Rolling my eyes, I look at her. “Of course, I’ve noticed. But he’s off limits. For both of us.”
“Oh no.” A clap through the audience forces both of us to pay attention to the stage. “One of us needs to be doing that. And you need it more than I do.”
“How do you figure that? I just came out of a stable relationship.”
“Precisely. You need a rebound guy.”
She clapped and cheered the team on stage who performed a great synchronized tumble set. It wasn’t perfect but it was pretty damn good. I joined in the cheering. These girls could use the encouragement.
The loud noise garnered the attention of some people, and the people on the back row turned to look at them.
Justin turns around and his gaze immediately finds mine. Our eyes lock. My mouth goes dry, and yet I still swallow hard. My stomach doing those funny little flip-flops.
“And he’s interested.” Lilly’s whisper breaks the moment and I blink.
My lips twitch in what I hope is a smile and I give him a small wave. He winks at me, and I swear, my ovaries practically explode. Despite everything happening around us, we don’t break eye-contact. I make a circle motion indicating he should be watching the stage. Instead, he nods to the entryway. I read his mind immediately and nod.
“I’ll be right outside,'' I say to Lilly.”
“We’re up in twenty,” she says, checking her wristwatch. “And for goodness sake, ask him out.”
I stick my tongue out at her and make my way to the exit. Justin doesn’t bother to push past the other people in his row. Instead he opts to climb over the seat and joins me at the exit.
Before we’re even a couple steps from the entryway, Justin pulls me into his arms. It’s a hug to end all hugs. “God, it’s so good to see you.”
“You too,” I say, inhaling him. My arms automatically move around his waist and up his back. His body’s hard but warm, and I cannot feel anything but safe in his embrace. He feels like home. We hold on to each other a lot longer than is necessary. He pulls away first and looks down at me. His hands rest on my hips “You’re looking good.”
I smile and rake my gaze over him. “So do you. Silicon Valley has treated you well.”
“Well, here’s hoping Seattle does too.”
I narrow my eyes. “You’re moving back home?”
He nods. “I moved back two weeks ago. Michael mentioned you’ll be moving back too.”
“Yeah. I have one more week of work and then next week I’ll be packing my stuff.” Making small talk with him doesn’t feel like a filler. Maybe because it’s been so long since we’ve caught up with each other.
My phone buzzes and I check it. “That’s my ten-minute call. I need to get backstage.”
As I’m debating whether or not to ask him out, he holds two fingers under my chin. “Want to get a drink when you’re finished for the day?”
I’m tempted to flirt, or even tease him, but I’m afraid I’ll get tongue-tied. “Sure, I’ll be done in about an hour.”
Justin
It takes nearly the full ten minutes for the semi in my pants to subside. From the moment our eyes locked, I was done. Those cocoa eyes pulled me in. Nothing seemed as important as getting her alone. Not that there was much opportunity for that. I want her, and that makes no sense.
She’s decidedly off limits. Not only is she my best friend’s little sister, our families are friends too. We have no choice but to be in each other’s lives. It’s best to stay away from her. That seems like the safest, most rational thing to do. At least that’s what my over-analytical brain is telling me. But I know I won’t.
Maybe it’s the fact that we’re in Vegas and both of us will be back to normal in Seattle soon. Maybe it’s the fact that she’s hiding her gorgeous curves underneath those team sweats. The moment she was in my arms, I wanted to hold on tight and never let go.
Asking her out will probably get me into trouble but I don’t care. It’s one drink to catch up. I can control myself. Just because I was instantly attracted to her doesn’t mean that I’ll try and get her into my bed. I won’t.
Sure, she was beautiful. Beneath all that make up and teased dark hair there was no ignoring her dark eyes and pouty mouth. It wasn’t like I was picturing those lips around my dick. I wasn’t. And crap, I’m getting hard again.
I take a few moments thinking about baseball stats before making my way back into the arena. As I’m taking my seat the master of ceremonies announces, “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, The Vegas Dynamite, for our final performance of the day.”
One of Justin Bieber’s earlier songs plays through the arena’s speakers and a blonde woman springs perfectly across the mat. Then another does the same thing from another corner. Angela is at the center of three women coming up the center of the stage.
As I watch the performance, I’m struck dumb. There are easily twenty people on stage, but I only have eyes for her. And it’s not just lust. Not that her moving around in that tiny turquoise skirt and matching cropped top is not hot as hell. Because, fuck, it is.
Watching her is so much more than sexual. I try and ignore the tinge of jealousy as the men on stage lift her up and throw her around. I don’t really want to analyze that. Beyond all of that, I am in awe. She’s agile and poised, but she’s also strong. She takes her teammates onto her shoulders with ease. She has perfect balance as one of the guys holds one of her feet and she holds her other leg up to her ear.
There’s something about the performance that gives
