Feeling a little exposed, Penny pulled a sheet over her body.
He turned, mouth open, ready to say something, but he stopped himself. For a moment he stared, his eyes scorching her skin the way his hands and mouth had…
“What?” she asked, feeling heat rising in her cheeks. It seemed so natural to let him look at her during their frenzy in the night, but in the light of day, even the barely there red and orange beginnings of the sun rising through his windows, it was different, more personal.
He blinked and shook his head. “You feel like a run before we go to meet Dom? Unless I wore you out completely…”
Then, unbidden, a soft growl echoed up from her stomach.
Penny bit her lip. “Breakfast first?”
“As the lady wishes,” he said, his gaze raking over her again, before turning abruptly and leaving the room.
Penny slipped out from beneath the sheet and gathered her clothes. After stepping into her shorts and sliding her shirt over her head, she sat back down on the bed, trying to tame her hair into a ponytail as reality set in. She’d done exactly what she promised herself she wouldn’t do, and now what? Had she woken up to a happily ever after or another walk of shame? It felt more like limbo, like their fate was entirely in their own hands, but that the slightest misstep could shatter everything.
She wandered out of the bedroom and down the hallway toward the kitchen. A small pang fluttered through her chest when she saw his luggage against the wall. They weren’t leaving for another three days, and he didn’t strike her as the type to pack way in advance.
“You’re already packed for France?” she asked, propping herself against the archway that opened to the kitchen.
Alex was leaning against the island at the center of the room, facing away from her, flipping through a newspaper. “Nah, heading to London tomorrow to see my mum before the tournament.”
“Does Dom know?” It stung a little thatshehadn’t known, but then again, why would he have told her?
“Yeah, had it planned for a while now.”
“Oh,” she said, moving to him. Her bare feet cold against the tile floor, she stepped up behind him, wrapping her arms around his torso and pressing her cheek against his warm back.
“I would have told you,” he said, turning in her arms, “but—honestly, love—I didn’t think you’d care.”
She sighed. He was right, she wouldn’t have cared or at least she would have pretended she didn’t.
Blinking up at him, she shrugged. “It’s okay. I’ll have to recruit Jack to hit with me until we leave.”
Narrowing his eyes, he leaned in close. He was about to kiss her, but her stomach growled again.
“I believe I promised you breakfast,” he said, motioning to the counter behind him, where two tall pink smoothies were waiting. “Strawberry banana.”
Her favorite. “Did you google me?”
Smirking, he shrugged. “Maybe. Drink up,” he said, handing her a straw, “and then we run. Gotta keep our legs under us if we’re going to kick ass in France.”
They drank in a comfortable silence and when they finished, Penny took their glasses and washed them out in the sink.
“Let me grab my trainers and we’ll go.”
“No,” she said, drying her hands. She grasped his hand and led him toward the glass doors that opened to the beach. “Barefoot.”
“Barefoot in the sand?”
“Barefoot,” she confirmed as she released him and took off across the beach, sand kicking up around her legs. He caught up easily enough and they ran together, their strides matching remarkably well for two people separated by almost a foot in height.
The rhythm of their steps set a beat behind her thoughts as she ran to the end of the inlet. Past the jetty, she could see the edge of her neighborhood bathed in the early-morning light. She was just a few blocks from home, could run there if she wanted. Her parents’ faces swam in her head and for a second she entertained the idea of bringing him home with her and introducing him to her mom and dad. And just as fast, she dismissed it. She still hadn’t figured out what this was for herself yet. Bringing her parents into things would be way too much, way too fast.
Penny stopped, and it took a few strides for Alex to realize she was no longer beside him. He jogged back, his breathing harsh.
“What’s wrong?”
She didn’t know how to put it into words. How could she explain that she wanted him to be a part of her life, but she didn’t know if it was possible?
