Chapter 25 #2
I nodded, smiling. “Yes, but you won’t be first on my list. I promised Calvin he’d be first, only so we can call my therapist
second.”
“Is the third spot open?”
“I’m sure I can CC you on the email blast.”
Eventually, our desserts arrived, both of us placing our picnic on the bed. Inés gleefully dug into her lava cake, relaxing
back as we switched on the movie channel and watched whatever was playing.
I looked over at her, watching as she took a sip from her glass, her glossy hair skimming the top of her shoulders. As if
sensing my attention, her dark gaze slid to me.
“What?” she asked, a crease between her brows.
“Nothing,” I said quickly, turning my attention back to the screen.
Inés didn’t let it go, of course. “Is there something on my face?” She nudged my foot with hers.
“No, you look perfect,” I insisted, immediately realizing my mistake as the words escaped me. “I mean, there’s nothing, you
look fine.”
My skin, burning red.
I forced the most casual tone I could. “I was thinking about tomorrow’s match.” The lie came easy, maybe because it wasn’t
too far from the truth. Watching her lose today, it was a reminder that you could give a match your all and still walk away
unsuccessful.
Inés snorted, scooping another bite of her chocolate cake, alternating between both desserts. “You’re an awful liar. It’s
one of the reasons you’re so easy to read when we play.”
I swatted at her arm, nearly sending her glass of wine flying. “I am not.”
“I think you are.” She smirked, leaning closer, her voice dropping like she was sharing some secret. “But don’t worry, I won’t
reveal your tell to anyone.”
A smile tugged at my lips despite myself. She had this infuriating way of getting under my skin and making me laugh all at
once. “You’re impossible.”
“And yet,” she said, gesturing to the room dramatically, “here I am. Sharing dessert and my very expensive wine with you.”
“Your generosity knows no bounds.” I stuck my spoon into her apple pie, stealing a bite before she could stop me.
She arched a brow, and for a split second, I thought she was actually annoyed. Then, in one swift move, she reached across
and snatched my ice-cream sundae, cradling it like a prize. “Now we’re even.”
“Hey!” I lunged for it, but she held it just out of reach, laughing at my futile attempts. “You can’t take someone’s ice cream!
That’s cruel.”
She shoveled a spoonful into her mouth with a triumphant smirk. She moaned, the low hum of noise striking me like lightning.
How do I bottle that sound?
“Emotional-support sundaes really do hit differently.” She smirked.
We fell into an easy rhythm after that, watching the show, making snarky comments about the characters, and sharing mouthfuls
of dessert like it was the most natural thing in the world.
By the time the credits rolled, I felt lighter than I had in weeks. Maybe it was the sugar rush. Maybe it was the rest. Or
maybe it was her, Inés, in all her sarcastic, stubborn glory, making me forget for a while how lonely the tour could be.
As I stretched and reached to turn on the next show, Inés shifted beside me, her voice quieter now. “Thanks for this, Chloe.
I needed it.”
My chest ached at her sad smile. Maybe she felt like I did.
Perhaps we had been as lonely as each other.
“Here,” I said, changing the subject, slipping her bracelet off my wrist. “Before I forget to give it back.”
Her dark eyes looked between me and the rainbow bracelet. She had said she hated the design, but I loved the beauty in the
random pattern of colors. There was always something new to notice about it.
“Aren’t you playing again tomorrow?”
“Yeah, so?”
“Keep it—then you’ll already have it.” She turned away, her hand grabbing at the TV remote.
“What, no?” I cried, pushing the bracelet closer. “The exchange is part of the luck.”
“Oh my God, you people and your rituals.”
I smothered a laugh. “It was your idea.”
“Is it too late to change my mind?”
“Yup.” I nudged her side with my elbow. “I’ll expect to see you before every match from now on.”
She nudged me back, her body colliding with mine. Inés rolled her eyes, but took the bracelet back nonetheless.
“You are a terror,” she said, her voice unusually low. I stared her down, getting lost in the depths of her eyes. For a second
I dared to look down at her lips, remembering how they felt against mine.
Like I’d ever forget that night.
“You have no idea.” The words left me on a cracked whisper. I’d meant them to be louder, but somehow the low volume was all
I could manage. As if I was hypnotized by her beauty and the collapsing space between us.
“I’m beginning to get a good idea.” Her voice was a murmur, warm and teasing, but there was something heavier beneath it.
Something that mirrored the weight in my chest, the heat crawling up my neck.
I bet my skin was turning a hue of rose red with every passing second.
I swallowed hard, my gaze flicking back up to meet hers. Her eyes weren’t mocking; they were searching, soft in a way that
made my pulse stutter.
I wondered if her heart was beating as hard as mine.
“Maybe I have you fooled.”
She tilted her head, her smile tugging at the corner of her lips, but it didn’t quite reach her gaze. “I don’t think so.”
I couldn’t formulate a response. Not when she was this close.
Everything about her was intoxicating. Maybe it was the expensive perfume she wore, or those brown eyes that reminded me of melting chocolate.
Or how in her silk pajamas, I could almost catch a teasing glance of her cleavage, the very idea driving my imagination wild.
My tongue, running down her neck.
Fingers on the buttons of her top.
Her mouth on mine, a hand in my hair, pulling hard.
I wanted to touch her, and not for the first time. Not even for the second. I wanted to know her body, her taste. Every single
fucking inch of her.
“Chloe.” My name on her lips sounded rough. Breathless. Like she too couldn’t inhale fully while we were this close. I couldn’t
help it, couldn’t wait any longer, as I lifted my hand, brushing a stray hair from her cheek, my fingers grazing her skin.
She froze, but she didn’t pull away.
Her breath hitched at the contact. So did mine.
“Chloe,” she whispered again, the word so quiet it was almost swallowed by the night. Her voice pulled me from the spell.
“Yeah?”
“Are you . . .” She trailed off, catching on my curiosity. I looked up at her but was quickly pushed out of the dream at the
sight of panic in her eyes. I pulled my hand away from her.
I opened my mouth to apologize. We had clear boundaries. We were working together. Oh God, technically, I was her employer.
The realization hit me like a lightning strike, straight to the heart. For once, I didn’t have a sarcastic reply or a witty
deflection. All I could do was look at her, my own panic matching hers.
“I think I should go,” she said.
Five words that sliced deeper than I thought possible.
I tried to speak, but a rasping noise came out instead, words difficult on my tongue. Swallowing them down, I managed, “Yeah,
I mean . . . I should probably get some sleep,” as if I really thought sleep was likely anymore. “I’ll see you tomorrow, for
the bracelet.”
“Yep,” Inés said, pushing up from the bed. I followed her to the door, every inch of space between us feeling torturous.
She pulled the door open, looking over her shoulder. “See you tomorrow, Chloe.”
And then she was gone. I merely stood there, the door softly clicking closed behind her, as I stared at the space she used
to occupy.
I was fucked.