isnât it?â
âI meant my stepdad, but coaching can be considered teaching, as well.â
She didnât include Coach when she talked about her parents. That was interesting, and he wanted to know more. He would take today to learn about her and when he got her home heâd tell her the whole truth about Stacia and the past.
Four
T he beach wasnât too crowded in the middle of the day as they walked down it. Though sheâd said she wanted to talk, she wasnât too sure now. Hunter seemed to have no barriers and she didnât really want to know the raw, broken man underneath the sexy exterior. Sheâd reacted to him on an intimate level and it would be much easier to just kiss him, take him to her bed and then show him the door.
But his pain was real to her. Observed in the quiet moments when he thought she wasnât watching him. There was a palpable drive to it, as well. The woman in her wanted to comfort him.
Sex would do that, she thought.
Lust. It truly had been a long time since sheâd met a man who just plain turned her on the way he did.
Emotions. These emotions werenât comfortable for her. Give her a nice, calm feeling of indifferenceâthat was really all she wanted.
âWhatâs the deal with you and your dad?â Hunter asked as he stopped to look out at the sea.
âIâm not sure what you mean,â she said. This was a mistake. Just go buy a football and let him throw it to her. That was what she should have done. But instead sheâd wanted to talk.
Her mom would be...understanding. Sheâd probably be able to offer some insight that Ferrin herself was missing. She wondered if heâd let her call a time-out on their day date to call her mom.
She started laughing at how ridiculous that thought was.
âYou okay?â
âNo. No, Iâm not. I suggested this to get to know you better but you turned the tables on me and suddenly I realized I donât want to let you any closer. I donât want to get to know a man who loves a sport I hate. A man who wants something from the father I barely know. A man who makes me aware of myself as a woman. I am so used to being in control of myself and my environment.â
Hunter put his hands up, shoulder-level, and cocked his head to the side. âI wanted to play football. Itâs quick and physical and neither of us would have to do much thinking while we were playing.â
âExcept I would. I canât catch.â
âI think you can.â
âPast history would say otherwise,â she said, knowing she was letting him lead her away from the fact that sheâd just sort of laid her soul bare and heâd scooted around it.
She had to remember that. The fact that he had ignored the emotion sheâd shown him and ducked behind football. He was an expert at blocking.
âItâs all in your head,â he said. âJust start thinking âIâm an expert receiver.ââ
She looked at him. As if she cared if she could catch a football. Well, okay, she did. It was the one thing that was a concrete reminder to her and her father that she wasnât the child he wanted or thought he deserved.
âIâll try,â she said.
âListen, I donât think we can do the big, serious talk thing. Itâs just not my style and it makes me really uncomfortable. Want to try surfing?â
âSurfing?â
âYeah, we could grab some wet suits and boards,â he suggested. âI bet Iâll spill my guts when we are out there.â
Doubtful. âCounteroffer.â
âIâm listening.â
âWe rent paddleboards instead. Didnât you say that was one of our options earlier? I know a great cove just over there,â she said, gesturing to it. âAnd as a bonus I can actually do it without wiping out.â
âAccepted. Where do we rent the boards?â he asked.
She led him to the shop that
Louis - Hopalong 0 L'amour