Maybe there was a reason he wasn’t here though. It wasn’t like he owed me anything. As Lilly and I played a game of beer pong and the drinks flowed, my worries went away. I didn’t care if Michael was here or not to have fun.
Psh. I didn’t need him.
I had my girls and friends, andshit!I tried gripping the edge of the beer pong table to catch my balance, but I missed and fell onto the ground. My ass stung from the contact, and a very large person appeared in front of my face.
“Typical Fletcher,” the voice said, the deep timbre causing a waterfall of excitement through me.
“Michael,” I said, looking up and smiling at him. The lights reflected off his face and eyes, and god, he was handsome. I became limp when he pulled me up and ran his hands over my arms, like he was dusting me off.
“You showed up.”
“Yeah, sorry if I was late. My damn sister was an hour late to our Facetime call.” He smiled and looked around the unit. “This is sick.”
“I’m happy you’re here,” I said, ignoring how soft my voice went and how my mood improved by a thousand percent. My calculations were correct. One thousand percent increase.
“Me too,” he said, laugh lines appearing around his eyes. He pointed his thumb toward the Clark Kent look-a-like. “Freddie, this is Naomi.”
“Ah, yes. The girl from the trivia bar who has a sister.”
“Hi, Freddie,” I said, not really paying attention to him. Michael scooted closer to me and put his hand on my lower back, making my senses go haywire. His fingers slightly dug into me, and his touch was so warm. Strong fingers, thick. How would they feelinsideme?
I gulped at howdirtymy thoughts went from just a simple touch.
“What’s a guy gotta do to get a drink?” Michael asked, his breath tickling my ear, and I shivered.
“Uh, Freddie, would you fill in for me?” I pointed to Lilly who watched with a small smirk. “I can go make you both a drink.”
“Sure.” Freddie shrugged and stood next to Lilly at the table. He towered over her the same way Michael did with me, and my friend eyed him up and down.
Watch out, Freddie. If Lilly wants you, she’ll do what it takes.I giggled as I headed down the stairs to our place.
“That was a cute sound, Fletcher. Why the laughter?”
“My roommate. Your roommate. I hope Freddie can take care of himself.” I opened our door and tossed the keys onto the counter with a clink. Michael followed, and when the door clicked shut, I was suddenly very aware that it was just the two of us.
In my apartment.
Alone.
I took a steadying breath and kept my back to him as I walked toward the kitchen. He gently grabbed my hand and spun me around. “I want to see what 90s Naomi would look like.”
My hand tingled from his touch, and goosebumps broke out head to toe as he took his time checking me out. A slow smile formed on his gorgeous mouth, and he nodded. “Yup, I dig it.”
An awkward sound came from my throat. Not a laugh or a cough. Like a snort and he raised his brows.
“Uh, sorry. You look 90s-ish too.”
“I already had this windbreaker for reasons I’m not exactly sure of,” he said, laughing and rocking back on his heels. His matching blue track pants made a swish sound when he walked, and he reminded me of an elementary school gym teacher.
He was so at ease right now, it wasn’t fair. Was his heart racing and were his palms sweating at just thinking about the two of us alone? God, I wanted to rip that windbreaker off his broad shoulders. I wanted to feel his hard chest and examine every one of the tattoos on his arm.
Shit. He asked me something, and I wasn’t paying attention. “Hm, what now?”
“Are you okay?” He frowned, and those dark brows came together. “You seem a bit...distracted?”
“Oh.” I was. Very distracted.
Distracted by my attraction to him, how upset I ‘d been when he wasn’t there, and how elated I’d become when he showed up. Constantly thinking about how he’d kiss. Then Mona’s warnings slammed in. The whole hockey issue. There was a lot going on in my mind. I needed to keep busy and do something with my hands before I touched him. “Vodka? Rum? Warm beer? What would you like to drink?”
