I shifted my weight, putting my hands under thighs, trapping myself. “Yes.”
She pushed up onto her side, that same devilish look still across her face, her fingers running up her stomach, my eyes stuck on the motion.
Fuck.She was so hot it was suffocating.
“Do you want to touch me again?”
“Yes,” I said. “But I think we should stop. You wanted to before... and right now you’re making it incredibly difficult to think straight.”
“That’s the point.” She winked. A laugh escaped me. “You’re right.” Her hands grabbed her top, fingers working at the buttons. “We should talk, and you make mewantto make it incredibly hard for you. I enjoy it when you babble.”
“You do kind of melt my brain.”
“Thanks, I’ll take it as a compliment.”
“It is,” I said, my words causing her to pause slightly, as if she was caught off guard. I watched her again, every movement of her body, the gentle rise and fall of her chest. And I came to a decision, an idea of what I thought was best. “I think we should date.”
Her brown eyes narrowed on me. “You don’t want...”
I cut her off with a shake of my head.Take the lead, Chloe. Tell her what you want. “I think a one-night stand is more likely to get complicated.”
“If we don’t rush it,” she finished, seeing where I was coming from.
I nodded. “We can make sure we do it right.”
“Yeah, that’s smart,” Inés answered, but I could sense the hesitation, as if she was still trying to figure out how she felt. Her mouth opened, but it was another moment before she managed to come up with any words. “I didn’t expect... I didn’t expect you to want to date.”
My brows pressed together. “What? Why?”
“I’m not the girl people date.” I hated how easily she managed to summarize her point. “I’ve always been just a hookup with other women. They would always say, ‘Let’s keep it casual,’ and ‘Why do we need to put a label on it?’ It made me feel like I wasn’t worth the commitment. In the end, I learned to tell myself I wanted one-night stands, that it would hurt less. But it was always a lie.”
“I thought that was your style,” I said cautiously. As long as I’d known her, been around Henrik and even just around the court, it was clear that Inés was known for a fun time. That she was theone who wasn’t seriously interested. It hadn’t occurred to me that it might not be her choice specifically.
It never occurred to me just how deeply I might have hurt her when I never called.
Inés gazed up at me, a sad look in her eyes. “When that’s what people expect from you, how they treat you, it’s easier to go along with it. It was fine for a while, but it never felt like what I wanted was important.”
I couldn’t handle it anymore. Instead, I allowed myself to move closer to her.
Reaching out, my hand found her jaw, and I tilted her head to hold eye contact.
“Don’t do that.” I shook my head, swallowing the sadness that had built up at her words. Her brown eyes stared up at me. “Don’t lower your standards to meet what other people give you. Demand more. You’re worth that.”
She held my gaze. “I’ll try.”
“Good,” I replied, the moment between us stretching too long. I sat back, still close, but any moment when I wasn’t touching her was like living in black and white.
“What about Henrik?” she asked, concern filling her eyes.
My eyebrows bunched together. “What about him? We aren’t together anymore.”
Inés let out a heavy sigh, shoulders slumping. “I mean he’s one of my best friends. He was there for me when not many people were. And now I’m...”
“Making out with his ex?” I smirked playfully, trying to lighten the moment. But when her expression remained worried, I tried to reason, “I told you, we weren’t serious.”
“Still, don’t you think he will care?” Her gaze left mine.
“No,” I answered honestly. “The thing with Henrik, he ended it partially so he could date his physio. That’s how casual it was.”
