Pushing my body and making my muscles work hard distracted my thoughts. I focused on breathing. On each step forward. My lungs pumping to get oxygen.
It felt freeing. The music blasted in my ears, and I matched my stride to the rhythm for twenty minutes. My emotions were still everywhere, my anxiety lingering past its welcome.
“Hey!” a voice shouted at me, and I stopped mid-stride, my stomach doing a swoop thing that it had no business doing. Naomi sat on the quad with short black shorts, a bright blue tank top, and a navy hat. She sat criss-cross with some books spread around her, and goddamn, the sun hit her face just right.
She was so pretty, and she smiled up at me with a slight pink tinge spreading over her cheeks and down her neck.
“Hey,” I said back, removing my headphones. My chest heaved, and Naomi dropped her gaze to my pecs. Her teeth covered her bottom lip, and she took her sweet time dragging her gaze back up to my face. “Eyes up here, Fletcher.”
“Mm,” she said with a coy smile. “You’re all sweaty.”
“Yes, that happens when you run.” I placed my hands on my hips and tried to catch my breath, not at all focusing on how tight her tank top was. How it hugged her perfect tits and made me replay the other day in my mind. For the millionth time.
“I’ve been thinking about you,” she said, causing all the blood rush down my body. I had to be careful, or it’d be uncomfortable with a boner in my running shorts.
“Uh, yeah, me too,” I said, losing my confidence and sounding like a teenage boy crushing on the homecoming queen. I wasn’t awkward. I was charming. “Is there anything in particular you’re thinking about, or did my naked chest distract you?”
“Oh, it distracted me for sure.” She laughed, and it came out all throaty. Not a helpful sound to hear. She changed her position so she leaned back onto her arms, thrusting her chest out in the air, and I let my gaze linger on her tits and the little sliver of stomach that teased me.
“You look hungry.”
“I am.” Shit, I almost growled at her and cleared my throat. Safe. I needed a safe topic that took us away from the fact we still hadn’t talked about our potentialarrangement.I should choose an easy topic. A better one to settle down the almost out of control lust I had for her.
Rubbing the back of my neck, I looked at the sky as I asked, “How did your dinner with your dad go?”
She let out a little sigh that took root in my gut. Then, she pushed her hair out of her eyes, and I swore the brown dulled. She chewed on the side of her lip and focused on something in the distance. “He cancelled on meafterI started walking there.”
“No fucking way.” I scratched my chest as irritation at Coach Simpson flared inside me. “Why? Was there an emergency?”
She shrugged her slender shoulders and held her hand over her eyes to shield herself from the sun. It cast a shadow over her. “No idea. I asked if everything was okay, and he saidrain check.”
“Maybe it was serious,” I said, really needing her dad to not be an asshole.
“Who knows? Him and Cami got lunch yesterday so…” She shrugged again, and I made a fist at my sides. “It’s hard when he does thisanddoesn’t respond to my email with another profile. I’m not trying to lay all my shit on you, but sometimes… what’s the point?”
“I’m sorry.” I meant it too. She met my eyes for a beat, a comfortable silence passing between us where I wasn’t sure what to say. I knew she’d been excited about that dinner with her dad badly, and for him to pull this shit? I couldn’t fix it for her, but I wanted to. I was still thinking of a response when her expression shifted from sad toamused.“Why are you smiling like that?”
“Honestly? You’re so hot I can’t stand it.”
“I feel the same way,” I replied, laughing at her candor. “I’ve had to redirect my thoughts a million times since we were at your place.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t reach out to you,” she said, her voice small and her attention moving toward the ground. Without thinking, I sat next to her, leaving an inch between our bodies. Her shorts showed so much skin, and she’d definitely have little tan lines on her shoulders from her tank top. What I wouldn’t give to touch her there and run my finger along her smooth skin.
Fuck, my skin felt too hot for my body.
She said something though, and I should respond. Not ogle her and fantasize about her shoulders. Not when she was still upset about her dad. If flirting with me made it easier for her, then I could stifle my need to fuck her. For now, at least.
“Why are you sorry? You should only do what makes you comfortable.” My lips turned down at her hesitation. I didn’t want usalmosthooking up to cause her any issue. I could deal with my attraction to her without hurting her.
“It’s not that.” She spun to look at me. “You confuse me.”
“Ah, yes, I understand that completely.” I hit her shoulder with mine. She took a deep breath, her tongue wetting her bottom lip, and I followed the movement as my stomach tightened with an aggressive need.
I’d gone running to take my mind off my parents and ended up next to the other part of my life that I wasn’t sure how to handle. How ironic. I snorted to myself, but it caused her to frown.
“I’m being annoying, aren’t I?”
“Wait, no.” I grinned and melted a bit when she returned the smile with that little scrunched nose. “I chuckled because I went running to clear my head, and here I am, next to you. I can’t seem to getyouout of my mind.”
