Behind His Lens(15)

“Do you want to leave? We can go right now, Charley,” she offers, and her sweet tone finally makes me lift my gaze. Bennett and Jude are glancing over at us, along with the other eight guys. I gulp; it’s too late to leave now.

“No. No, it’s fine. We’ve come this far and Bennett already noticed you.” His wide smile shows exactly how happy he is to see her and it’s almost bright enough to block out Jude’s confused scowl.

Without another word, we start walking again and I try to focus on anything other than Jude. It doesn’t work though. He draws my attention as though he’s the sun, and I’m helpless against his overpowering rays. The chiseled v-line of his obliques leads down to his navy soccer shorts. I think that’s called an Adonis belt… and God— now I know why. His shorts sit low on his hips and then cut off above his knee, revealing his mouth-watering legs and chiseled abs. Both of his strong hands grip his waist in a closed stance, making it clear I’m far from welcome.

“Naomi!” Bennett calls as we approach. He jogs over to greet us and I have to look away. The scene is practically nauseating as they meet midway and he kisses her on the cheek. I’ll give them maybe a week before it’s official.

“This is my friend, Charley,” Naomi offers, and I force myself to look up and be polite. I really am happy for her. Naomi has had a string of bad relationships and this guy seems so genuinely excited that she’s here; I can’t help but like him.

I run my hand through my long ponytail and step forward. With a big smile, I offer my hand, “Nice to meet you, Bennett.” His hazel eyes lock onto mine and in that brief moment I understand that I’m not a complete stranger. Jude either filled him in yesterday or just a minute ago as we walked up. Either way, the mischievous glint in his eyes tells me I won’t get to pretend that Jude doesn’t exist.

“Nice to meet you too, Charley,” he smiles knowingly. “Thanks for forcing Naomi out of bed this morning.” He shifts his eyes to Naomi, and I swear I can see a blush form beneath her tanned skin. Naomi, you little sap.

Suddenly a voice booms behind us. “Are you two going to play or what?” I look up just in time to see the curly haired goalkeeper run over with a lazy smile. As he steps close, I realize he’s handsome beneath his crazy hair and something about his easygoing attitude makes me lower my guard.

“Only if you teach me that little victory dance of yours,” I muse with a grin. My compliment lights up his face, and for a moment I ignore the sensation of Jude’s eyes pinned on me.

“Looks like we got a keeper, Bennett!” He quips with slight accent laced through his words. He pronounces keeper, as “keepa”.

“I’m Tom by the way,” he offers.

“Are you from Australia?” I ask with a smile.

His hand claps against his chest as he feigns heartbreak. “New Zealand! I’m a kiwi, love!”

The gesture is so over the top that I can’t help but laugh.

Tom dribbles the ball between his feet. “So you are guys going to join?”

“I think we’ll just watch if that’s okay?” Naomi interjects, glancing toward me for backup. She has nothing to worry about; I’m not running around pretending I know a thing about soccer with Jude watching. Over my dead body.


“Sounds good.” I smile, glancing toward the center of the field. Jude hasn’t moved an inch. His bright blue eyes are focused directly on me and he shakes his head once slowly. Excuse me, you don’t own Central Park.

“What’s his problem?” Naomi asks as we walk together toward the side of the field. We didn’t bring a blanket or chairs, so we sprawl out on the dry grass to watch the remainder of their game.

“I have no idea…”

Jude

“So is she single?” Tom asks with a hopeful tone.

“How would I know?” I bite out gruffly.

The four other guys on my team stand around me in a tight circle. We’re meant to be discussing strategy for the second half of the game, but all four of them practically started salivating the moment the girls walked up. Why the hell is she here? The universe seems to be playing a cruel joke by forcing our paths to cross three times within the last three days. Although, technically, she doesn’t know about that first time at the Club and that’s the way I’ll keep it.

Josh narrows his eyes on Charley. “There’s no way a girl like that is single. Although her friend is pretty, too. I guess Bennett already claimed her?”