Chapter 8
Reese lay in Gus’s bed and stared up at the ceiling.
The shower felt wonderful, but she liked smelling like him when she was done even better.
She’d used his shampoo and soap, which were slightly scented like men’s cologne.
She didn’t mind in the least. Then he’d fed her a stack of pancakes, and she would’ve been embarrassed by how fast she scarfed them if he hadn’t eaten just as quickly.
Even the salad seemed to taste better than anything she’d ever made for herself.
After they were done eating, she’d tried to do the dishes, but he’d pushed her down the hall back to his bedroom and ordered her to sleep.
It was cute how embarrassed he’d gotten when he realized he hadn’t changed his sheets.
He’d started to do just that, but Reese stopped him, saying she was so tired she didn’t mind.
In reality, she wanted to be surrounded by his scent.
He’d reluctantly agreed and left her in his room, closing the door almost all the way, but leaving it open a crack so he could hear her if she needed anything. It was extremely sweet, and if she hadn’t been crushing hard on the man already, she certainly would be now.
Turning onto her side, Reese inhaled deeply.
His pillow smelled most like him, and she closed her eyes and felt herself relaxing even more.
She usually didn’t sleep well away from home.
She’d tossed and turned in the motel in Bogotá, jerking at every unfamiliar sound.
But with Gus’s scent in her nose, she instinctively knew she was safe.
If someone had told her a week ago that she’d be here now, sleeping in the bed of the man she had a huge crush on, she would’ve rolled her eyes and told them to get real.
But here she was. Gus had told her that he wanted to explore what was happening between them, but she couldn’t help wondering if his feelings toward her were situational.
She was his teammate’s sister, and they had known each other for quite a while.
It was possible that he was simply feeling protective and worried because of the situation, and now that they were back in the States and she was safe, he’d realize he wasn’t attracted to her in that way after all.
Deciding that right now, when her belly was full and she was two seconds away from crashing, wasn’t the time to think about Gus’s thoughts about her, Reese did her best to quiet her mind and sleep.
When she woke up later, she looked at the clock on the table next to the bed and was surprised it was so late. She hadn’t meant to sleep so long. It was dinnertime, and any chance she had to go shopping today had slipped by. Worried about what Alaska and Henley might think, she sat up…
And groaned.
In all the craziness of the last day, she hadn’t realized how sore she would be from all her running and window-escaping and jungle-crouching.
Every muscle in her body hurt. She’d been more physically active while in Colombia than she had in a very long time.
She wanted to lie back down and not move, but instead, she stood slowly and shuffled toward the door.
She was still half asleep, but she needed to see Gus.
Make sure everything was still all right.
She walked into the living area and inhaled. Something smelled absolutely delicious. Not as good as Gus’s pillow, but it came in a close second.
“You’re up,” he said, moving toward her from the kitchen.
Reese simply stared at him. He’d put on a pair of gray sweats, much like the ones she was wearing, and she couldn’t tear her gaze away from his crotch. All the memes on the Internet about men wearing gray sweats were true. She hadn’t thought much about it before this moment.
She swallowed hard. Gus was big…all over. She could see his thigh muscles under the gray cotton, but more than that, she could see the outline of his cock. Her nipples tightened involuntarily and all she could think of was how perfectly beautiful this man was.
Then she thought about the fact his sweats and T-shirt weren’t actually all that big on her. They were close to the same height, and weight, and she was embarrassed at how well she filled out his clothes.
“Eyes, Reese,” Gus ordered.
She jerked in surprise and whipped her gaze up to his.
“As much as I love your eyes on my body, I don’t like the look that crossed your face just now. What were you thinking?”
“Um…that those memes about gray sweatpants weren’t wrong,” she blurted, then wrinkled her nose in embarrassment as she looked anywhere but at him. She was always a little out of it when she first woke up.
“Uh-huh. It’s pretty clear you like what you see, and I’m thrilled. But after that part. What put that look of discomfort on your face? Do you not want to stay here anymore? I promise you’re safe with me, but if you want me to figure out other sleeping arrangements, I will.”
“No! It’s not that. I just…you thought your clothes would be big on me, and they aren’t,” she told him honestly as she tugged on the bottom of the T-shirt. “Most guys want girls to be slender and petite. They like when their clothes swim on a woman.”
“I’m not most guys. And while I haven’t thought much about what I look like in my sweats, I have to say, I like them on you much better.”
She looked at him skeptically.
“I love your curves, Reese. I love that I can see every dip and valley while you’re in my clothes. It’s sexy as hell.”
She looked down at herself and saw her nipples pushing against the fabric of his shirt. Her thighs were definitely defined in the sweatpants, and she could just imagine how her ass was stretching the material.
“I tried losing a bunch of weight a few years ago,” she told him.
“And I did lose a bit. But I felt like crap. It sucked all the joy out of my day when I had to count every single calorie that went into my mouth. I’m always tired after work, and having to go for a jog or to the gym always made me dread going home.
I decided that while I wanted to be healthy, I wanted joy back in my life even more.
I’m usually okay with who I am and my size, even if sometimes societal pressure gets to me.
But generally, I eat what I want in moderation, work out when I can—but don’t beat myself up when I don’t—and try to love myself for who I am. ”
“Being healthy is good, but accepting yourself is better,” Gus said.
He’d taken a step toward her, and they were standing extremely close now.
“And from where I’m standing, I wouldn’t change a single thing about you.
To be crystal clear, I’m not turned off by your size.
I have to confess, I checked on you a few times while you were napping, and the sight of you in my bed…
” He exhaled heavily. “Let’s just say that I liked it…
a lot. And as I said, you filling out my clothes is sexy as fuck. ”
He placed a hand on the side of her neck and pulled her even closer. Her breasts brushed against his chest, and Reese raised her hands and put them on his sides as she studied him.
“You asked if everything was all right after I talked to your brother,” he said.
Reese licked her lips nervously and nodded.
“He was basically telling me how awesome you are. And that he approves if I want to court you.”
“He said that? Court me?” Reese asked in disbelief.
“Well, not in those exact words.”
“Thank God. Because if he’d said the word, ‘court,’ I seriously would’ve hauled his ass down to the doctor myself because something is seriously wrong,” Reese joked.
Gus grinned. “But I’ll tell you something—even if he’d told me that you were off-limits, I would’ve told him to fuck off.”
Reese’s heart began to beat faster. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. What I want to know is how you feel about being courted by me. I’d like to go out with you. Get to know you better. I’m attracted to you, Reese, but if this is weird for you, if you don’t want anything other than friendship, I’ll accept that.”
Was this real? Was this actually happening? “No!” she blurted. “I mean…it’s not weird. I’d like to get to know you too.”
His smile grew. “Good. And as far as I’m concerned, you can wear my sweats and tees anytime you want. But not in public. Only here.”
She frowned. “Why?”
“Because if the other guys saw you like this, looking all sexy, sleepy, and rumpled, I’d have to kill them.”
A shiver went through Reese. A good one.
Gus’s eyes darkened, and his thumb caressed her jawline. “Can I kiss you?”
Reese licked her lips again. “Yes,” she whispered, holding her breath as his head lowered.
His lips brushed hers once, twice. Before he took a deep breath and pulled her into his embrace.
The kiss had been so short, so chaste. She wanted more. But she didn’t want to push her luck. She could hardly believe she was standing here at all, in Gus’s arms, wearing his clothes, and he’d said he wanted to go out with her. She’d take what she could get, as long as she could get it.
“Are you hungry?” he asked as he pulled back but didn’t let go.
Reese couldn’t help but grin. “Starved,” she told him as she looked at his chest.
He laughed, and Reese felt the rumble move through her since they were plastered together.
“For food,” he clarified. “I made cauliflower mac and cheese. It doesn’t have any pasta in it, but small cauliflower florets. I promise while it doesn’t taste like pasta, it’s still delicious.”
“It sounds awesome,” she told him honestly.
He breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. I was afraid you were going to tell me you hated cauliflower.”
“Nope. I mean, I don’t want to eat it at every meal, I love me some bread and carbs, but as I said earlier, I’m okay with eating healthy, just not counting every calorie that goes into my mouth.”
“Well, I’ll tell you right now that I’m not sure how healthy it is. I used a shit-ton of cheese,” Gus said with a grin.
“Cheese makes everything better,” Reese told him.
He stared at her for a long moment.
“What?” she asked.