Page 46 of Drop Shot
“Are you sure?”
When I was working for him, I learned quickly that Elias is particular about his space.
He seems to read the expression on my face. “I can be a neat freak prick sometimes, but this is your space now too, Whim. Use it.”
He shuts the dresser drawer he’s at. “I’m going to take that shower now.”
As he passes me, he grabs a wet strand of my hair between his fingers and rubs it. My breath catches and I pray he doesn’t notice but the wink he shoots me tells me otherwise.
The bathroom door clicks shut behind him and I let out a relieved breath.
I turn some music on, letting it play out of my phone speaker because I left my AirPods downstairs. I keep the volume on the lower side because I don’t want to disturb Elias.
I hum along, throwing in a shimmy every now and then as I unpack.
God, this feels weird. I haven’t ever lived with a man, and that’s essentially what Elias and I are going to be doing for however many months we keep up this ruse.
I’m so busy singing along that I don’t notice Elias exit the bathroom until I pop out of the closet and find him standing at the dresser in nothing but a towel. His body is slick with water. It drips from his chest down his chiseled stomach to where it gets absorbed by the towel wrapped around his waist.
My mouth falls open.
Elias ishot. I know this. It’s not some kind of new revelation. But I’ve never seen him like this—so close to naked. Like a fantasy come to life.
He looks over at me as he pulls a t-shirt from the drawer. “You’re gonna catch flies with your mouth hanging open like that.”
My jaw snaps shut, my face flaming. “I wasn’t … I … you … and I just…”
His smile grows. “It’s okay. Look all you want. Iamyour boyfriend now,” he teases.
He grabs the rest of his clothes and disappears back into the bathroom.
I let out a breath. I’ve probably been holding it since he first walked out. I need to get over this crush, because this whole close proximity thing might be my undoing.
I disappear back into the closet to finish putting my things away.
By the time I return, Elias has left the bathroom and is nowhere to be seen in the bedroom. I inhale a deep breath.
“You can do this, Whimsy,” I say to myself.
I wish I felt as confident as I sound.
CHAPTER 15
ELIAS
“You’re swinging too soon.”
I glower at Noah Baker—former rival turned friend turned doubles partner. He raises his hand, racket held in his right.
“Don’t shoot the messenger, E. You’re not with it today.”
I walk over to my bag and pull out my water bottle taking several small sips.
“I know,” I concede. “My mind is…” I gesture to my head. “All over the place.”
I had to share a bed with Whimsy last night, which I thought would be no big deal. We’re both adults after all. Apparently, my brain didn’t get the memo, because I had X-rated dreams about my former assistant all night long. I woke up with a raging boner. Thankfully Whimsy was out cold and didn’t notice me slipping out of bed and into the bathroom to take care of my problem.
He bounces the ball with his racket. “Well, try to get it back on track, okay?”
