“Oh…um. Yeah. Great.”
Click.
The line went dead.
I stared down at the phone and adjusted the towel around me, droplets trailing onto the hardwood floor.
This was a great opportunity. Anamazingopportunity.
So why did it feel like I’d just signed up for a slow-motion car crash?
My reflection caught in the black of the TV screen. My damp hair, flustered cheeks, a look in my eyes I barely recognised. Was it want? Fear? Maybe both.
I told myself it was just a job. But somewhere deep down, I already knew the truth.
It wasn’t just a job. It was him.
Chapter 17
Tyler
Physio Room Four
Saturday
I hadn’t seenher since the semifinal when I almost kissed her, but you can bet your ass I’d replayed that moment a thousand times in my head. Every time I set foot in the shower, in bed, the goddamn gym.
Every time my mind went quiet, there she was.
She was so fucking beautiful. She made me want to be better, made me want to listen. No woman had ever done that for me before. Probably because I’d spent half my life chasing the wrong kind of women; the easy fucks, empty souls, no one who could look me in the eye have a decent conversation with me.
Orla saw everything. And it didn’t scare me off, it only made me want more.
I was even on time for once. No late nights, no clubs, no vodka shots. Just ice baths, rehab, early nights, and jacking off in the shower to the thought of her lips on mine.
Not something she ever needed to know.
I brought her a coffee, again. The paper cup was burning a hole through my palm. Americano, milk, one sweetener—Iremembered her preference from when she’d told me the night I took her to the pub.Jeez, when did I turn into such a sap?
She looked up when I walked in, and this time she smiled. Actually smiled. Not the scowl I’d gotten used to. Maybe it slipped out but…fuck. That smile went straight to my head.
“Americano. Milk. One sweetener,” I said, holding it out.
She blushed as she took it. “Thank you. That’s… sweet of you.”
Sweet? Jesus. I was dying.
“Just wanted to say thanks. For the other day. For talking me down.”
She brushed it off. “I just told you what you needed to hear. It’s how my dad used to talk to my brothers.”
Her expression flickered fondly, almost too fast for me to catch, and then the professional armor was back on. “Lie down, let’s take a look.”
I lay back on the table the crinkle of the sanitary paper loud in the quiet room as I shoved my shorts up. She placed her warm hands on me. Her fingers brushed the edge of my thigh, higher than usual sending a jolt of heat through my groin.
Again, too close. My cock twitched, and I bit down hard, staring at the ceiling. Good lord, why couldn’t I have pulled a shoulder instead? At least then I wouldn’t have the most beautiful woman I’d ever met practically grazing my dick every day.
She was fucking killing me.
