Page 86 of Unwritten Rules
The rhythm of my erratic pulse thumps in time with my heart. My eyes linger on his message, fingers hovering over the screen. I haven’t spoken to him all day because he was busy with training, and I was getting lost in a mountain of paperwork. I had grown used to seeing him on a regular basis, but now thathe’s been cleared, our time together has been cut short with only the occasional session to check in on him once a week.
I knew it would come to an end eventually, but I didn’t think it would bum me out as much as it has this past week.
Now the question becomes: what do I respond with?
Should I respond at all? If I want to get even a couple of hours of sleep, it would be in my best interest not to say a word, because I know if I do, I’ll get swept up in his words like every other time.
Unfortunately, I have the willpower of a six-year-old in a lolly store.
TATE: Do you have a camera in here watching me? Because yeah, sleep is eluding me.
Sinnett’s response comes quickly, sending my heart into overdrive.
SIN: Do you have something on your mind, Tate?
TATE: A lot of things.
SIN: Do share.
I exhale a long breathe and tap on the screen, my fingers a blurry of movement.
TATE: I can’t give away all of my secrets, but I will say you’re pretty up there on the list.
SIN: Me? Well, I wish I could say it didn’t go both ways.
My heart thunders in my chest as I re-read the message at least twenty times.
He’s thinking about me.
Sinnett is thinking aboutmeat three in the morning.
TATE: All good things, I hope. I would hate for you to be awake this late, thinking of all the ways you could tell me you don’t want to see me anymore.
SIN: On the contrary, strawberry. My thoughts are far from it.
If my skin wasn’t on fire before, it is now. I’m afraid to touch it for fear of burning myself. I don’t know how this man does it. All it takes is for him to say something as simple as he’s thinking about me, and my body reacts like a dog in heat. It’s a foreign feeling to me, and not something I experienced when I was with my ex-boyfriend.
An ache pounds in my core, followed by liquid heat pooling at the edges, fuelling the feverish fire across my body. I drag my bottom lip between my teeth, fighting the urge to relieve the pressure building.
Feeling risky, I reach over and switch the lamp on beside the bed and sit up against the mound of pillows behind me. With light filtering across the room, I notice the windows overlooking the backyard are slick with rain drops from the downpour that did its best to lull me to sleep at midnight, but since then, it has stopped, bringing with it a howling wind that rattles the frame with each gust.
With my heart in my throat, I hold the phone above my head with the camera pointed at me. I smooth down the flyaway baby hairs around my face and adjust my tank top slightly. My nipplepiercings press against the thin, white material, and the white and pink checkered shorts ride up my thighs, showing off more of my legs than necessary.
I swallow hard and turn my mouth up in a tight-lipped smile, snapping a photo that is far from my comfort zone. My hands shake as my thumb hovers over the send button. Somehow, Sinnett manages to bring out a side to me I never knew existed. Sending a revealing photo like this is not something I would’ve ever considered doing with Jayden. Even if he begged for it, I would decline because it’s not something I’m comfortable doing. But there is something about Sinnett that has me wanting to live life on the edge a little bit, and do something that will have him feeling the same way I do—hot and bothered.
Before I can overthink my decision, I send the photo and type a quick message to follow.
TATE: Well, I’m ready and waiting to hear said thoughts.
I drag my bottom lip between my teeth and stare at the screen. The messages are received as delivered and then seen. I can’t help but smile when the three dots appear, eager to see what his response is going to be, but they disappear a moment later. And then reappear. Then disappear. Again and again.
I frown. What the hell is he doing?
Panic surges through me as a realisation washes over me. What if I took it a step too far by sending him a picture of myself? Maybe I misread the tone of the conversation and Sinnett was searching for someone to confide in about what is on his mind. After all, he does have a lot on the line with the game tomorrow—I guess tonight, actually. And here I am sending raunchy photos of myself to tease him a little.
God, I’m such an idiot.
After five minutes of watching the dots appear and disappear, I lock my phone and drop it onto my chest with a sigh. I’m going to take this as a sign to never step out of my comfort zone again because look where it’s gotten me. Embarrassment creeps up my throat and I swallow the lump forming.
