Inés’s worry disappeared, replaced with a look of surprise, and her voice dropped an octave as she spoke. “His physio?”
I nodded. “Apparently being an exclusive hookup with me meant that it gave him time to grow actual feelings towards another human.”
“That is...” Inés laughed once. “Very on brand for Henrik.”
“So, I think he will be fine if we decide to be together.” She bit her lip, nodding in agreement, but her body only relaxed a little, the tension still held in her shoulders. Her hand in mine, I squeezed once.
Finding out that nobody had ever treated her right was driving me mad. Knowing I’d once been one of those people made me feel more guilt than I’d ever experienced. “Now, dating?”
Inés brightened at my words, but her reply was still hesitant. “I’m on board.”
“Excellent. I’ll plan it.” I smiled, already formulating what we could do. Our next stop was Cincinnati, another busy week of competing ahead of us, but I was sure it wouldn’t be too hard for both of us to carve out some time together, off court. She was worth the effort.
“Someone is turning out to be a little bossy,” Inés joked.
I grinned back. “You have no idea.”
“Am I going to regret this?”
“Maybe a little.” I shrugged. “But I’ll make it worth your while.”
She smiled. “I’ll have to hold you to that.”
“I have no doubt you will.”
She looked around the room. “Are we actually going to sleep now?”
I gasped. “You mean you don’t want to spend the rest of the night making out?”
“I didn’t say that.” She paused, her eyes meeting mine. “But Calvin.”
“Not Calvin!” I cried, dramatically falling down on the mattress.
“He’s going to be annoyed when we show up exhausted.”
“I would rather my brother doesn’t get in the way of my hookups.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Now we’re hooking up?”
“That depends.” I paused. “How many dates until you put out?”
Inés gasped, her hand placed across her chest. “How rude to ask that of a lady.”
“You are no lady.”
“So, you won’t be seeing anyone else?” she asked. “Naked or otherwise.”
“Correct.” I nodded. “What about you?”
Inés tossed her dark hair over her shoulder. “Oh, see, there’s this one girl who’s been taking up a lot of my time.” My heart plummeted in my chest at her words. “She’s this total brat on court. No discipline. Loves to throw a tantrum.”
“Very funny.”
She smiled over at me, and for a second, I was struck that only a few minutes ago, her lips were on mine. I felt as if I’d been waiting for this to happen for weeks. Our relationship had been a roller coaster, but even with the lows, the highs of being around her had left me with an intense need for more.
Inés yawned in front of me.
“Tired?”
