9. APRIL
APRIL
My phone buzzed at four in the morning. It was Nora telling me she was home.
I glanced at Josh, only being able to see him through the shadows.
He was lying flat on his back, softly snoring.
Last night was surprising. Had I taken it too far, massaging his back?
Probably. The issue was when I got nervous, I needed to find something to do with my hands while plenty of options crept up lying next to him.
None of them were appropriate for friends, let alone co-workers.
And seeing as I needed some form of outlet, they found themselves with an incredible urge to dig into his skin.
Self-torture, I know. And yet, there I was, all over him.
His skin was silky under my fingers and his muscles were tight as fuck.
He needed to unwind and maybe it was the alcohol or being stood up, but I liked watching him squirm.
For a split second, it reminded me of the night at Ribfest. The surprise kiss that made me forget everything, including that he was Josh, a man with a reputation of being a heartbreaker.
It was enough to pull me out of our spell.
I used work as an excuse, even though it was a lie.
So close, and yet, never crossed that line, although both of us wanted to.
The friction rubbing against his tight ass had me wanting to strip off my pants and ride him like I was starring in a bull-riding contest. What the hell was wrong with me? You cannot have these thoughts. He was a friend. Okay, maybe not a friend, but in that category.
Maybe it was a good idea to leave, before I did yet another stupid or embarrassing thing.
Yet, the thought was crushing. There was something about the way he was sprawled out next to me that made me want to stay right here in this cozy little space that I didn't want to admit felt nice. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d stayed over at someone’s place.
I snuggled back in and edged slightly closer to him.
My cheeks flushed at my own braveness. But before I knew it, I had drifted back off.
Fingers digging into my thigh woke me up.
What the—? When I gazed behind me, Josh was there with his head snuggled into my back, rough hands gripping my thigh.
It was clear that he was dead asleep. The way the sliver of light streaming through his curtain shadowed over his face, hardening his square jawline, made him sexier looking.
He shifted ever so slightly, his morning wood brushed my ass, making my stomach drop.
My body had a mind of its own as my ass pushed against him.
Josh gripped me tighter and I didn’t mind one bit.
In fact, I liked how he gripped me, like I was his.
“Josh?” I softly whispered, not sure if he would hear me.
The sound of my voice had his hands pausing. The bed shifted when he abruptly let go and rolled away from me. “Morning. Sorry about that.”
“No worries,” I mumbled, climbing out of the bed, not sure what to do next.
“Where you going?” His voice was gruff, full of sleep.
“Home. Nora is back. Gotta get ready for our flight.”
“Right.” A shadow of disappointment crossed his face. He was quiet and I found myself wondering what the hell I should do.
“Thanks for letting me crash here.”
“Anytime,” he mumbled, sitting up, showing off his abs.
My inner thoughts screamed, “Are you sure you have to go?” Yes!
I gathered my stuff and headed toward the door rather hastily.
This was why I didn’t sleep over. It was always awkward as fuck the next day.
Plus, it wasn’t like he and I were even a thing.
He was simply helping me out. Josh scrambled out of bed, adjusting himself, which I didn’t miss, and damn did that make me want to stay.
But he surprised me by walking me to the door.
“Hey, uh,” he started to say something, but shook his head. “See you later.”
“See you later,” I echoed back and ducked out of his apartment. See you later? What the fuck was that?
Relief washed over me when I got home and the door was unlocked. Nora was making coffee in the kitchen. She took one look and nodded at the clothes that weren’t mine. “Nice. Love the look.”
“It wasn’t like that.” I wished it was. No, you don’t.
“I was stood up.”
“What?” She whirled around so fast that her coffee splashed on the floor.
“Yup. The hot online guy bailed. Never even messaged me back.”
“Oh, hun. I am so sorry! What an asshole. Where did you say he lived? I’m going to drive up there and dick punch a dude!”
I snort-chuckled. “Not worth it.”
“Meh, but it could be a good time.” She winked. Then a grave look washed over her face. “Wait, if he no-showed, where the hell did you stay?”
“Josh’s,” I replied casually, trying to brush it off.
Her face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Even better!”
“Wasn’t anything like you’re hoping for.”
She rolled her eyes and muttered, “Could be if you dated him or fake dated him.”
“Uh,” I groaned. “Don’t start with that again.”
“Just saying, time is a ticking…”
My eye caught the clock on the wall. “Yup, and I have a flight to catch.”
Away from Nora’s watchful gaze, I stripped out of Josh’s clothes and gently placed them on the bamboo stool.
Images of the way he stared at me like he wanted to devour me had me conflicted, because in spite of everything, I wished he did.
No one had ever looked at me with pure sex on their mind.
The heat he had caused to pool between my legs probably could have set his sheets on fire.
The memories of last night had me hot as a tea kettle, I flipped the water to cold.
I showered in record time since I’d already washed last night.
Mostly, I wanted to rub Josh’s scent off me.
Then I changed into comfortable leggings and an over-sized tee, and packed for the three-game stint in Boston.
Banishing my complex feelings toward Josh and how Nora’s logic about asking him to be my date seemed more like a possibility.
As a distraction, I began making my checklist: check into the hotel, head to practice, room service, then relax.
The series started tomorrow and that would keep me busy.
Despite the ease of the flight, I was on edge.
May had started a group chat for my Papi’s birthday and each message filled me with anxiety about not having my date.
There was an undertone in the texts, like they knew I was solo, except it was all in my head.
No one had even mentioned it as they divided tasks for the party.
My stress level was through the roof. Needing to take off some of the pressure, I grabbed my workout bag and decided to hit the hotel gym.
It wasn’t as fancy as our stadium one but it would do.
Ten minutes in and sweat was dripping down me. My legs were begging for a break from the steep incline I battled. Groaning, I gave myself one last push to finish when the door swung open. A familiar face reflected off the glass as he strolled through. Josh. Great.
It wasn’t unusual to run into some of the guys from the team, but most of them preferred to use the stadium facilities.
Josh spotted me on the machine and I watched the reflection as his eyes roamed over my ass in tight leggings, with a workout bra barely holding my bouncing boobs, as I rode the machine to what felt like my death.
Josh made no attempt to hide his gaze that sat directly on my chest.
Something about the way he stood frozen in place, watching me, pushed me harder.
I gave it my all, making sure there was extra pep in my step.
He was damn near drooling and I was relishing in it.
It had been a long time since anyone had looked at me like that and it certainly wasn’t anything Wes ever did.
Ugh, why did Josh need to look at me like that?
And why was I more than willing to let him ogle me?
’Cause no matter what, he’s hot and we have some sort of weird quasi-friendship or understanding despite denying it.
Finally, the machine slowed down, allowing me to catch my ragged breath.
Josh’s gaze finally broke as he wandered over to me. “Hey.”
“Hey? After you’ve been staring at my assets for the last few minutes,” I taunted through choppy breaths.
He chewed on the inside of his cheek, a tight grin pulling at his lips. “How could I not?”
Was he flirting with me? Then I remembered, Josh flirted with everyone.
“Enjoy the rest of your workout.” He smirked and headed to the weights. He purposely flexed when he removed his shirt, exposing all his abs. Sure, I had seen it every day doing his physio, but I still couldn’t look away. I should have. It only added to his stupid ego.
After only a few curls with the weights, I was done.
There was no way I could focus as I watched Josh’s rippled muscles flex with his arm curls.
With my luck, I’d trip over my feet and fly off the damn machine.
I didn’t trust myself, especially when Josh was adding squats in with his weights.
He might be an ass, but he also had a fine one.
“Like what you see?” He winked at me.
Hiding my blush, I quipped, “Ha! With that form, I better start making a plan for your back tomorrow.”
He stuck his ass out further, dropping lower and pushing his arm straight up. His entire body was chiseled at that angle and worth every unfiltered thought at that second. He wiggled his brows in the mirror. “Better? And don’t lie, I saw you licking your lips.”
“In your dreams.”
He chuckled. “At this point, it’s a nightly event. You know you can just ask…”
What an arrogant piece of work. Two could play at this game.
I stepped over to my towel and water bottle on the side of the machine, making a performance of patting myself down and taking a slow drink from my water bottle.
Josh was eating it up, even though he was pretending not to, but his eyes betrayed him in the mirror.
He was watching me like a cat with a mouse.
“Now who’s in your dreams?” I chided and left before he could gather enough of his brain cells back north. I may have caught the start of some uncomfortable pant straining. Serves him right.
Once I got back to my room, I took my second cold shower.
I’d like to say it was because of my workout, but Josh had an unnerving effect on me.
I hated how much my body responded to the way his eyes watched me or how he looked like he would take me right there on the benches.
An image that only made me hotter for him.
My stomach tightened and heat pooled between my legs despite the cold water.
What the heck was with me? Maybe it’s been too long.
I thought back to my last lackluster-sex encounter and couldn't even remember it. Damn.