Page 49 of Breakaway Hearts

You. I thought about the way you watched me.

I don’t speak that thought aloud, but maybe he can read it on my face anyway, because his eyes darken a little. I flush, suddenly feeling way too exposed. Too vulnerable.

“I—dammit, I’m not good at this, Reese,” I mutter, shaking my head and looking down. “Maybe I should just stick to texting for a while.”

“Hey.” He releases the lock of my hair and places his fingers under my chin, tilting my head back up so that I can’t avoid his gaze. “You’re fucking great. You’re amazing.”

I roll my eyes, unable to contain my sarcastic chuckle. “Yeah, I’mamazingat dirty talk.”

“You are.”

He grabs my hand in his, bringing it down between us. When he presses my palm to the bulge at his crotch, I suck in a breath. Holy shit, he’s huge. And he’shard.

“This is how good you are at talking dirty,” he tells me. “I had to leave the grocery store empty-handed today. I abandoned my cart because I couldn’t go through checkout with the hard-on you had me sporting. And hearing you say that you had to get yourself off again after you already came for me once?” His jaw muscles ripple. “Fuck, Callie. You’re so much better at this than you realize.”

I blink up at him, shocked. Heleft the storebecause I was turning him on so much? Holy shit. I swallow, at a complete loss for words, and Reese slowly straightens and steps back, releasing his hold on my hand.

“That’s lesson number one,” he says, bringing me back to reality with the reminder that he’s now my ‘tutor,’ for all intents and purposes. Of course he would tell me that my words had that effect on him. He’s probably trying to build me up a little.

As if to prove that assumption true, he adds, “Confidence is sexy. So try not to let whatever shit Austin told you get into your head, okay?”

I nod. “Okay.”

“Good.”

He winks, shooting me a grin that does entirely unfair things to my body, then turns and strides up the stairs, leaving me sagging against the door.

Chapter17

Callie

I step into the terminal after I deplane, stretching my arms and legs, although my body doesn’t really need it. That was probably the most comfortable flight I’ve ever been on.

Reese insisted on buying my plane ticket since he’d be flying on the plane the team charters, and it wasn’t until the ticket landed in my email that I realized he’d bought me a seat in first-class.

I’d be lying if I said I was mad about it. Even if I asked him to stop spending so extravagantly on me, I know he wouldn’t, and it’s not just because we’re pretending to be dating.

It’s just who Reese is.

Who he always has been for me.

My phone buzzes, and I pull it out of my pocket to see a text from Reese.

REESE: Did you land? Flight was okay?

ME: Yup! Not much time, so I’ll head straight to the arena.

REESE: You don’t need to drop off your luggage at the hotel?

ME: No, I only have an overnight bag so I’ll be fine. See you soon!

He sends a series of emojis that make me laugh, and I shrug my overnight bag over my shoulder and make my way to the taxi stand, where I hop in a car and head straight to the arena.

I knew I might not have time to go to the hotel before the game, so I wore something nice on the plane. I’ve got on a pretty blue skirt that falls just above my knees, along with a short sleeved top that flatters my curves and shows just a tiny bit of cleavage. I already stashed the coat I wore to the airport in my overnight bag, since the weather is much warmer here than in Denver. The Los Angeles heat beats down on me when I get out of the cab, and I’m grateful to step into the air conditioned arena.

Once I get through the growing crowd for what will surely be a heated game between the Aces and the Prowlers, I spot Margo right next to the glass, behind the Aces’ bench.

She’s already filming the men warming up, getting whatever footage she’ll need for her job as the team’s social media manager. I watch as Noah looks her way and blows a kiss, which elicits a few cheers from the Aces fans in the crowd. Since the two started dating and went public with their relationship, the fans have really embraced them.

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