“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“I was hoping you’d be at the hotel,” his deep voice cuts back to the original subject, and he gently guides her over to the side of the room, away from prying ears. “I’d like to spend more time with you. I don’t like that you’re icing me out.”
“I’m not trying to ice you out,” she replies quietly. “I just don’t know how far this can go; how far thisshouldgo.”
“And why is that?”
“Tristan,” she breathes out his name in a long and exasperated sigh, her blue eyes shining with fresh tears and vulnerability. “We’ve already crashed and burned and ended up broken hearted and bitter. Do you really think it’s a good idea to go for round two?”
“We were kids then,” he says with a shrug. “20-year-old kids who fell in love but didn’t know what to do with it.”
Tessa felt her cheeks blush at the mention of them being in love, and she wrapped her arms around herself to find some comfort in the tension-filled moment.
“You should get some rest, big game tomorrow,” Tessa said, starting to walk away, but Tristan blocked her with his large stance.
“Are you saying you don’t still feel this?”
“Damnit, of course I do,” she replied defeatedly.
“It feels just as intense. Actually, it feelsmoreintense. Don’t tell me I’m crazy and making that up.”
“You’re not,” she whispers, keeping her eyes on her black boots, scuffing them nervously on the floor.
“So then stop fighting me, please,” he begs, not afraid to let his voice border on a whimper, feeling every cell in his body being pulled undeniably toward her. The force was becoming too much for him to bare, and he was seconds away from throwing her over his shoulder and taking her back to his hotel, game night rules be damned.
“Trist! Curfew’s in 10!” Phillip yelled from across the room, and Tessa immediately started walking away. Always a rule follower and a people pleaser, the last thing she wanted was to get Tristan in trouble,again.
“Please just go back with the team and rest up for the game tomorrow. We can talk when we’re back in Kansas City.”
He sighs and hangs his head low, the internal struggle to be with Tessa every second that he can making walking away nearly impossible.
“Yeah, okay. Goodnight, Tess.”
“Night, Trist.”
As Tristan walks away, Amber rushed up to Tessa and stood on her tippy toes to look into her eyes and said “You’re on thin ice, Smith. Fuck that man or we can no longer be friends.”
Tessa rolled her eyes and grabbed her friend’s hand.
“That man is going to be the death of me.”
CHAPTER 16
Tessa steps out of the shower that night, her tiny NYC bathroom filled with steam from the scalding hot water and she swipes her hand down the mirror. She stares at herself for several seconds, going over the events of tonight, and trying to process them sanely.
Her run in with Joseph was unexpected and unpleasant, but that’s not what has her mind racing. It’s Tristan, of course, because it’s always been Tristan.
Seeing the pure, unadulterated desire in his eyes, hearing his words, his plea for her – she almost gave herself to him on the spot. But of course, the real world had other ideas and forced them apart due to the strict curfew that Coach Rice puts on his players on a night before a game. He was especially strict about away games, so both Tessa and Tristan knew the night had to come to an end.
Tessa padded her wet feet towards her bedroom, picking out her favorite pair of light pink sweats and a simple white tank top, foregoing a bra or underwear since she was heading straight to bed, and let out a contented sigh for the first time since arriving back in New York. Something about taking a shower in her tiny shoebox of a bathroom and slipping on her favorite lounge wear made her feel more comfortable in the place she usually calls home.
After brushing out her hair, she let it hang down her back to air dry, not caring about the unruly curls she knows will come. She simply does not have the energy to care tonight. She even skipped skin care, only having it in her to brush her teeth before making her way into bed. The clock red 10:30, which is early for her, but the team’s curfew was 9, so it wasn’t like she’d be missing much going to sleep already. She was also hoping thatbeing unconscious would give her some kind of reprieve from her racing thoughts.
Buzz. Buzz.
Okay, scratch that.
Tessa sat up in bed, confusion etched all over her face at who could possibly be buzzing up to her apartment right now.
