Page 13 of The Game Plan

Heat washes over me, and I struggle not to shift in my seat.

I realize we’ve stopped talking and are simply staring at each other. Every place he didn’t touch last night—every place Iwant him to touch—is hot and achy.

I take a deep breath. Watch him do the same.

I’m about to bolt when he leans forward, his muscled forearms sliding a bit closer. “Go out with me. On a date.”

“What?” I push back from the table. But I can’t make my legs lift me. “I thought last night was...”

“A mistake?” He slowly shakes his head. “Not for me.”

I know I’m gaping. I can’t seem to stop. “But, but...”

His eyes crinkle. In the full sun, I see that they’re a striking blend of colors—blue, green, gold and brown—like polishedagate. “Speechless?” he says. “I like it.”

My mouth snaps shut. Then promptly opens. “You like me speechless. Well, there’s a great motivator for going out with you.”

“Like that I made you speechless. That I flustered you.” He tilts his head as he looks me over. “You do the same to me. Getme all worked up. Only it seems to make me talk more than usual, not less.”

A fresh wave of heat washes through me. “Dex—”

“Ethan,” he interjects softly. “Will you call me Ethan? At least some of the time?”

“Ethan,” I say quietly. It feels intimate. Especially when his lids lower as though I’ve stroked his skin just by saying hisname. I swallow hard. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t seem like the hookup type.”

“I’m not.” He clenches his mug again. “I don’t think you really are either.”

“No,” I admit with a small smile. “Not really. I’m looking for more now.”

Dex—Ethan—nods. “Thing is, we’re both here for the week. Ivy and Gray are in no condition to entertain. I like you. A lot.Why don’t we go out together?”

“Erm... that’s not what your proposition sounded like to me. You said on a date.”

His lush lips curl.

No, do not look at his mouth.

I watch his lips move.

“I did. I want to kiss you again, Fiona. I couldn’t sleep last night because I wanted that so badly.”

Shit. Shit. Shit.

“So, yeah, I saiddate. Because if you let me, I’m going to kiss you again, as much as I can.”

It’s a struggle to find my voice. “Neither of us is looking for casual. We don’t even live in the same city. I don’t dateathletes. Or friends of my sister. Or—”

“Why don’t we start with what youdo,” he cuts in, his gaze direct, firm. It lowers to my mouth before sliding back up to my eyes. “Do you want to kiss me again,Fiona?”

Why does he have to say my name that way? As if it’s a dare. And why is he so damn perceptive?

His eyes bore into me. “Did you think about me last night? In your bed?”

No one has ever been so blunt with me. Ever. It does my head in, giving me no place to hide.

“All I’m asking for is the truth,” he says, his big, strong body rock-solid in his chair.

Licking my lips, I try to breathe. Truth? I can do truth. It’s not so hard. Right? “Yes.”

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