“Um, Em is this a Pilates class?” Mateo asked once he was close enough, still taking in the machines.
“Yes, it is.” I grinned, hands on my hips, loving the wide eyes and lifted eyebrows of his friends.
Mateo finally looked at me. Heat pooled in my lower belly at the way his blue eyes raked up and down my body, lingering on my chest for a split second. I guess Erin was right, after all.
The emerald green yoga set matched my skin and red hair perfectly. The sports bra was tight enough that it gave the illusion that I had boobs, and my leggings made my legs appear miles long. Judging by the way Mateo’s pupils flared, he liked it.
While he took his fill, I did as well. My mouth practically watered at the sight of his arms in his muscle tank top. Tan skin from being out in the sun, muscles that popped even though he wasn’t flexing. Mateo had broad shoulders,but his shirt made him seem bigger than the last time I saw him.
My eyes traveled down to his simple black workout shorts, then back up to his face. He had a few days’ worth of stubble, a look that was insanely attractive on him. My fingers itched to run through his hair. Instantly, dirty thoughts of tugging it while he was between my legs came to mind.
For the last three days, I had replayed the act of Mateo pressing me into my car door in my mind. The feeling of his breath against my neck, his body and scent surrounding me. All I wanted in that moment was for him to touch me, kiss me. It had taken all my self-control to not press against him.
But now, days later, I regretted holding back. It’s like he lit a small spark inside me that was now slowly growing into an inferno. It was all I thought about. Even during practices, he was on my mind.
“You look beautiful.”
Mateo’s voice broke me out of my staring. I awkwardly shifted on my feet, cheeks flushed, hoping it wasn’t clear on my face what I was thinking about. “Thanks. Glad you guys came.” I forced myself to look away from him to his friends. “Hi, I’m Emmie.”
“Jake,” the guy on Mateo’s left greeted first. He wasn’t as tall as Mateo but was a bit stockier. He was extremely handsome with braided hair and tattoos lining both of his arms.
“And I’m Perry.” A blond stepped up beside Jake with a wide smile, his height pushing past Mateo’s. His hair was buzzed short but suited him surprisingly well. It made his cheekbones stand out even more. Just from his smile alone, I could tell he was the life of the party, a ladies’ man.
A cough had me hooking my arm through my best friend’s. “This is Erin.”
The way Jake and Perry’s eyes immediately zeroed in onher had me pressing my lips together so I wouldn’t snort. Erin was gorgeous, with curves for days, and by the way these two looked her up and down, they thought so, too.
This was why she agreed to come today. I guess having hot men present was motivation.
“Nice to meet you guys.” Erin grinned, her hand squeezing my arm tightly. “I didn’t know Mateo had such hot friends.”
“Well, I’m the hottest one on the team,” Perry said with a slight shrug. The way he flashed his megawatt smile at Erin, I just knew the two of them were going to be flirting the entire class.
“Definitely don’t listen to his delusions,” Jake butted in, taking a step forward. He gently took Erin’s hand and brought it up to his lips to press a kiss to her knuckles. “Pleasure to meet you.”
As Erin giggled, I met Mateo’s gaze. He stared right back at me with a matching look ofwhat have we done?
Before the three of them could start flirting, I butted in. “Let's get you guys set up before class starts.”
I unhooked my arm from Erin’s and stepped toward a machine next to the one I claimed, then explained the gist of what the class was about.
“Ashley will go around and help if you don’t know the moves, but it’s not too hard.” This class was for beginners, so they shouldn’t have too hard of a time.
“We’re professional athletes, this’ll be a walk in the park,” Perry said.
“Oh yeah?” A smirk played on my lips.
“Bring it on,” Perry offered back. Oh, how I couldn’t wait to see how he felt after class. As Perry, Jake, and Erin got situated by their machines, Mateo came over to the one beside me.
“Your evil smirk tells me you think we’re going to suffer.”
My head tilted back to look at him. “I mean…”
“Cruel, firecracker,” he said with a shake of his head. For some odd reason, my heart fluttered at the nickname.
“It’s okay if it's too hard for you guys,” I said, loud enough to draw the attention of Jake and Perry.
“Too hard?” Jake echoed.
