Page 34 of Honey Undone
“It’s not an afternoon." She turned on me with her dark eyes narrowed and a pair of leather shorts in her clutch. “This is nearly two months of eye fucking one of the hottest players on the Hornets every time he’s in your sights. This is your chance.”
“You making it sound like life or death is only making it worse you know?” I said to her and pulled off the blue crop top, throwing it on the bed and replacing it with the sheer black button up.
“Good, maybe if it’s dire you’ll take me seriously,” Kaia grumbled and got down on her knees to dig through my shoes and boots. “These.” She handed me a pair of chunky black boots that had always fit snug to my calves. I shuffled out of my jeans and into the leather shorts.
“He’s going to fall over dead,” Rhea said, her eyes raking up my legs as I buttoned a few of the middle buttons on the shirt, leaving the rest open. The dark bralette I was wearing hugged tightly to my body and made me feel feminine in the sexiest way possible.
“That or he’ll get down on one knee.” Sunday propped her head up in her hand and sighed. “You’re so pretty, Addy,” she cooed.
“Oh you are too, Sunny,” I walked toward her and flicked her chin with my finger before sitting down on the couch and tugging on the boots quickly. My phone vibrated on the table and I grabbed it seconds before Kaia had the chance. I shot her a glare and opened it.
Have you decided what we’re doing today?
It’s a surprise.
I could tell my answer made him nervous because the three dots appeared and disappeared a second later.
“You guys need to get out of here.” I set my phone down, “he’ll be here soon and I don’t need him thinking that this was a group project.”
Cosy laughed, the sound light and amused, “he knows Minty.”
“Get out!” I scoffed and started to push Rhea to her feet.
They all gathered their shit and filed out of the apartment but Kaia held onto the doorframe and smiled at me, “don’t do anything I wouldn't do.”
“That’s a short list,” I said and returned her smile.
“And look how happy I am all the time,” she teased. I chucked a pillow at her and she disappeared out of the front door closing it just before it hit her. I turned back to the mirror and fluffed the messy loose curls in my hair before I fixed my lips and inhaled a sharp, nervous breath. I wiggled around my nose ring and double checked my makeup again, my toes fidgeting in my boots.
Why the hell was I so nervous?
We had been flirting for weeks, it’s not like I didn’t know exactly what I was getting myself into. But today it would just be us, one on one for hours. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest, so noisily that I almost missed the soft knock at the door.
I stared at it for a second over my shoulder in the mirror. I could bail on him, tell him that I just couldn’t do it today. Hide. If I hid, it meant not getting my heartbroken down the road, it meant being safe from all the negative feelings that came with having a crush.
I hadn’t stopped long enough in the last few weeks to think about getting attached, flirty texts and avoiding deals were easy. There was no guarantee of what today might bring and it was the lack of control that made my heart race.
A second knock made me turn that time and I shook away the what ifs. I could enjoy today without worry about tomorrow, without catastrophizing my entire future over a single date. I couldn’t let them get to me, I just needed to have fun and whatever happened next, I’d have to trust that it was for a reason. My phone buzzed in my hand and I looked down with a smile.
Open the door, Adeline.
On any other day I would respond quickly and with unmatched sarcasm but today I just inhaled once more, shoving my phone into the back pocket of my shorts and opened the door. He was standing on the other side in a dark fitted tank top that hugged tight to his sculpted chest and a pair of blue jeans with a striped button down t-shirt that he’d left open.
“What no baseball hat today?” I teased, the words almost catching in my throat.
“Nope. Looks like neither of us needed our buffer today,” he looked around my empty apartment. “A heads up would have been nice though, your downstairs neighbor might call the cops for a wellness check after Rhea and Kaia’s speech.”
“Seriously?” I could feel myself turning red.
“I’m kidding, they were perfect angels,” Jensen said, pushing his hand through his messy hair with a rough swallow. “Well, Rhea was but the chances of survival are low if I insult your best friend.”
I shook my head gently and tried my hardest not to show how insufferably warm I was by his gentle flirting. Almost worse than when he was out right telling me how he wanted it. I looked back up at him and he was still watching me with bright, attentive brown eyes.
“So where are we going, Adeline?” He asked.
“I want to get tattoos,” I said, mustering up some long lost confidence. I allowed the feeling to take over and guide the conversation because if embarrassing, no game Adeline had her way, she’d shut the door in his face.
“Tattoos on a first date?” He asked, for a second he almost looked nervous and it fed the little monster inside of me. Like a spark to a flame.
