By the time I surfaced back in Balham, some of the spell had worn off. The air was cooler, my street quiet, and my heartbeat finally slowing but my thoughts were still a riot.
I trudged up to the flat, unlocked the door, and dropped my bag inside. The silence hit me like a wall. Too quiet and ordinary, when my head was in disarray. My keys clinked against the counter as I threw them down, and I leant there for a second, palms flat against the surface, trying to breathe him out of my system.
All I could think about… washim.
The warmth of his laugh. The way his voice gravelled when he said he liked my opinions. The look he gave me before he kissed my cheek like he wasn’t sure if he was allowed.
My pulse just wouldn’t settle.
I kicked off my shoes, walked into the bathroom, and turned on the shower. The pipes groaned, steam curling around the mirror. I stripped down and stepped under the spray, hoping the heat would melt him off me. That stupid grin, that scent, that calm way he’d said, “Goodnight, Orla.”
But it didn’t.
Every drop of water just reminded me how close he’d been, how his breath had brushed my cheek before his lips did.
This was way beyond the realms of attraction now. That was the problem. He’d made me feel seen and I’d forgotten what that felt like. Which meant I was in serious fucking trouble.
I knocked off the shower, wrapped myself in a towel and stepped out just as my phone vibrated against the counter.
Kate:
Semi-final tomorrow. You sitting with the WAGs or the medical team?
I hadn’t told them about the drink, but they’d been on my case about Tyler all week and they didn’t need any more encouragement.
Me:
Very funny. Get a new hobby.
Kate:
Jordan says he’ll give him your number if you want
Me:
You and your fiancé can fuck off. But also… tell him good luck.
Kate:
I will. See you tomorrow, Mrs Reed.
I groaned, dropped the phone face-down on the counter, and buried my face in my hands.
Mrs Reed. Fuck off.
…But also,Jesus.
If only Kate knew, my insubordinate brain was picturing something far worse than a wedding. It was him sprawled on my sofa like he belonged there, dimples flashing when I walked in from a long day at work. Him texting me stupid memes between training sessions. Me at his match, not as the physio, not as a colleague, but as his and only his.
The thought turned my insides. I shoved it away so hard I nearly knocked the phone off the counter. Nope. Absolutely not.This was how you got burned. I’d sworn off men for a reason. And Tyler Reed was basically a burning building in human form.
Still, when I finally dragged myself to bed, his kiss was waiting for me.
A ghost against my cheek, a flutter in my chest. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t put it to rest.
Chapter 13
Orla
