voice was, got beyond it.
Theo needed to understand who I was. He clearly had some fantasy of Helen Ortega being the marrying kind. Nope. Not gonna happen.
“I’ve never had a boyfriend, Theo. I’ve never wanted one, and I’m not looking for one. The sex was good, great even, but I don’t want to meet your dad. I don’t want to love you or for you to fall in love with me. My future involves me and Luciana getting out of this town. A man is not part of that. Maybe in a decade or two, but definitely not right now.”
His nostrils flared, and the hinge of his jaw worked as he gritted his teeth. Call me crazy, but I didn’t think Theo Whitlock seemed too pleased about me telling him I didn’t want him for more than his dick, even though he’d just told me basically the same.
“No boyfriend? And you’ve never had sex sober? Why hasn’t anyone treated you right?” He sounded like he was asking the universe instead of me, but I had an answer.
“I just told you I’ve never wanted a boyfriend. My best friends growing up were guys. They protected me from the big bads when I couldn’t fight my own battles. They skated with me, learned tricks with me, laughed at our wounds while we wrapped them up. My boys would drive me places when we got older, or fix shit in my house that absolutely needed to be fixed. And sometimes, when we partied, we fooled around. I got everything I needed and nothing I didn’t want.”
Theo reached forward, grabbed my chair, and jerked it so I was right beside him. Then he took my jaw in his hand. “Where are these boys now? Because I seem to be the only fucking one taking care of you, baby.”