Chapter 8 #2
I noticed the obvious things first, like the shape of his arms in his black Scorpions tank top.
They were always the first thing I noticed—thick and muscular and covered in red hair.
My eyes moved to his Adam’s apple and the lines of his neck.
There was a prominent vein on the side of it, and for a moment, I imagined tracing my tongue over it.
I didn’t let my eyes linger for longer than a few moments at a time, not wanting to be caught staring.
My next stolen glance noticed the lines around his eyes and the way his lips were held in a flat line.
His eyes stayed straight ahead, staring at the plain white walls of the gym.
The last time we’d been in the gym together, he hadn’t kept his eyes trained on the wall like that.
Heck, even when I’d first seen him in the gym, he’d spared me a few glances.
Granted, that was because I’d started talking to him.
Would he get mad if I started talking to him now?
I looked down at the red numbers on the treadmill, telling me how far I’d run and how many calories I’d burned, and decided to risk it. What was the worst that happened? He got annoyed with me again? I was pretty sure annoyed with me was his default setting.
(Point one in the column that said my feelings for him were entirely one-sided.)
I dragged my eyes back up to his face. Was it just me or was his jaw set more stubbornly than it had been when I’d looked down at the treadmill screen? I took a deep breath. “What are you listening to?”
It dawned on me that I didn’t know what kind of music he listened to, but he didn’t answer. Maybe he couldn’t hear me.
I reached over and tapped him on the forearm. He finally looked my way, but his hazel eyes were hard when he faced me. His lips grew thinner, and there was no mistaking the annoyance etched into his every feature. I wasn’t going to let that deter me though. “What are you listening to?” I repeated.
“Music.”
Great. A one-word answer. “Real descript there, Rowan,” I teased.
He turned his attention back to the wall, ignoring me again.
I huffed in frustration and tried a few more times to get his attention. It didn’t work, so I just ran in silence beside him.
What had Aunt Ethel said to him? Clearly, she had to have said something to make him switch up so quickly from that morning.
I was determined to get to the bottom of it.
I made the decision right then that I was not going to let it rest. I could be a very stubborn person when I set my mind to it, and my mind was set.
I was going to find out what happened, and I was going to find out before we went to Roswell.
That meant I stayed on the treadmill, right beside him, until he turned his off. I hit the stop button, not worrying about cooling down. I could stretch at home later. Maybe it was a bad idea, but I didn’t care. I was determined.
I followed him out of the gym and on to the elevator. Once the doors shut, he couldn’t escape me.
“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” I demanded as I hit the button for our floor.
Rowan let out a low grumble. “Nothing’s wrong.”
“Bullshit,” I shot out. “You’re back to the grumpy Gus you were being when you first got to Tucson. Did Aunt Ethel say something to you after I left?”
“No.”
I frowned. He was not being helpful, and we were already halfway to our floor. Stupid fast elevator. If I could just slow it down, then I could get to the bottom of this.
Slow it down? Wait. I could do that. I could do better than that.
I hit the stop button on the elevator. I knew that was probably going to set off some alarm somewhere, but maintenance would probably take forever to respond to that too. Just like they had when I got locked out.
“What are you doing?” Rowan asked as the elevator stopped.
“Making you talk to me,” I told him, lifting my head to look him right in the eye.
He had at least six inches on me, and I knew it only made me look more stubborn about the whole thing, because it jutted my chin out just so.
I noticed his arm begin to move and repositioned myself so my body was blocking the elevator panel. “What’s wrong?”
“Right now?” he asked. “My teammate just willingly trapped us in an elevator.”
“What did my aunt say to you? Tell me, and I’ll hit the button that makes it move again.”
There was a flash of something behind Rowan’s eyes.
Anger, maybe, but it looked softer than that.
I didn’t know him well enough to fully put my finger on that emotion.
I kept my eyes trained on his, refusing to break eye contact until he did.
He didn’t. He kept his eyes unflinchingly trained on mine as he asked a question I had not expected. “What’s the story with Ray?”
Ray.
Was he upset over Ray? I guess that did make sense.
My best friend showed up, and I’d abandoned him with Aunt Ethel.
I’d left him at a table full of food with a stranger, and I knew that he had a hard time getting to know people.
Aunt Ethel had a way of putting people at ease, but I knew that Rowan could be a bit difficult in that regard.
“He’s my best friend, and he was having boy trouble.” I wasn’t willing to give any more details than that. What happened between him and Luke might not have been a secret, but I didn’t think he’d appreciate me spilling his heartache to a stranger. I knew I wouldn’t if the roles were reversed.
“You two looked…” Rowan finally looked away. He ducked his head sheepishly. Why was that so adorable? “You looked close.”
“He’s my best friend. Of course we’re close.” I smiled softly. “I’m sorry for abandoning you with Aunt Ethel. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
A strange noise fell from Rowan’s lips. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
He shook his head, but he didn’t say anything.
Instead, he looked at me with this indecipherable look.
I’d seen that look on a few people’s faces in the past. It usually meant they were trying to make sense of me, but I didn’t understand what I’d said that was so hard to comprehend.
I’d clearly upset him by abandoning him with Aunt Ethel and going off with Ray. The obvious solution was to apologize.
I was so busy trying to figure out why he was looking at me the way he was that I didn’t notice that he’d moved in closer until my back was pressed against the cold walls of the elevator and one of those thick arms of his was caging me in.
His other hand gently stroked the side of my face before his thumb caught under my chin.
He lifted my face, and my heart skipped a beat.
What. Was. Happening?
I felt the warmth of his breath against my lips. It dawned on me just as his lips pressed against mine.
Rowan Rangecroft was kissing me.
I froze against his lips, blindsided by this sudden turn of events. He was kissing me. One moment he’d been upset with me, and now he was—oh!
He’d asked about Ray because he thought something was going on between me and Ray. He’d been jealous, and now he knew that Ray was just my best friend and he was kissing me. And I was just standing there like an idiot. What was I doing? I needed to kiss him back.
My lips began to move against his, and soon I felt his tongue at the seam of my lips.
I opened for him and felt the weight of his tongue invade my mouth.
The kiss heated up, tongues colliding and fighting for dominance.
My arms wrapped around him and pulled him closer to me as I began to lose myself in the way he kissed me. He was a very good kisser.
I hadn’t thought that this was a possibility when I’d woken up that morning. I hadn’t thought it was a possibility when I stopped the elevator, but now that it was happening? I was an idiot for not realizing what was going on.
When he pulled away, I brought my fingers to my lips. They were tingling. I wanted to kiss him again, but the elevator started to move. He must have taken advantage of my distraction to restart the elevator.
A few moments later, the elevator door opened, and Rowan walked out. He didn’t say anything as he retreated to his condo.
Had I imagined that entire thing? No. I could still taste him on my tongue and feel him on my lips. I could still feel the burn of his stubble on my chin. I hadn’t imagined that, and I would never forget it either.
Best first kiss ever.
Notes
Fuck men. It turns out Ray and I have similar taste in men, because my now ex-boyfriend is just as big of a douche canoe as the guys Ray dates in canon.
He was cheating on me while I was in the hospital.
And after I got out of the hospital. With my fucking nurse.
So, I’m single now. True love only exists in fanfiction.
That’s the obvious conclusion I’m drawing here.
Bright spot of being single: I should have more time to write now that I don’t have to balance my loser ex-boyfriend with my writing. Silver linings, right?