“It’s really not your hips,” she said. “It’s your bum.”
He wrapped the strip around his hips.
“Lower,” she said. “The biggest part.” She checked the number and added it to her paper. “Can you do your neck?” He did, and she recorded the figure. “Now I need to do the length of your torso. Hand me the tape measure and turn around.”
Sara put it at the bottom of his back neck and ran it down to his waist, surprised at the muscles under the fabric. They weren’t pronounced enough to bulge which she’d have seen through his shirt. That was something she’d have spotted right away since Landon had been into the bodybuilding thing and taken pride in how his muscles rippled even in a dress shirt. And pleased at how the strength made it easy for him to punch her around. Ezreal’s muscles were firm and strong but not overdone.
She realized she’d been feeling his back muscles. With a cough, she dropped her hands and picked up the paper again. All right. She had to admit that she was attracted to this man, but she wasn’t a teen girl anymore in the throes of hormones.
“I’m going to need you to help with this next one too.” Sara didn’t look at him as she held the tape measure at the top of his shoulder and let the other end drop. “Pull it between your legs and hold it out the back. Not too tight.”
Ezreal shot her a dubious look.
“It’s to measure your torso.”
He did as she’d instructed, and she took the end he held out the back and brought it up to match the one on his shoulder. She then measured his arms from each shoulder to just past the wrists.
“Now your bicep.” Sara swallowed. “Go ahead and flex it in case you have to move around much that day.” He did, and she felt that warmth again. “Now I need to get your leg measurements.”
“Wr-r-ite.” He pointed to her paper.
Flustered, she jotted down the bicep measurement.
“I wish I’d thought of this while Ryan was here. He could have helped.” She handed him the tape measure. “This is another awkward measurement. The inseam. Hold it at the top of your crotch.”
Ezreal, ears bright red again, put the strip at his groin, inside of his jeans. Sara dropped to her knees, keeping her head low and jotted down the number. She rose.
“The last one will be your mid-thigh, which I think you can do. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad if I did this all the time.”And didn’t want to nuzzle your neck.She needed to think about something else. “I’d definitely like to learn more about your game. I have several students who bring it up all the time, and I like having things in common with them that we can discuss. Plus, Janna talks about it nonstop because of Lessa.”
Sara still couldn’t get over how quickly her daughter had taken to Ezreal. Because of her father, Janna tended to be hesitant about trusting men. It’d been good for her to get to know the Diederiks because Alex was a tender, loving husband and father. He was demonstrative and patient with the children. Maybe that came from being so much older when he had his second family.
She understood he had a married daughter whose husband was going to Harvard Medical School. What was it with Harvard in this place anyway? Never in her life had she met so many people who’d attended there.
“She has your eyes,” Ezreal said softly, his expression softening.
“Yes, she does.” Sara forced herself not to look away and definitely not to smile that he’d managed to say the sentence without a single stutter.
“I don’t want to think of Janna when I look at your eyes,” he mumbled.
Sara’s stomach erupted with dancing butterflies. “We’re done now. Would you like to teach me how to play your game?”
* * *
“Yes.”Ezreal stared into those beautiful gray eyes. For the first time in his life, he found he didn’t want to look away from a woman. His ears were growing warm again, and he hoped they hadn’t also gone red. “Coincidentally, I brought my laptop. We usually have a gaming night on Fridays, but Rafe and Kayn are out of town.”
“All right. You can set up on my coffee table—it lifts up to a writing height—but I think you should demonstrate the game for me first.” Sara smiled, and the warmth in his ears spread through his body.
“It’s in my car.” Ezreal was pleased that he hadn’t started stuttering again. If he was honest with himself, he was amazed he’d been able to speak at all when she’d been so close to him taking those measurements.
“You bring it in and get it set up then, and I'll clean up the pizza.”
“I didn’t mean to leave that mess for you.”
“Youbrought dinner, so I didn’t have to cook, and now you’re going to keep me company when I’d have been here alone. I’d say that’s a fair trade.”
Ezreal nodded and jogged out to his car. He couldn’t help grinning. She preferred his awkward company to being alone.
It’d been a leap of faith for him to show up at Sara’s house with the hope that she’d let him teach her the game. But, since they’d have to work together on the music room and then the lessons, he’d thought it would be a good place to start. Ezreal would rather practice being in her company when there wasn’t a bunch of construction people around.
