Page 10 of Stick Break
“You can touch me, Charly.” She hesitates for a second like she’s not too sure about that so I add, “You just caught me off guard. I was here for a week by myself.”
“And in one week, I will be out of your hair.”
I resist the urge to ask her where she’ll go. If she broke into a place she thought was abandoned, it means she has no one, and that breaks my fucking heart. Everyone needs someone.
And who do you need, Rip.
Lyra.
But like Mick Jagger once said, You can’t always get what you want. She doesn’t know I’m here. Sure we text, a lot. Especially when it’s late at night and she’s feeling lonely. I’ve always been there for her, and normally she’d know my exact whereabouts, but this time, I need to heal in private. While I’ve been holding a torch for her since college, it’s unrequited, most times. Maybe this is a sign I’m getting over her. Or maybe it’s a sign that I worry she’ll figure out I’m hurt and use it to further her career.
Which begs the question, why the hell am I still pining for a girl who burned me once, and I believe would do it again. I need my head checked. Of that I have no doubt. Maybe I’ll make an appointment with Melanie when I get home. But the truth is, hurting me is one thing, but now, it’s not just my secret I have to protect, and I feel weirdly protective of my new roommate.
She puts her hands on me again. They’re soft and warm on my arms as she shimmies me on the blanket. She finally gets me where she wants me, and stands back. My gaze rakes over her tight clothes, that showcase her soft curves. I tear my gaze away.
“Why do you need me standing right here. I laugh, hard and deep and she grins at me. “Is it some sun salute ritual thing.”
“Oh, it’s a sun thing.” I eye her and she continues to explain. “I need your big body to block it from my eyes.”
I laugh, deep and hard. “Oh, so I’m helping you out yet again.” I shake my head at her antics.”
“Come on it’s a win/win. No sun in your eyes, and no sun in mine. Now stop talking and do what I do.”
“Bossy,” I grumble, even though I like our easy banter.
She takes a big breath in and I do the same and lift my arms to the sky. I stretch and when she leans to the left, I lean to the left. We continue this for a few more minutes, and then we drop to the blanket, the sand cushioning us.
She stretches out her legs and puts her hands between them. Her eyes catch mine, and there’s a deep seriousness there. “Stretch forward gently. If you feel any pain in your legs, even the slightest twinge, back off okay? I don’t need you trying to impress me.”
I glance at her and give her my signature bad boy smile. “If I were trying to impress you, you’d know.”
She roles her eyes, unaffected by my charm and that’s probably a good thing. Wait, why am I even trying to be charming? I think the lack of sleep and early morning heat is messing with my brain.
“Press your feet to mine.”
I do as she says and honestly, it feels pretty damn good to stretch out like this.
“Close your eyes,” she says quietly. “Feel the sun on your back. Listen to the water. Smell the ocean air, and let the tension drain from your body as you become one with nature.”
I take a deep breath and concentrate on her voice as I engage my senses. I let air out slowly, and it loosens something in my chest, a knot that has been tightening, thickening since our last playoff game.
In the distance the cull of the seagulls mingles with the strumming guitar, and I lean forward a little more. A small twinge has me pulling back and I open one eye to take in the petite blonde facing me, our bare feet touching.
“What are you smiling at?” she asks, and that’s when I realize her eyes are open too and she’s watching me.
“Nothing,” I say quickly. “I guess, this is nice. It feels good.”
“Goldilocks, got skills.” She takes a deep breath. “By the end of the week, Big Bear will be purring like a kitten.”
Purring like a kitten.
The sudden image of little Goldie under big bear—purring like a kitten—pulls a growl from the depths of my throat.
She arches a brow. “You growling at me, Big Bear?”
“No. Just…maybe let’s not talk about purring.”
Her smile falters, just a flicker. “Then what?”
