Page 24 of How Jenna Became My Dilemma

Oh, my gosh! I’m not wearing pants!

Cody glances over his shoulder at the two joggers, and suddenly, I’m faced with the reality that more people than just him are witnessing my shame.

He lifts the bike to get it off me and help me to my feet but stops when he notices I’m stuck to the back wheel. He tilts his head back and forth, thinking through how to best help me. “This is unfortunate, isn’t it?”

I don’t even have time to respond before the joggers are upon us.

“Everything okay here?” I could live a hundred lifetimes and never forget the smirky smile on the good-looking jogger’s face as his eyes rove up and down my bare legs and butt.

I turn my head away, pressing my nose against the warm asphalt. The last thing I need is for this stranger to recognize me.

“Yep, we’re fine here. I’ll take care of this.” Cody jumps to his feet, using his body to block me from their stares. He even extends his arms out to the side to cover more width. Like how wide does he think my butt is?

The good-looking jogger flips around as he passes, running backward for a few steps. “Looks like fun. Good luck.”

“Thanks.” Cody waves at them before turning back to me.

I muster some strength despite my mortification. “I swear, if you make a joke about this, I’ll—”

“No jokes.” He takes off his white t-shirt and drapes it over my rear end. Is this some kind of smoke-and-mirrors tactic? Is he trying to distract me from my embarrassment with his rippling abs? And, yes, they ripple. Even in my mortified state, lying on my belly, my mind registers the perfect ridges of his six-pack.

A car slowly drives by with its windows down. The passenger’s brows dip as she takes us in—me pantless and Cody shirtless. I feel red wash over me like a heat wave in the Mojave Desert.

He crouches beside me, completely unfazed by the onlookers. “Can you move?”

“I don’t know.”

“So you are hurt?” Concern reaches the edges of his eyes.

“No,” I whine. “Just trapped.”

His gaze darts to the bike. “Let’s see if we can get you to your feet, and then I can try and pull your pants out of the spokes, okay?”

Worst sentence of my life!

I nod, letting him grab under my arms and lift me. I’m able to stand sideways with my hip against the seat. My natural inclination is to spin so my rear is hidden from Cody, but there’s not enough leverage or fabric for that, so I settle for holding his t-shirt over my butt with one hand while the other holds the handlebar. But that doesn’t do anything to cover the front of me, where my French-cut underwear leaves little to the imagination.

Pretend it’s a runway and you’re modeling a thong.

Except it’s not a runway, and this isn’t a controlled photoshoot.

This is real life. My real life.

And real-life Jenna Lewis just tore her pants off in front of real-life Cody Banner. How’s that for getting to know each other intimately? Thank heavens for laser hair removal.

Cody stands with hands on his hips, studying the back wheel. Even at this high-pressure moment, I’m very aware of his broad shoulders and chiseled chest—I’m aware because my eyes have suddenly turned into Dora the Explorer. If having a perfect body was an Olympic sport, Cody would bring home gold for the United States. How patriotic of him.

“Maybe I can just tear you out of what’s left of your pants.” He bends down, tugging and pulling. With each yank, my body jerks closer to his head. And I don’t even want to think about the jiggling that happens to my thighs and butt every time he yanks. I’m hoping his shirt is long enough to hide that.

The horror of the moment is too much, sending my cheeks—face ones, not rear ones (unfortunately, I need to clarify)—blazing with embarrassment once again.

“You know, normally, when I’m shirtless and a woman is pantless, the circumstances are much different.” A smile accompanies his words as he tips his gaze up to me. “But I’m not complaining.”

“I knew you’d say something like that.” I turn my head away from him, not strong enough to meet his gaze while his head is in line with my butt.

“You knew?” There’s amusement in his voice.

“Yes.”

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