Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 55599 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55599 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
“My mom always loved movie popcorn, too,” I say, smiling as I think about her.
“Is she gone? If you don’t mind me asking?”
“You can ask me anything. She’s still around. My parents live in Naples, Florida. Dad’s a financial planner and Mom does interior design, but just for fun.”
“Isn’t it funny how even as an adult, you see people with their moms and just long for your own? I’d give anything to make cookies with her or go for a walk with her. To hear her voice again and see her smile...it would be everything to me.”
She clears her throat and looks away. I reach across the table and take her hand gently in mine.
“Just checking in,” our server says, opening the curtain slightly. “Anything you guys need?”
“No, I think we’re good,” I say.
“Okay, great.”
We had drinks and dinner, split a piece of raspberry cheesecake and I already paid the bill. If the magic of our time together will be over when we leave this curtained booth, though, I don’t want to go.
Josie stifles a yawn and smiles sheepishly.
“I guess we should go,” I say.
“Yeah, we have to get up at four thirty.”
She gets her wrap and bag and slides out of the booth, and I follow. I fight my urge to cup her cheek and kiss her. This is the moment. If I’d asked her on a real date, I’d kiss her here and take her back to the hotel, where we’d do a lot more than kiss until it’s time to leave for our flight.
This night has been very real to me, but I don’t know if she’s ready for more yet.
“You did great,” she says over her shoulder as she moves the curtain aside.
“We’re not done yet.”
I wink at her and she smiles. It’s scary how hooked I am on that smile. And her laugh creates an actual, physical warmth in my chest.
What the hell is happening to me? Is it just that I haven’t had sex in what feels like a lifetime?
Our hotel is close to the restaurant. The driver drops us off at the front door and I put my hand on Josie’s lower back as we walk inside.
“I had fun tonight,” I say.
“Me too.”
We have to share the elevator with a man in a rumpled suit, so I don’t get her alone again until we’re walking to our room. When we get there, we face each other.
“So,” she says softly.
“So.”
“This is where, if you like her and want to go out again, you kiss her.”
“How do I know if she likes me back?”
She holds my gaze, opening her mouth and then closing it before she finally speaks. “You’ll know.”
“I guess if she didn’t like me, she’d try to rush inside,” I say softly. “She wouldn’t look at me like she’s waiting for something.”
Josie swallows, breathing a little faster now. “Exactly.”
I reach up and cup her cheek. Her skin is soft and warm. She leans into my touch and her eyes flutter closed.
“Dane...”
“Josie.”
She opens her eyes again and says, “We can’t.”
“No?”
She shakes her head and I deflate. I won’t ask her to explain or try to change her mind, because I only want her if she wants me just as much.
I take out the key card and open the door, Josie going straight into the bathroom. She emerges ten minutes later in boxers and a T-shirt, her makeup off.
“Good night,” she says stiffly, climbing under the covers.
“Night.”
She turns her back to me, the last of tonight’s magic disappearing.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Josie
“I hear you’re officially one of us,” Jenn says from the other side of our table at a downtown Mexican restaurant.
I furrow my brow. “Not sure what you mean.”
Elena laughs from beside me. “Did you and Dane really think you could sneak out like that, all dressed up and looking like you were about thirty seconds from ripping each other’s clothes off, and no one would notice?”
Oh. Our practice date the other night. My face heats as it sets in that we’re the object of team gossip now. If this somehow gets back to my aunt, I can kiss that promotion goodbye.
“It wasn’t what it looked like,” I assure Jenn and Elena.
Jenn raises her empty glass as our server walks past our table. “Hey, can we get another round?”
I groan. The margaritas here are so big that I’m lightheaded from the first one I finished. And the more I drink, the more likely I am to spill my guts about how I really feel about Dane.
“It was a practice date,” I tell my new friends. “He’s going out with a med student when we’re in Chicago next. She hit him up on social media and I think it’ll be good for his image.”
Elana shakes her head, looking amused. “There’s so much to unpack there.”
I’m enjoying our afternoon together so much that I’m likely to tell them anything they want to know. Aiden is hosting a cookout for the team, but it’s players only, so Jenn and Elena asked me if I wanted to window-shop and have lunch. I jumped at the chance for some girl time.