Page 40 of More To Us

"Your bed, huh?" he asks in a low sexy tone. I didn't realize how sexy his voice was until I heard him on the phone like this.

"Get your mind out of the gutter," I tell him. "I'm fully clothed. I haven't changed since you dropped me off."

"I liked those shorts you were wearing. And the shirt. You looked really nice tonight."

I wonder if by 'nice' he means sexy. I didn't try to dress sexy, but I admit my shorts are really short, but that's only because it's the style right now. It's not like I purposely picked out my shortest pair. And my t-shirt is a fitted v-neck. It's nothing special but it does show off my breasts, but all shirts do that because I have a larger than average chest.

"Thanks. But it was just shorts and a t-shirt. I didn't exactly dress up."

"That's why I liked it. Dressing up is fine now and then, but I like more of a casual look."

"Good to know," I say kiddingly. "I'll be sure to tell your next girlfriend."

"You don't need to. I already told her."

"You did?" I feel a pang of jealousy. Why didn't he tell me he has a girlfriend? "Who is it?"

He laughs. "I'll just leave it at that."

Wait—does he mean ME? I'm not his next girlfriend. I already told him several times tonight that I only wanted to be friends. But then I waited in his truck for him to kiss me. Talk about mixed signals. What is wrong with me?

"So you don't have a girlfriend?" I ask.

"Not yet."

"You have girls falling all over you. How could you not have a girlfriend?"

"I haven't met the right person. Until the other night at the bar."

I smile. "So tell me about this girl."

"She's super hot. Has these beautiful brown eyes. Long silky hair. A nice voice. Great smile. She's funny. A bit mysterious, but I'm working on that. She's a talented athlete. And we have a lot in common. She's pretty much perfect."

"Nobody's perfect."

"Guess I'll have to wait and find out, because right now she seems pretty damn perfect."

I'm far from perfect. A disaster is more like it, or a hot mess, as Amber would say. I'm completely clueless about my future. I have no idea what I'm going to do if I can't do gymnastics. I feel like I should have my life figured out by now, but I don't. Instead, I'm just taking each day as it comes, with no plans other than to compete again. I haven't even declared a major for college. I'm just taking general classes.

"You want to watch TV?" I grab my remote from the table.

"Trying to change the subject?"

"Yeah."

"Next time just tell me. I like it when people are direct, because that's how I am. I tell people what I want and what I like. My brothers are the same way. It's kind of a Wheeler trait. So next time, don't worry about being subtle. Just tell me what you want."

I want you to come over here and kiss me and put your hands...

"Kira?"

"Yeah," I say, trying to regain my focus. "Got it. I'll try to be more direct."

I need to stop thinking of him in a sexual way. It makes it too hard to be around him.

"So back to the TV," he says. "What do you want to watch?"

We find a movie and watch it together. I've never done that. Watched a movie with someone over the phone. We didn't just watch. We also talked. Austin kept making these funny comments. He has a great sense of humor.

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