“Ah, a note in invisible ink. My favorite kind.” I arch my eyebrows.
He shifts uncomfortably, placing the pad back down.
The tension goes on a beat too long. Rob steps inside before Alexander waves him away.
“Okay, I’m not jumping to any conclusions here,” I say—I totally am—“but I’m guessing you’re not here to write me a note.” I sit down on the bed across from him and stop for a second, taking in how handsome he looks.
In the space of twenty-four hours, I’ve seen him in casual attire and practically naked in the gym. But this casual getup of a black button-down shirt over a white T-shirt, dark-blue denim jeans, and white vans might be just my favorite look yet.
“I was walking back to my room and saw the door open and wondered if you were in…” His blue eyes glance my way, but he doesn’t make eye contact.
“Mm-hmm,” I say, placing my hands on either side of the bed, leaning slightly back. I suddenly discover another new pleasure in seeing the discomfort rise on his face.
He takes a couple of steps back to rest his bum against the table, almost tripping on the laptop charger as he goes.
“And I wanted to explain about the changing room earlier.”
“Right,” I say, pushing myself upright. I’m not gonna makethis easy for him. Especially after he left me high and dry. Well, high and wet.
“Rob called out one of my pseudonyms and I left in a hurry.” His eyes dart to Rob, waving him away again when he steps inside again at the sound of his name.
“Pseudonym?” I ask out loud.
“Yeah, Bruce,” he says, his voice lowering.
Ah, so that’s what the random name was.
“Oh, I had you down as more of a Casper myself.” I laugh at my own joke.
“Fair.” A smirk appears across his face as he twists his watch around his wrist.
“Boss, we really need to go,” Rob says, walking in.
Wait that’s it? That’s all I get?
“I better go,” he says, nodding at Rob and lifting himself away from the table.
“In case you’re worried, I’m not going to press charges,” I tell him, getting up from the bed and gesturing toward the door.
“Press charges for what?” he asks, looking sideways at me.
“Breaking and entering? Trespassing?”
An awkward silence ensues as he walks to the door, then I finally break into a smile.
“Oh, you’re joking.” His shoulders slump as a smile appears across his face.
I pause for a beat. That smile had me hooked, line and sinker, from the moment I first saw it.
“Well, this time at least,” I say, shutting the door on him once more.
God, this really is becoming a bad habit.
Banging on the door startles me awake, and I realize I must’ve fallen asleep. I grab my phone and glance at the screen, noticing 7:22 on the clock and numerous missed calls from Stephen.
“Sleeping Beauty finally emerges from her coma, I see,” Stephen says. He rolls his eyes as he barges past me and into the room, plastic bag in hand. He throws himself down on one of the armchairs, flinging my gym gear off onto the floor.
“Sorry, must be the jetlag,” I answer, shutting the door and walking over to the armchair next to him.
