“You already on your way to Tilden?” he asks.
In my peripheral view, I spot Luce making her way down the stairs. She’s dressed casually in a scoop-neck shirt and short pleated skirt that shows off her legs. Damn, they look tasty. My teeth ache with the need to nibble on them. And the rest of her body.
She waves good morning, and I nod oh so casually, then clear the sudden knot in my throat so I can answer Grant. “Not yet. Why?”
Need some privacy?she mouths.
I shake my head.
“I can’t go,” he says.
“Why not? Did you break something?” Grant’s ultra-competitive, and would never back away from a match.
“Aspen’s on her period.”
I sense Luce moving around in the kitchen, brushing past my back to reach the espresso machine. Heat starts to sizzle, the charge in the air crackling. I focus on the conversation. “And…?”
“She wants me to rub her lower back.”
“Jesus. Can’t she do that herself?”
Luce chokes on her coffee, then starts coughing quietly. Without thinking, I reach over and gently slap her back.
“That isn’t how it works.” Grant’s tone says,I’m shocked you aren’t a virgin, given your ignorance.
“Who am I going to play with, then?”
“Emmett? Huxley?”
“They’re busy today.”
“Noah might be free.”
“No. The only time we played together, he pulled a hamstring trying to return my first serve. And that wasn’t the lowest point of our time there, either, because it got worse. Much, much worse.”
Grant makes a vaguely thoughtful sound. “Yeah, he’s pretty awful. I don’t know what to say. Aspen needs me.”
“I can play with you,” Luce says.
“Who’s that?” Grant says, at the same time I say, “No.”
“Hi. I’m Lucie. Or Luce.” She smiles. Not sure why she bothers. Grant can’t see it.
“Hi, Lucie. I’m Grant. Nice to meet you. And yes, if you can take my place, that’d be great.”
“I don’t play with women,” I say.
“Don’t be sexist,” Grant says, then hangs up.
I grit my teeth.Pussy-whipped asshole!
“I’m really not that bad,” Luce says, sipping her coffee.
“I’m sure you aren’t.” At least she has some cardiovascular fitness, and she’s flexible, so she won’t pull something as soon as we start. But I look at her pretty face and recall the softness of her palms. Does she even know how to hold a racket properly? “But I’m actuallygood, and I want to go all out. Won’t be able to do that with you.”
“Oh, you can go all out with me,” she says, giving me a look over the rim of her coffee mug. “Or is there some other reason you don’t want to play with me?”
“It’s not you. It’s almost everyone. Only three of my brothers can keep up with me, and I’d never ask the other three.”
