For once, I might actually owe him. Standing, I approach her and take the ball, demonstrating how it should be done.
She sighs impatiently. “You can show me all you like. It’s not going to make a difference.”
Frustration sours my mouth. It’s just a stupid game, but I hate to hear her admit defeat. “How about we do it together?”
“Okaaaay.” She drags the word out dubiously. “How did you plan to do that?”
“Here.” I offer her the ball. “Hold it like you normally would.”
She slips her fingers into the holes and faces the pins. “Now what?”
Heart in my throat, I approach her from behind and line my body up against hers. My arm follows the line of hers and rests on the back of the ball. The coconutty scent of her hair makes me want to bury my face in it and sniff, but I resist. As it is, the guys can probably see way more than I’d like them to. I don’t need to embarrass myself by mooning over her. But damn, her luscious ass feels good against my thighs. My cock starts to awaken.
Move faster, asshole. Don’t press your inappropriate erection into her like a creep.
“Swing your arm back, nice and slow,” I murmur near her ear.
She shivers. Because of me?
“Like this.” I guide her arm and when she tries to fling the ball, I slow her down. It flies from her hand and—thankfully—doesn’t roll into the gutter. Nor does it knock all of the pins down, but it hits a few and that’s an improvement.
She spins around, beaming, her lips shockingly close to mine. “We did it!”
“You did it,” I correct, entranced by those soft lips. I’ve yearned to know how they’d taste for years, and I’m not used to having them so close. If I move a few inches, I’ll finally know.
But she’s not mine, and if I know, I can’t un-know. Better not to open that Pandora’s box. With a burst of willpower I didn’t know I had, I step away.
“Try again, all by yourself.”
She nods, and grabs another ball. Biting her lip in concentration, she moves her body through the same motions I guided her through—or at least, her approximation of them. The ball sails along the lane and takes out another three pins. I clap. Devon cheers. Sydney throws her arms around me and somehow I manage not to hold her for longer than I ought to.
When I sit down, Sydney and Lena excuse themselves for a trip to the ladies’ room, and Jase leans closer to me. “Bro, you’ve got to tell her how you feel.”
“I can’t,” I mutter in response, irrationally afraid that she can somehow hear me. I’ve never mentioned my feelings to Jase, but it’s clear he’s read me better than I thought. I shouldn’t be surprised. He comes across as a hotheaded jock but he’s more attuned to emotions than he lets on.
Devon, on the other hand, furrows a brow. “Wait, what?”
“You can’t tell?” Jase asks dryly. “Gabe has been mad about Sydney since before we met.”
Devon’s jaw drops and he blinks a few times, then closes it and swallows. “Oh.” He nods to himself. “Yeah, that explains a few things.” He gives me a searching look. “Dude, why haven’t you done anything about it? Another guy could come along and snatch her up at any moment.”
I glare at Jase, pissed that he’d out me like that. “She deserves someone who can give her more than I can.”
Devon snorts. “More than a mansion, cool in-laws, and a heart full of love?”
Cringing, I lower my gaze to the floor. It sounds so cheesy when he phrases it that way. Why did Jase have to open his big fucking mouth? And why does he have to be so astute?
“Someone who can give her time and attention.”
“If you haven’t given it a chance, how do you know?” Devon challenges.
“I can’t take a chance without risking our friendship, and I’m not willing to do that.”
Jase tilts his head from one side to the other. “I can see both sides of this argument. But Gabe, are you really going to be able to watch her hook up with some other guy? Because I saw the way you were looking at her just now, and it’s more than a crush. You were looking at her like I look at Lena.”
I swallow, and I can’t answer his question because I really don’t know.
Either way, I’m fucked.
