Page 20 of Rounding Third

My gaze trails up and down his bare torso. I'm drinking in every inch of exposed skin even though I know I shouldn’t. I need to remember we’re just friends.

“Sweets?”

“Yeah?” I squeak out as I rip my gaze away from his chest and meet his eyes.

“What are you staring at, Sweets?”

“Uh… nothing. I'm just wondering why some guys wax their chests and some don’t.”

“Do you have an opinion on this?” His lips quirk up on one side, giving him a lopsided grin.

“I… I think I like the hair. It makes you look more masculine.”

“Good. I didn’t really want to start waxing.” He grimaces as he scratches his chest.

“Would you really start waxing if I said I preferred a bare chest?”

“I’d do just about anything to make you happy, Sweets.” He drops his chin, staring at me through his lashes. He slowly begins unbuttoning his jeans and watches me. “What’s your opinion on boxers?”

“I… uh… I…” The few noises I'm able to get out die on my tongue as his jeans fall to the floor and Smithy is left standing in front of me in a pair of black boxer briefs and nothing else.

The fabric molds to his muscular form and leaves little to the imagination. I swallow hard and try to tear my gaze away from him, but it’s impossible.

“I’m up here, Sweets,” he murmurs. His voice has become deeper and raspy. It sounds like he’s barely hanging onto his control and that has me lifting my gaze to meet his.

“I think whatever is most comfortable is the right option for you,” I’m barely able to squeak out.

“Right.” He smirks as he grabs a pair of gray sweatpants out of his dresser and slips them on. “Do you want something else to wear? That can't be comfortable.” He nods to my jeans and shirt.

“No, it’s fine. It’s not like I'm sleeping in this. I’ll change when I get home.”

“You’re not going home tonight, beautiful. You’re staying here.”

My heart hammers a little harder against my ribs as Smithy closes the distance between us and tilts my chin up so I'm staring right into his eyes.

“Oh,” the word comes out as a whisper and I want to facepalm myself. What is wrong with me tonight? Why have I lost the ability to speak in complete sentences? I sound like an idiot.

He lets his fingers trail down my neck and they pause at the base. He’s staring down at me and I'm sure he can see the swell of my breasts rising and falling rapidly with each breath I take.

“I’ll get you a t-shirt of mine to wear. I think you’ll be too hot in a sweatshirt.”

He quickly grabs a shirt for me, then he’s standing in front of me again. My hands tremble as I try to untie the knot of my button up shirt. No matter how many times I try, I can't seem to get it undone.

“Let me,” Smithy murmurs as he pushes my hands to the side. He kneels in front of me and takes his time untying the knot. He slowly pushes the fabric down my shoulders and my breath comes out in a shudder.

I want to scream and beg him to put me out of my misery. To touch me the way I want him to and give into this craziness even if it’s just for tonight.

Tomorrow we can go back to being best friends and pretend this never happened… but I’m not sure I could ever return to what we have now if I take that leap with him. Once I’ve experienced all of him, I’d never be able to let go.

Smithy’s phone rings, breaking the near silence of the room. The only thing that could be heard was our labored breaths. He lets out a low groan as he reaches for the device.

“Shit, I need to take this. It’s my manager. I’ll be right back.” He stands to his full height as he accepts the call. He exits the room to take the call in private, but right before he’s out of sight, I watch him adjust himself and notice how turned on he was.

I scramble to find my phone and call Winnie as quickly as I can.

“Hello?” She asks over the noise of the bar. “Wheeler! Stop it!” She giggles.

“Winnie! I need to talk to you right now! Go somewhere quiet!” I hiss into the phone, hating how my hands are still trembling and I can barely control myself. I want him so badly and I don’t know what to do.

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