Page 21 of Best Year Ever
As I take it and start to thank her, a “ding” goes off at the elevator bank where I’d been brought up to the roof. The elevator door opens, and the same assistant manager who had helped me get here walks out.
“This way, Ms. Reilly,” I hear her say.
Rori appears in my view next. I swallow deeply as I take her in.
She’s wearing an emerald green sundress with two bows holding it up, one on each shoulder. The bows jump to my attention because her hair is pulled back in a loose braid, with a few curly tendrils around her face. Her dress is form-fitting on top—showing off both her muscles and her curves—while the skirt swings as she steps towards me.
I glance up at her face, glowing in the light illuminating from the rooftop deck’s lamps. She doesn’t seem to have much makeup on, her skin its natural golden tone, and her lips a soft pink, with just a layer of shine.
It’s her eyes that I can’t turn away from as I catch her gaze. Their green hue is made even more vivid with the color of her dress, and her lashes frame them so perfectly that it’s hard to look anywhere else.
I cannot help but to stare as she approaches.
“Hi, Landon,” she says, her expression bright.
“Hi, you look beautiful.”
She flushes a little at my greeting, then gestures downher dress. “I hope I’m not too dressed up. I didn’t bring much with me.”
“The dress is great, but I was talking about something else,” I say, grinning back at her.
She smiles a little bigger and then surveys the rooftop setup, eyes stopping for a beat on the table, but then looking further along to the ocean and sky scenes.
“Oh wow,” she exclaims. “This is quite gorgeous.”
“It is,” I agree.
Shit, I’m a little unsure how to drive the conversation tonight. Since I’d discovered girls as a teenager, my “hang out” time with women has been focused on flirty talk and working towards hooking up.
And yeah, I’m game to do that with Rori, but it feels like it isn’t enough to rely on the old Landon charm offensive in the same way with her. For one, she’s a fellow professional athlete and potentially a colleague in more settings than the photo shoot today.
And two, I’m starting to acknowledge how much I want her to like me. Me, Landon, as a person. Not the football star, the one-night stand, the body.
So I go in a different direction with my next comment, also not wanting her to think this seductive scene is a setup.
“I know this is a little intense for a casual dinner,” I explain. “But the hotel staff said it was the best spot for absolute privacy.”
“That’s great, I get it. It’s breathtaking,” Rori responds to me with a soft smile.
Okay, no freaking out about the setting for dinner happening on her end. Excellent.
“What do you want to drink, Ms. Reilly?” Ashley asks her.
“Sparkling water for me,” she answers back.
“Should we sit down?” I ask Rori, taking a step closer to her. She nods and walks with me to the table, where I pull out her chair as she sits down.
“Such a gentleman,” she teases.
“Rarely,” I say with a laugh, sitting down on my side.
“This is still so crazy to me, being able to have dinner on a hotel rooftop with all this beauty and luxury. Growing up, all I knew was the grind, working on my game, and school,” she explains. “At the academy, it was your basic Florida new development, so no glamorous lifestyle there. Even with traveling now on the tour, the focus is all about getting through practice, matches, press. There isn’t a lot of downtime to take advantage of the awesome places we visit.”
“I can imagine,” I reply, taking a sip of my drink.
“So what did you think of the shoot today?”
Well, I didn’t mind seeing her in those little spandex outfits, but I don’t think I’ll answer her question that way.
