Reluctantly Yours(32)

She takes my hesitation for rejection.

“Seriously? You can stick your tongue in my mouth, but not share your water?”

“I didn’t stick my tongue in your mouth.”

“There was definitely tongue. I remember tongue.”

“I’m sure you’ve been recounting every detail so you’re probably right. I barely recall.”

Her fair cheeks are rosy now. Partially from playing tennis, but they darken when I tease her about the kiss. They’re the same color they were when I kissed her goodbye in my mother’s office on Monday. I’m teasing her about it, but I’d be lying if I said that kiss hasn’t been on my mind all week. It had surprised me how perfectly her lips felt against mine. How sweet she tasted. Now, I can’t stare at her lips without triggering the memory.

She narrows her gaze at me, then yanks the bottle out of my hands to take a drink.

She lifts the bottle to her lips. I watch a bead of sweat roll along her collar bone, then down between her breasts.

“It’s like a million degrees up here.” She fans her face.

That just made it warmer, I think.

“I want to try to return the serve,” Chloe says, determined. She seems to be getting into the game.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea with your wrist injury?” I ask.

Chloe pinches her lips together, annoyed. I’m annoyed, too, that I can’t stop staring at her mouth.

“Yes. It’s not like she’s Serena Williams. I’m tired of bouncing over here while you play most of the returns.”

“I’m tired of you bouncing over there, too.” The sight of Chloe’s perky ass in that tiny tennis skirt is going to haunt my dreams.

I relent, and switch Chloe’s position while Frankie gets ready to serve.

The ball flies over the net, Chloe attacks it like I showed her and returns it. Frankie is startled at first but manages to return it back to Chloe. Chloe reaches for the ball before it goes out of bounds and returns it. Chloe is excitedly jumping up and down, and it occurs to me that she doesn’t realize that the play is still going.

“I did it!” She jumps with enthusiasm. Fred returns the ball and still in celebration mode, with little to no reaction time, it smacks Chloe in the forehead.

I watch helplessly as her body falls backwards, and her racket rattles on the ground next to her.

Shit.

“Chloe?” I drop to the ground to examine her. A moment later, her eyelashes flutter and her eyes open.

“Did we win?” she asks, her eyes searching my face with a dazed expression.

Gently, I brush the loose hairs that have escaped from her ponytail to the side so I can get a better look. There’s a red mark, the size of the ball, that is growing in height before my eyes.

“The award for largest goose egg on your head? Yes,” I say.

Chloe’s brows knit together in confusion, but the movement causes her to wince and one hand to shoot up to her forehead.

“Oh God, Chloe!!” Frankie screams as she drops to Chloe’s side. “Are you okay? Fred, I can’t believe you hit her in the head.”

“I’m sorry, Chloe.” Fred looks sheepish. “Next time wait to celebrate when the ball is dead.”

I help Chloe up. Her white skirt is dirty and instinctively I dust it off, grazing her ass. Chloe doesn’t saw my hand off with a machete so she must be pretty out of it. Fred apologizes again, and Frankie pulls Chloe into a bear hug that makes her wince, then we’re taking the elevators down to the lobby.

“Let’s go get you checked out.”





As instructed by Dr. Patel, I’m keeping a close eye on Chloe, and escorting her home. She gives Marcus the address and I’m thankful that she’s still got her memory. I’d hate for her to forget that she despises me, and ruin all the fun.

“How does it look?” Chloe removes the ice pack from her forehead. Her fair complexion is no aid in disguising the red mark on her skin, though I do think the ice is helping with the swelling. I should be staring at her face, but my gaze drops to her chest. The spot where her quarter-zip tennis dress is displaying her cleavage.

She catches me looking.

“They didn’t have a sports bra in my size so I had to wear my regular bra. If Fred didn’t nail me in the head with the ball, I probably would have knocked myself out with one of these bouncing around.” She pats her chest. “Seriously, why are tennis clothes so snug? You know what I’m talking about. Those shorts aren’t hiding anything.”

Chloe finds my lap out of the corner of her eye.

“Did I say that out loud?” She clamps a hand over her mouth.

“Yes.” I hold back a chuckle, because the only thing more entertaining than angry Chloe is nervous, rambling Chloe.

“It looks fine.” I point to her head. “Your head, that is. I’m not going to comment on your breasts.”

“That’s fair. I won’t comment on your dick either.” She gasps. “Is having no filter a symptom of a concussion?”

“No,” I say, feeling my shorts grow tighter with Chloe’s innocent, yet effective dirty talk. At that moment, I’m grateful that Marcus pulls up to Chloe’s building.

Chloe moves to get out of the car.

“I’ll see you in,” I say.