“Hey, Rainbow.” His deep voice is raspier than normal from his workout. “How was Cowgirl Coffee?”
I step forward, wrapping my arms around him while he’s still seated on the bench, facing the mirror in front of us. My hands roam over his warm, toned chest and I lean down to press a kiss to the top of his head.
He lets out a deep contented hum and looks back up to me. The view of him looking up at me with those glacial water blue eyes always makes my heart flutter.
“It was fine until I ran into Tanner and V.” I splay my handacross his chest and he reaches up, holding onto my wrist when I let out a long sigh. “Tanner’s still being an ass, but Veronica is working on him. I just wanted to get a run in and blow off some steam.”
He brings each of my hands to his mouth and drags his lips across them. “I’m sorry. I can try talking to him again.”
I shake my head. “No, it’s fine. And stop apologizing. I told you, it’s not your fault.”
He huffs a laugh and I see the look of understanding in his eyes. “Well, just tell me if there’s something I can do.”
I nod and that warmth in my heart threatens to overtake me completely. I know that if I asked him to do anything, he would. I also know that if I tell him to let me figure something out on my own, he will. That’s how I know that I’ve completely fallen for him, because he’s the man I thought he was.
With each mileI tick off on the treadmill, the last little bits of frustration and irritation with my brother fade away. Instead, I focus on everything I have to look forward to. It’s Saturday and Tommy and I will probably go sit at the chef’s counter at Gloria’s for dinner. I was skeptical at first, but he was right. Badgering Sutton at the restaurant is fun. Tomorrow, we plan on going out to ski and, in a couple weeks, I’ll get to go meet up with Josie and some of our other friends in Lake Tahoe for our ski trip.
With each stride, my feet pound against the treadmill and my ponytail bounces against my shoulders. It’s what’s in the corner of my eye that has my skin heated though. Every time I peek across the room, I’m met with Tommy’s eyes on me.
“Hey there,” I say between breaths while he takes a break between sets of curls. His eyes fly up just a bit to meet mine and Isee red creep across his cheeks, like I just caught him doing something he shouldn’t.
I look down at my chest where he was looking and let out a short laugh when I see my hardened nipples and tiny barbells showing through the fabric of my sports bra. I always take the annoying pads out because they just get lost in the wash or bunch up anyway, but the way he’s looking at me is more than a perk. It makes me glad I didn’t have the patience for those stupid pads.
I slow down the pace of the treadmill and smirk back at him, flicking my eyebrows. “You’re really obsessed with these, aren't you?”
He grabs his aluminum water bottle and takes a drink. I watch how his tongue darts over his lips to clean off a stray drop. His gaze sharpens into the intense one that makes my core clench.
“You’ll have to be more specific because I’m obsessed with everything about you,” he rasps, matter-of-factly.
I press stop on the treadmill and hop off, grabbing my towel before walking over to where he’s sitting in the squat rack. I stop right at the edge of the flat workout bench, standing in front of him. In the floor to ceiling mirror, I can see his well-toned back muscles glistening with sweat. I drape my arms around his neck and step into him, my bare knees rubbing against gray sweats that hug his thighs perfectly. He takes his earbuds out and tucks them in his pocket before running his fingertips up the back of my thighs to the hem of my shorts, just under the curve of my ass. If he moved his fingers just a few inches higher, he’d find my spandex shorts already damp.
He turns his face and leans his head against my chest and I feel his breath against my sweat slicked skin, sending goosebumps across my body.
Looking back in the mirror, I can see the closeness of ourembrace. It’s impossible to miss the peace in both of our expressions.
“How’d I get so lucky to find you?” I lift a hand to the nape of his neck, ruffling his shaggy hair.
He lifts his head and looks up at me with a confused look. “How’d you get so lucky? I’m the one that has to pinch myself every day to remind myself I’m not dreaming, Rainbow.”
I roll my eyes and ruffle his hair again. “Don’t be so dramatic.”
He leans forward, pressing another kiss to the bare skin between my breast, just above my sports bra, sending another wave of goosebumps across my skin. I whimper at the touch and he looks back up at me.
The look in his eyes nearly stops my breath. Gone is the confusion, replaced by a vulnerable openness I can’t put into words.
“If there’s one thing I am in life, it’s lucky. I’m lucky I ended up with good foster parents and met Jake. I’m lucky I met my bandmates in high school that gave me all of this. I’m lucky I bought places in Seattle when I did.” He swallows hard and I feel his grip on my thighs tighten.
“I’m lucky I met your brothers. I’m lucky my trip to Seattle got canceled and I stayed in Bend that week because that’s how I met you. Most of all, I’m lucky because you let me be in your life.”
That look in his eyes hardens, crystalizing into something I can put into words. One word, to be exact.
Love.
I see it laid bare before me. I don’t know if either of us are ready to say it, but I know we both feel it.
He takes a deep breath and continues, “You asked me once if I would do anything different, if I would give itall up. The answer is no, I wouldn’t change a thing because all of that brought me — brought us — to right here.”
I reach for his cheek, rubbing the backs of my fingers across his stubble, looking into the depths of those blue pools that just stole my heart. “I can think of something else you are.” I lean down and slant my lips to his, pulling away just long enough to say one syllable, one word.
