His eyebrows drew together as he looked down at my finger. He shook his head before pushing forward on me again. “Do you want the guys to hate me? Want them to haze me? Do you want me to not make friends, Ellie? Then I’d have to hang around you evenmore.”
“Stop!” I yelled at him. I sighed and reminded myself of all the things Nikki yelled at me for earlier. “What do I even wear?”
He smiled smugly and it made me want to punch him in his infuriatingly handsome face. “I dunno. Whatever girls wear…” He snapped his fingers thinking. “Like a bikini and shorts!”
I felt my jaw unhinge at that as I looked up at him. “I am not wearing a bikini in front of a group of strangers, especially not a group of guys,” I said. I turned back to my room and felt him starting to follow me.
“Don’t be weird, Ellie,” TJ said.
“Don’t be mean, TJ,” I snapped back and stopped walking, causing him to bump into me. I threw him up a glare for goodmeasure.
“You’re so cute when you’re mad,” he said sweetly.
I rolled my eyes and proceeded into my room.
He followed on my heels, and I had to push down my own vulnerability as I watched him study my personal space. My room was newly painted white on three walls with an exposed brick back wall that I loved. I walked over toward my bedside dresser and pushed a frame down on its face. I didn’t want him seeing an old picture of me with my parents; it felt too personal.
I walked to my walk-in closet door and threw it open to assess my clothing options. He went to my bed and laid back on it with his limbs all stretched out.
“Do you think I wouldn’t protect you?” he said in a quieter voice from thebed.
I didn’t answer, just bit my lower lip and contemplated the situation.
“Do you think I’d leave you there to fend for yourself or something?” he tried again. “It’ll be fun. What’s got you weirdingout?”
I knew I was irrational because of my past, but I didn’t feel like explaining that to him. I stepped into my closet to try on a couple different options. I didn’t want to wear a skirt or sundress and risk looking like I was trying too hard. I ended up choosing cut-off jean shorts and a black tank top over a black tankini with rib cutouts underneath.
I threw my head down to grab my hair together and put it into a messy bun before walking out of thecloset.
It seemed the first team meeting exhausted him because he was lightly snoring on my bed. He was way too comfortable encroaching in my space. I took the time to study his face for once. His eyes were shielded by the longest eyelashes, and his face was looking scruffier than after the wedding, like he hadn’t shaved in a couple days. He had a small birthmark under his right eye, along with very faint freckles, like they’d faded through the years. I fought the temptation to smooth a thumb over them. He bounced from looking like a hockey douche to an innocent little boy; always innocent after I challenged him… and when sleeping apparently.
I sat down at my floor length mirror and got to work putting on some light spf makeup.
By the time I was putting on some mascara, with my mouth hanging open in concentration, I heard a small, “Don’t mess up!” come from the bed.
He rolled off my creaky mattress and came to sit behind me on my white rug. His impossibly long, muscular legs were stretched out on both sides of me, and his body warmth radiated heat around me.
I wondered what the hell he was doing, until he started to massage my shoulders.
The urge to tell him to stop was squashed by how good it felt and my eyes fell closed, enjoying his touch.
“Breeeeeaathe,” his husky voice whispered in my ear, giving me goosebumps.
There was no other explanation than he put me in a trance because I hadn’t been touched for comfort like that in so long. I was speechless as he pulled the pony out of my hair, and I felt it fall against my back.
“I love your hair like this best, babe,” he whispered in my ear, causing me to shiver. His breath trailed lower, until he lightly bit my neck, causing me to gasp. He smoothed a kiss over the same place that burned on my neck and then chuckled in my ear.
“Keep it down?” he asked.
I turned my head to facehim…
But then his touch was gone, and he was standing up.
I blinked a couple times.
Looking up at him, I couldn’t help but wonder…
I wondered why he had stopped…
