“Yeah, of course. Sure, I’ll, uh, just go back into my room. Sleep on it.” I blinked a lot, hoping she couldn’t see right through me. The thought of not being with her again scared me, and I had no idea why. It wasn’t something I had the emotional capability to analyze. I hobbled two steps toward the bathroom and paused, not wanting to end our conversation. We hadn’t spoken in two weeks—being roomed with Aaron didn’t help that—and I found I enjoyed her voice. It wasn’t too high, or too low. Just perfect, and it became husky when she was turned on. “Work was good?”
“Yeah, I’m liking it so far.” She gave me a small smile and began taking off her clothes.
Um, what?My mouth dried when she ripped off her shirt and stood there topless. Her perky nipples stood on end, begging to be sucked, the perfectly pink circles giving me a case of blue balls that sent pain to my core. She didn’t stop there. She wiggled out of her jeans, standing in a lace thong that leftnothingto my imagination.Good god. Her body. This is torture.
“Tanner? Did you hear me?”
“Hm?” I couldn’t look away from her smooth skin—I knew how it felt against my palms and how it tasted when I kissed her. Her two dimples on her lower back drove me wild and I bit my knuckle to stop myself from panting for her. “What did you s-say?”
She gave me a coy smirk, stopping her movements and putting her hands on her naked hips. “I’m sorry. Is me being naked awkward?”
“N-no.” I gulped again, loudly.
She traced her fingers along her chest, biting down on her lower lip, and tilted her head at me as she pulled on her taut nipples. “Oh, good. I was worried. But yeah, as I was saying, I’ve enjoyed working there. It’s good money and I get to meet cool people.”
She continued teasing with her small hands and without warning, she slid on an oversized shirt that barely covered her ass. It had an old-school logo on it. She gave me an expectant look and I had no idea how to respond, so I said, “That’s c-cool.”
“It is. My new roommates stopped in and I got to chat with them. I’m fucking pumped to live with them—one has a twin brother on the football team and the other is a golfer. How cool is that?”
“Yeah,” I agreed, sounding dumb as shit. “Roommates can make or break your living situation.”
“I know,” she said, giving me a pointed stare. “It gave me a lot of hope for starting college. It sounds cheesy, but I’m ready to have what you guys all have—friends that are more like family.”
Calm the fuck down and be a good friend.I forced my voice to remain even and gave her my best impression of a smile. “You’re a part of our family, Kenz. But you’ll get to create your own, too, and that’s pretty damn special.”
She gave me the widest grin and pushed her crazy hair behind her ears. “Thanks, TJ. See, this is how I view you. Someone who is kind, supportive and respectful. Sleeping together doesn’t give you privileges to act any different.”
“You’re the first girl I’ve been with where we even had to have this conversation.”
“Good night, TJ. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Night, Kenzie.” I couldn’t stop myself. I placed a kiss on her forehead before heading into my room. It wasn’t the night I’d planned to have—a raging boner without release—but it was one that made me happy in a totally different way.Weird.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Kenzie
With an empty house and a little bit of revenge planned for Tanner, I couldn’t decide what to wear downstairs. Sure, my intentions were to drive him crazy for a bit before succumbing to our attraction. I would forgive him after his apology, but I didn’t have to make it easy for him. Plus, maybe I was sick. I liked seeing him struggle around me. No guy had ever made me feel this sexy before, and forgive me for wanting to embrace it.
You’re the first girl I’ve had to have this conversation with.
Butterflies. Those words made me feel all tingly and I wasn’t sure it was for the right reason. He blamedmefor playing poorly. That wasn’t a good sign and I knew we weren’t more than just two people hooking up—monogamous—for the summer. God, my head was spinning.
The easiest part of my whole array of jumbled thoughts was our attraction and how good we were together. After my awful experience with Sean, this seemed like an entirely different world. Our attraction was explosive, new and exciting…that was all. That was what I told myself when I chose a see-through bra that barely contained my tits and a tank that was so low in the front my nipples could almost pop out, and paired that with my favorite booty jean shorts.
I even put lotion on my arms and legs. Yeah. I wanted to have him panting for me and it felt empowering as hell. I went with contacts for the day and knew Tanner would be downstairs already. The rest of the guys had headed to the field for a two-day training camp for youths—a camp Tanner couldn’t go to because he had been instructed to stay home and ice his leg.That leaves us alone for ten hours.
I’m having my cake and eating it, too.
Feeling bold, I walked downstairs and blushed when Tanner’s mouth fell open and his warm chocolate gaze landed on me.Flutters. I have flutters in my belly.“How’s the injury, TJ? You feeling better? Nothingstiffgoing on?”
His throat bobbed as his stare went all over my body, landing on my chest before he said, “Fine.”
“Good. Good.” I moved in front of the couch, right in front of the TV, and spun around. “I’m trying this outfit at work tonight. What do you think?”
He gulped, his face contorting into a variety of emotions, before he said, “Great. You look g-great.”
“It’s not too much?” I bent over, shimmying for him. “My nipples don’t pop out?”
