Page 80 of Colliding with Ten

I smiled back. “Yeah. I know who it was.”

Lennox’s hand squeezed around mine, and when I exhaled, he let me go.

Priya moved on to other questions about wearing the brand. I felt Lennox’s eyes on me from time to time, checking that I was holding it together. On the last question, Priya asked what rehab and recovery meant to me. I told her I got to dance again. Sometimes in public, like today, and sometimes alone in my apartment, but either way, it felt like home.

At the end, Lennox whispered, the words only for me. “You said you didn’t dance by yourself anymore.”

I kept my eyes forward. “I started again.”

The ride back to the hotel sparked with chemistry from the shoot. Lennox sat beside me in the SUV, his leg so close I could feel its warmth without touching.

When the car stopped at the hotel, he helped me out, and I leaned on him as we crossed the lobby. In the elevator, I pressed seventeen and stared at the doors, searching for reasons not to say goodnight yet. Going out was off the table. I looked forward to sitting and taking the weight off my knee.

The elevator opened, and we walked down the hall together, my limp more noticeable now that the adrenaline of the shoot had worn off. At my door, I searched for my key card. It slipped from my hand, and he caught it midair.

“Fast hands,” he said, holding it out.

“You can add that to your résumé,” I muttered.

He slid the card into the door, and the lock clicked. “Hey, I have an idea.”

“Hmm”

“I can make an ice bath for your knee.”

I tried not to look deflated. I thought his idea would be fun. “You want me to submerge myself in ice water.”

“It’ll help reduce the swelling.”

I gave him a look that noted my displeasure.

He tilted his head, a little pleading. “Okay, yeah, it will hurt before it helps, but it’s good.”

“I know AJ does those, but I’ve never done one myself. I hate the cold.”

“You’ll thank me later.”

I doubted it as I hobbled into the room, muttering under my breath, “You’re a monster.”

He smirked, guided me toward the bathroom, and stayed near the doorway as I leaned against the sink.

“You good to change?”

I waved him off. “Yeah.”

He arched a brow, but disappeared back out the door. I exhaled and peeled off the Forge and Flight athletic wear, swapping it for their sports bra and boy shorts. My cheeks burned at the thought of him outside the room.

I’d just caught my reflection, of messy hair and flushed face, when his knock came. The door creaked open.

“Got the ice.” He carried the ice bucket, full to the brim.

“Wow.” I forced a laugh. “You weren’t kidding.”

He knelt by the tub. “It won’t be that bad. It’s not a lot of ice.”

He twisted the faucet, knowing exactly which one to turn, filled it halfway with cold water, and then poured in the ice. They cracked on the water's surface.

Watching him—jacket sleeves rolled up, muscles flexing with every motion—was a turn-on. He had no idea what his casual acts of care did to me. I was attracted to Lennox, but acting on that attraction was another thing. Our lives were miles apart. My brother would lose his mind. Plus, I was finally finding my footing after months of questioning my future. If relationships could unravel under the best of circumstances, what chance did Lennox and I have? Fantasizing about him was reckless, and I knew it.