Page 8 of Drop Shot
Why do I get the impression he wants to stay?
“No, no plans. I was just going to watch a movie.”
His tongue sweeps out, dampening his lips. A small smile then curves those same lips. “Do you mind if I stay?”
“That’s fine.”
Does my voice sound higher than normal?
“What did you plan to watch?”
“Um … probably just a rom-com but we can watch something else. That’s probably not really your thing.”
He cocks his head to the side, fingers absentmindedly stroking my cat. “I have a twin sister who used to punch me in the face so she could control the remote. I’m used to rom-coms.”
“Oh, okay.”
Stop being so awkward!I scold myself.
It’s not like Elias is a stranger, but this whole thing isweird. He’s been my boss for the past several years. It’s not like we’ve hung out outside of work and events so having him in my apartment is more than a little jarring. It doesn’t help that he’s so large, both in size and personality, so I feel like I’m suffocating.
I put onHow to Lose a Guy in 10 Daysand try not to overthink this whole thing, but it’s pretty hard to ignore the hot guy on my couch.
“I don’t bite,” he says when I remain on the floor.
I grimace. It might only be the two of us here but eventually we’re going to be in situations around other people and I need to act like I touch this man on a regular basis.
I slowly get up from the floor and manage to squeeze myself onto to the couch. Frankly, calling it a couch is a stretch. It’s more like a loveseat or an oversized chair. So that means my entire right side of my body is pressed to his left.
“You’re stiff, Whimsy,” he comments. His head lowers, lips grazing the curve of my ear where a row of gold hoops encircle the cartilage. “Loosen up.”
I can’t tell him, but I’m stiff because my nipples are literally trying to escape through my bra and t-shirt. If his eyes drop even a little, he’s about to see them.
Right about now I’m regretting not listening to my mom and dating more, because being around Elias more than usual is going to give my nipples a constant lady boner. Maybe, at least, if I was regularly getting laid, I wouldn’t be so worked up just by his arm touching mine.
Pathetic.
Suddenly, I remember the blanket on the opposite side of the couch.
“Can you pass me the blanket?” I plead.
“Oh, yeah. Sure.”
He grabs it and instead of just handing it to me he spreads it out over both our laps, leaving my hardened nipples still blatantly exposed.
Fuck.
All I can do is hope he doesn’t notice.
By some miracle I manage to make it through the movie but despite it being one of my all-time favorites, it drags. It’s dark out now, the city aglow through the floor to ceiling windows.
Elias follows my gaze to the view. “If you could live anywhere, where would you choose?”
I mull his question over. I’ve been to many places through my travels working for him. Seen some of the most beautiful places I could ever imagine.
“I don’t know. It feels impossible to choose, but I think Florida will always feel like home.”
I grew up not far from Miami. The city isn’t for everyone but I’m familiar with it and there’s something nice about that familiarity. As much as I love traveling, there’s a part of me that always longs to be back here.
