Page 138 of Plus Size Player

Without a word, he slipped his arm around my waist and escorted me off the dance floor. The DJ was telling everyone to go home as we made our way into the lake house where we were staying for the night. There were a few people milling around in the living room, but Russ and I headed upstairs.

There were three bedrooms downstairs and three upstairs. Aaliyah and her date were in the biggest bedroom at the end of the hall. Jazz and her date were in the room to the left. And we were in the room on the right. A smile crossed my face as the thoughts of what I wanted to do to Russ flashed in my mind.

“Whoa, you good?” Russ asked, grabbing my hips and steadying me as we walked up the steps.

The combination of my thoughts, my heels, and the drinks I’d had made climbing the stairs a little more difficult than normal.

“I got you,” he said softly as he held me tight. “Put your arms around me.”

I wasted no time draping my arms around his neck.

“I’m okay,” I assured him, even though I allowed him to lead me. “Just got a little off-balance.”

We were still holding on to each other after we reached the second-floor landing.

“That last drink snuck up on you, huh?” he teased.

I giggled, but I couldn’t deny the deliciousness of Aaliyah’s signature drinks had me in a chokehold all night.

“I didn’t even know I liked Malibu Sunrises,” I told him as we entered our bedroom and closed the door behind us.

We hadn’t even walked a step from the door before I turned into him, almost pushing him against the door.

“Oh!” he reacted with surprise, but he held on to me.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I hugged him tight. Resting my nose against his neck, I inhaled deeply. Relishing in the sandalwood-and-leather-scented cologne, I smiled against his skin.

He smelled so good.

We stood in silence as we embraced. I held him tighter, enjoyingthe feel of him. His hands slid up and down my back and then they rested at the top of my ass. Neither of us made any moves to disentangle ourselves. I wanted to hold on to him for as long as possible. But as a wave of emotion came over me, I realized I was holding on to him as if I didn’t want to let him go.

It was the first time in weeks that we were able to be out together, that we were able to have a good time in a public space. It was the first time I felt like we were back to ourselves. It was the first time it felt like we were back to our normal. We weren’t hiding out at his place or mine. And I knew I’d missed him and what we had, but I didn’t fully comprehend the depth of how much I missed us freely being us.

“You okay?” he whispered. Dropping kisses along the side of my face, he rocked me gently.

I couldn’t open my mouth to speak because I was scared of what would come out, so I just simply nodded. Closing my eyes tight, I pushed down the emotion bubbling up inside me.

“Talk to me,” he coaxed softly.

“I’ve missed this,” I admitted, pulling out of the hug enough to look him in his eyes. “You’re so much fun. I’ve missed going out and having fun with you.”

“I’ve missed it, too.” He searched my face for a moment. “We’re going to get back to normal.”

His words were etched in confidence, and I was tipsy enough to let myself believe him.

Stepping out of my shoes, I maintained eye contact with him.

“Just let me put a plan together and we’ll go out. We’ll leave our work at work and just enjoy ourselves. I’ll take you wherever you want to go. We’ll do whatever you want to do. I’ll make sure we get back to nights like this.”

I ran my hands up his chest and over his shoulders, halfway removing his jacket. He took it off his arms and then tossed it to the side. I put my hands underneath his newly untucked shirt and stroked his back. I looked up at him adoringly, wanting what he’d just described so badly.

“I wish,” I sighed.

His brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Where can we go, Russ? You’re traveling, getting ready for Fashion Week, and you’ll be gone for days at a time. You’ll have assistants and other management people all around you, so even if I went on the trip, I’d have to hide out in the hotel room. When you’re here, we can’t go out because we will likely be spotted by someone who works for you. This is it. This was our last night of freedom. Our last night to be us,” I explained, my face crumpling in frustration. The words just kept spilling out of me. “I have months left on my contract and this opportunity means a lot to me so I’m not going to quit. And I know how important your business is to you, so you can’t have a scandal. I don’t want to stop this. I love”—I cleared my throat and shifted my gaze momentarily—“what we have.”

“Hey.” With his hands on my lower back, he pulled me into him again. He pressed his lips against mine. “I love what we have, too.”

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