Taryn comes out of the room, followed by Colsen a few seconds later.
I don’t know why I take a step back, finding cover behind another huge potted plant.
COLSEN
From the second I saw Taryn in her short pink dress, I’ve been dreaming about taking it off of her. Maybe with my teeth.
Watching her from afar in the crowded room of the Country Club has been torture, but I was biding my time until we could slip out unnoticed by our coaches.
I fight the urge to take her hand in mine. The long hallway right outside the function room looks deserted, and I take a calculated risk.
“You’re going in the wrong direction, pretty girl.” I whisper, catching up to her as she heads toward the club’s exit.
Taryn stops in her tracks. “Oh? I thought we were goingback while everyone is still here? But if you changed your mind, I understand.”
I look left and right to confirm that we’re alone before pulling her against me. “I haven’t changed my mind about spending the night with you. But I have a little surprise for you.”
“What is it?” Her smile is cautious.
I show her the room keycard that has been burning a hole in my pocket all night. “If we go home, one of us will have to sneak out before morning and risk getting caught. I want to sleep with you in my arms all night, so I got us a room here at the club.”
Her smile widens and eyes light up, and I feel like a million bucks for putting that huge smile on her face. “That’s so cool. But it must have cost you a fortune. And I know we’re getting paid by the reality show and for the dolls, but we haven’t seen a cent yet.”
I nod. Some of us don’t have rich parents funding our college education, and we were hoping to get at least the advance on the dolls’ royalties straight away. It sounds like we’ll have to wait until summer training is over.
“Yeah, I know. Don’t worry about the money. I have my ways.”
Taryn’s eyes widen. “Colsen. Please don’t tell me you stole a key or something.”
She’s adorable, and for a second I think about teasing her and making her think that she’s right. But I want to get to our room before someone sees us. So I grab her hand and lead her toward the main lobby.
“Nothing like that. Remember Chance Hunter, one of the sophomores who scored against UCLA?”
“Isn’t he the mayor’s son?” She asks.
“That’s him.” I confirm. “He’spretty tight with Jules Cutler, the son of the club’s owner. I asked him if he could hook me up and Jules gave me the friends and family discount.”
The doors of the elevator in the club’s lobby open, and we step in.
Taryn pulls me closer the second the doors close with a ding.
“Thank you so much for thinking of this.” Our noses are touching, and it’s gonna take the smallest of movements to close the distance between us and kiss new. “Oh. There’s just one problem with your plan. I’ll have to try to sneak out early, anyway. I can’t be seen coming back to training camp in tonight’s dress.”
I let go of her hand to wrap my arms around her waist. “Right ahead of you. There’s an overnight bag with a change of clothes for you in the room.”
The surprise on her face is worth the extra planning it took to make this happen.
“How did you do it? Did you sneak into my room or something?”
“Nah,” I chuckle. “Too risky if someone saw me. The club has a cute clothing store. I just had a look online and asked Jules to bring the items I chose to our room.”
She blushes. “That must have cost you a fortune.”
“Friends and family discount, remember? Besides, it’s just a change of underwear and a little sundress. Nothing crazy.”
“How did you know my size?”
The elevator arrives on our floor. This time I’m confident when I take Taryn’s hand to lead her down the hallway and to our room. “We’ve taken our clothes off together a few times. It wasn’t that hard to notice what size you wear. I promise I’m not a creep; I’m just observant. It’sa good skill to have when you’re always watching the puck, looking for an opening.”
