CHAPTER 26 BOWER #3
I really don’t know what to say to that because it’s all so overwhelming. Everything with him is overwhelming, but sometimes in a good way and sometimes in a scary way.
“Maybe…maybe it’s good that you’re on a long road trip,” I say and I can practically hear his disagreement through the silence. “Just so we can give each other a second, you know?”
“Do you need a second?” he asks, trepidation in his voice.
“Honestly, Bennett, I don’t know what I need, and I hate that, because I’m the first person to chastise a heroine in a book for not knowing what they want when the hero is so incredible, but now that I’m in this situation, I have so much internal conflict, and I’m just trying to figure it all out.”
“I get that.” He clears his throat. “Maybe this will help.”
Then he hangs up on me.
Wait, seriously?
Did he really just—
My phone buzzes not with a phone call, but with FaceTime.
Oh…
I sit up in my bed and answer the call, his handsome face coming into view, as well as his bare, bulky chest. My mind immediately falls to the feel of him, the comfort he provides, the way I can snuggle into him and feel completely protected from the world.
I let out a dumb sigh and say, “I miss you.”
And that stuns me, because it’s the first thing that came to mind.
Not the worries.
Not the insecurities.
But rather him, just him and what he represents in my life at the moment. Comfort, joy…relief.
He smiles softly. “Miss you too, beautiful.”
And that nickname. I’ve never been a big nickname person, but with him, it’s different. It feels different, like that word has been held for him by the universe, and the only time it sounds right is when he says it to me.
“Why are you so hot?”
He chuckles, his smile making me yearn that much more.
“You think I’m hot, huh?”
“Are you really going to fish for compliments?”
“When you’re unsure and thinking things through, absolutely. I have to give myself some solace from the thought of coming back and you not wanting to see me.”
“That would never happen.”
“You sure about that?” he asks, placing his hand behind his head, showing off the boulder in his bicep.
Ugh, yum.
“Positive,” I say, my eyes roaming on the bits and pieces of skin he’s showing off. What I wouldn’t give for him to get completely naked and just walk around for me, or better yet, make himself get hard while I watched—
“What the hell are you thinking about?”
“Huh?” I ask, snapping my attention back to him.
“You’re licking your lips and staring.”
“Am I?”
“You are. I feel like a piece of meat in front of a starving lion.”
“Well, you show up shirtless to a FaceTime and that’s how you’re going to be treated, like a piece of meat. I’m sure it would be the same if the situation was reversed.”
“Bower, if you showed up to a FaceTime shirtless, there is no way we’d be jabbering away. No, I’d have you playing with yourself in no time.”
I press my hand to my chest. “Phone sex? Honestly, Bennett. Where are your manners?”
“Manners don’t exist when the girl you’re talking to looks like you.”
My cheeks flame from the compliment. “Well, that was very…flattering.”
“Wasn’t looking to flatter you, was looking to tell the truth.”
“I see.” I glance away, his honesty so refreshing from anyone else I’ve ever dated—eh, are we dating? I don’t think so, we’re just…seeing what happens, right?
“Why the frown?” he asks, not letting me get away with anything. Quit being so observant, you punk.
“Nothing,” I answer.
“Do you really think the ‘nothing’ answer is going to work on me? You should know me better than that.”
He’s right. He’d never let me get away with that.
“Ugh, you’re right. So annoying.” I wet my lips and then say, “This thing between us, is it dating?”
“I’d prefer for it to be, but I don’t want to freak you out because we haven’t really established any ground rules.
But if I had it my way, yes, we would be dating.
And I’d take you out to dinner, worship you, and fucking kiss you whenever I want.
” He drags his hand down his face. “It’s fucking killing me that I haven’t kissed you yet. ”
“You’ve kissed me in other places.”
“Don’t fucking remind me. I swear to you there are times when I feel like I can still taste you and I wind up going hard because of it. Fuck, Bower, I was hard at BP this morning.”
“What’s BP? Is that a social engagement or something?”
He chuckles. “Batting practice, babe. You know, if you’re going to consider dating me, you should really get to know some baseball terms.”
“I know enough,” I say. “I know that you play third and that you hit the ball hard and far, and that the thing on your hand is a baseball glove.”
“Wow, who says you need an education in the sport? You could be teaching the course.”
I huff on my nails and then buff them off on my shirt. “You don’t need to tell me twice. Sign me up. I’ll get all the lemons ready to go for the season, which… Is the season almost over?”
“Yeah, heading into the playoffs in a week and a half.”
“Oh wow, is your team in it?”
“So far, yup.”
“Really? Well, that’s exciting. And you’re going to play third in those games?”
He chuckles. “Yeah, beautiful, I’ll play third.”
“Aww, look at you go. Playing third in the playoffs. You are quite the accomplished man.”
“Yeah, if only I could get my sister’s best friend to fall for me, then I’d truly be accomplished.”