“Alex is right.” Elle blinked back moisture, and it made her eyes sparkle.
Charlie hit the table with his fist and jutted his chin toward the bar. “Let me out, would ya, Sunshine?”
“Sure thing.” Elle got up, her stomach on display with her black cropped shirt. A bolt of lust hit me so hard I leaned forward, like her skin tugged me closer. She was tanned and had a birth mark right below her belly button. I wanted to touch it.
My entire body tensed with a pull toward her, and I closed my eyes, took a breath, and leaned back. How uncharacteristic of me. I’d hooked up with women, obviously, and attraction was never an issue. But this wasintense.
She didn’t notice a thing and had already sat back down when I gained my composure. She finished her croissant and took out a sheet of paper. “Okay, team, how do we want to divide up the nights since two of us need to be here at all times? Anyone have any nights that are absolutely a no for you?”
“Wednesdays are my karate classes.”
“Okay, Cal and I on Wednesdays.” She wrote our names with pretty handwriting, looping her letters to the point it looked like a font. It totally fit her.
“I’m free every any time for the next month.”
“No pucks to hit?” she asked.
“I’ll go during the morning if I have to.”
“Alex, any other days that are a no for you? I want us each to have at least one night off. We should all probably be here Fridays and Saturdays.” She sucked half her bottom lip into her mouth as she filled out the three of us for the weekend.
“Nope.”
“Okay, let me write this down.”
Sunday: A, C
Monday: C, E
Tuesday: A, E
Wednesday: C, E
Thursday: A, E
Friday: A, C, E
Saturday: A, C, E
“No—you’re working six nights, Elle.” I shook my head. “Let me do the Tuesdays.”
“I don’t mind. I have no summer classes and sit around all day.”
I took the pen from her hand, her fingers brushing mine, and I sucked in a breath at her touch.
Our eyes met for a second but then she frowned. “You’re not here Tuesday.”
I adjusted the schedule and gave her my best,don’t fuck with meface. “Fight me on it.”
She rolled her eyes and glanced to Alex. “You already working with him for a night?”
“I can handle him, Barbie.”
“Good. We got this.” Elle smiled and leaned closer to us. “Are you kinda excited? This is a big project, and we’re gonna be so tired, but I love this stuff. Once, I organized this charity drive and was on my feet for twenty-seven hours straight. It was exhausting but the best kind?”
“You talk way too much for it being ten-thirty,” Alex said.
“Time doesn’t play a role in my chattiness,” Elle fired back.
