by T. Torrest
“The pool scene with the hot blonde everyone was into. Think you can do that?”
Her eyebrows rose as her face melted into a sly smile. “I can try.”
“That’s the spirit.”
I set up shop next to the pool, laying out our towels on a couple of unoccupied lounge chairs before taking a seat in one of them, waiting for my turn to get dressed. When I heard the exaggerated smack of canvas hitting canvas, I turned my head to see Mia standing in the open flap of the cabana door in a model pose—hand on hip, fingers under her chin, eyes pointed skyward.
She was only joking around, but I was too impressed to laugh. The girl knew how to make an entrance.
She must have tapped into her inner Lacey Underall, because she came strutting out of the cabana looking like an absolute maneater. Head held high, straight posture, an alluring sway to her hips as she sauntered toward me. She stood at the foot of my chaise and untied the sheer sarong around her waist, dropping it onto my feet with a smirk before dipping a toe into the water.
Damn. She said she was going to try, but she did a whole helluva lot more than that. She was positively killing it.
I could barely take my eyes off her, and I noticed I wasn’t the only man on that rooftop who wasn’t able to look away. She took the long way around the pool, and then climbed up the ladder to the diving board. Mia looked like a goddess up there. Untouchable. Alluring. Sexy as all hell. She pulled the tie from her hair allowing that thick, black mane to tumble over her shoulders, raised her hands over her head… and dove in.
Holy shit.
She emerged near my feet and threw her arms over the edge of the pool. “So,” she said, trying to keep her smile at bay. “Did I do okay up there?”
I planted my feet on the ground on either side of the chaise and leaned forward with my elbows on my knees. “No,” I answered. “You fucking destroyed it up there.”
Next thing I knew, my pants were soaked as Mia splashed me, laughing proudly.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
For our next task, Ainsley and I headed to the sports complex out in Jersey. She was nervous on the ride over, and I had to remind her to stop fidgeting.
“I just don’t understand why you won’t tell me where we’re going.”
“Because it’s a surprise. Don’t worry, you’re gonna love it.”
When we pulled up in front of the Shermer Heights Training Facility, Ainsley was skeptical.
When I announced that we’d be figure skating, she was aghast.
“Figure skating?”
“Yes ma’am.”
Ainsley aimed an incredulous look at me.
Guess she didn’t love it.
“C’mon. It’ll be fun,” I said, hopping out and coming around to the passenger side. Her face still looked unconvinced, but she took my hand and let me escort her out of the car.
The Shermer Heights Training Facility was a humongous sports complex. There was a full-size ice rink, turf football field, and batting cages inside, plus three baseball diamonds, a soccer field, and a driving range outside. The driving range shared a border with the country club’s 18-hole golf course. It’s where I’d taken Jared to hit some balls the day I confessed that I was in love with Ainsley.
And now, here she was, right here with me.
I’d brought a bunch of clients here over the years for indoor rock climbing, sky diving, you name it, and after all those visits, I’d reached a point where I was dealing directly with the manager. I knew him pretty well.
He knew we were coming today, so he was right there at the front desk to meet us as we entered the lobby. “What’s up, Luke?”
Wyatt McAllister was in his late thirties, but he didn’t look it. I guessed the active lifestyle allowed him to retain his youthful appearance. He had overgrown sandy-brown hair, a scruffy jaw that just screamed extreme sports, and a tanned, weathered face that he wore as tribute to his outdoorsy existence. Plus, the bastard had a charming-as-fuck grin that belonged in a Clif Bar commercial. He was a solid dude.
“Hey Wyatt. This is Ainsley.”
“Nice to meet you Ainsley,” he said on a toothy grin. “Ready to channel your inner Michelle Kwan?”
Ainsley smiled politely but answered, “Not really!”
Wyatt chuckled as he walked us through the cavernous, active facility toward the rink. Past the basketball courts, past the indoor bike-and-board park. “Don’t worry. Robin will take good care of you. You’re gonna have a blast.”
He opened the heavy glass doors to the rink, and we were greeted with a burst of cold air. And right there was Robin, out on the ice, twirling up a storm. He waved when he saw us, and executed a tight, three-sixty spin in midair before nailing a perfect landing.
Ainsley took one look at the guy and asked, “I’m not going to be doing that, am I?”
Wyatt and I laughed as Robin skated over to the edge of the rink. “Hello, Ainsley.” He took her hand and kissed it, saying, “I’m Robin. I always like to personally introduce myself to my victims.”
Ainsley sighed. “Victims. Well, that certainly makes me feel better.”
Wyatt teased, “Don’t sweat it, Ainsley. This will only hurt a little.”
“Besides, Wyatt’s trained in first aid,” Robin said.
I piped in to add, “And CPR if I’m not mistaken, yeah?”
Ainsley looked from me to Robin to Wyatt then back again. “Oh, you boys are just hysterical. You should take this show on the road. You could probably make millions.”
The three of us cracked up as I threw a consoling arm around Ainsley.
“Speaking of the road,” Wyatt said. “I’ve got to hit it. You guys good?”
I gave him a high-five and said, “Yeah, I think we’re all set. Thanks, Wyatt.”
“No problem. Hey, say hello to Jane for me, will ya?” He waggled his eyebrows as he backed toward the door, finally giving us a wave as he made his exit.
I just dropped my head and snickered as Ainsley asked, “Who’s Jane?”
Robin and I shared a knowing look as I explained, “She was a client of mine a few months ago. Wyatt and she... uh...”
“Okay. Got it,” Ainsley interrupted, saving me from having to spill all the details. And thank God, because she’d probably pass out if I told her some of them, including the fact that they had sex right here on the very ice we’d be occupying in a few minutes.
After Ainsley and I changed into some skates and an extra layer of winter clothing, we headed out onto the ice. I wasn’t the strongest skater, but at least I had the advantage of having done it a few times before. This was a first for Ainsley.
She held onto the wall in a white-knuckled death grip, trying to find her footing.
“Don’t fight the ice,” Robin advised. “Trust your feet.”
Ainsley rolled her eyes as she snipped, “The ice is slippery and my feet are strapped to two razor blades!”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it.
“It’s not funny, Luke! I’ve never done this before!”
“I’m aware of that,” I said on a raised brow. “It’s why we’re here. Affirmation week, remember? You need to say yes to things, do something you’ve never done before.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve never punched anyone in the teeth, either, so maybe I could just do that and call it a day.”
“No violence on my ice,” Robin admonished. “The only contact I want to see is while you’re dancing.”
Ainsley’s mouth gaped. “I can’t even stand on these things and you expect me to dance?” she asked incredulously.
“I know it seems impossible, but I promise, I’ll have you looking like an old pro before this day is through.”
Robin wasn’t lying. Even though it took a few hours, Ainsley had not only learned to skate well enough to stay on her feet, but we were presently in the center of the ice, working on an actual routine.
Robin had partnered with her to go over the move a dozen times. Now he wanted to see what it looked like
as an observer. “Luke? Step in here and be me for a minute. Take her out for a spin and I’ll watch, yes?”
Ainsley put her hands to her hips to ask, “What am I, a used car?”
When Ainsley was distracted by fear, her unfiltered personality slipped through. Kind of like how Mia only swore in Spanish. Both were hilarious to see.
I positioned myself behind and slightly to the side of Ainsley, then took her gloved hands in my own. I placed one on her waist and held the other out to her side. The nearness made me dizzy and caused an electric current to race along my entire spine.
Bruce placed his lips closer than they needed to be to ask against her ear, “You ready?”
“No.”
I chuckled against her back. “You’ve done this a million times with Robin. You’re going to need to trust yourself.”
“Kind of hard to do.”
“Trust me, then.”
The tension left her body at my words as she let out a foggy breath and leaned into me. Her scrunched brows softened as she focused on my lips before allowing those mystifying blue eyes to meet mine. “Okay.”
From the feel of her body melting into mine to the guileless look in those gorgeous blue eyes, I almost couldn’t take my next breath. I was pretty sure my heart stopped beating, but I was able to shoot her a smirk and respond, “Good.”
Our locked eyes were interrupted by Robin’s voice. “Okay! Once around. Just like I showed you, Ainsley.”
I gave her hands a reassuring squeeze and then we were off. Ainsley made sure to forge ahead with a steady pace just like Robin had shown her. Which was a good thing, because I didn’t have to spend the entire time trying to coordinate our strides. We didn’t necessarily make a graceful pair, but we weren’t so bad that we’d be laughed off the ice, either.
“Wonderful!” Robin gushed. “You think you’re ready to expand the frame?”
I gave Ainsley a quick, reassuring hug before extending my arms, allowing some space between us. I was worried that she’d waver without the support of my body behind her, but she did great.
I kept my voice low and purposely calm. “That’s it. Slow it down. Nice and easy.”
Robin was a bit louder with his commentary. “Way to go, Ainsley! Okay. Let me see the turn!”
She flicked a brief look of panic at me, causing me to reassure her. “C’mon, Ains. We got this.”
“Oh God. Okay.”
I raised our hands above Ainsley’s head and crossed them as she turned toward me. It wasn’t pretty, but she’d done it. “Yeah, Ains! Check it out!”
She was biting her lip in concentration, trying to stay on her feet as she skated backwards, but she was able to meet my eyes with an enthusiastic smile. Her ponytail was bobbing around at the top of her head, her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were sparkling. She looked vibrant. Exuberant. Euphoric.
Beautiful.
* * *
After we’d ditched the skates and changed back into our regular clothes, we thanked both Robin and Wyatt for the lesson before heading out to the parking lot. I opened Ainsley’s door to usher her into the car, but before she took her seat, she put a hand on my forearm.
“Luke, wait.”
After all those hours of extra clothing between us, I was stunned by the skin-on-skin contact. I swallowed hard before asking, “Everything okay?”
“Better than okay.” Her face split on an elated grin as she added, “I haven’t thanked you yet for everything you’re doing for me. I already feel like a different person.”
“Don’t change too much,” I teased. “I kinda liked the original one.”
She snickered demurely before shaking her head at me. “I know you did. And it means the world to me.” Her hand slid slowly up the length of my arm until her fingertips played at the edge of my golf shirt. “Thank you.”
Her eyes met mine in that half-lidded stare she’d recently learned to project, and it took all my strength not to back her against my car and plant my lips on her.
Fuck. I trained her too well. The beautiful version of Ainsley was heart-stopping. The shyness was intriguing. The sweetness was endearing. But Ainsley flirting was the deadliest incarnation of all. With her grateful eyes staring up at me, our hands on each other’s skin, it would be so easy to just lower my head and kiss her.
I was mentally warring with myself about it, so much so that I hadn’t realized I’d stepped closer toward her obliging form. My hands automatically wrapped around her waist as hers slipped around my neck; my head lowered on its own. Before I could bring my lips in for a landing, however, she buried her face against my chest and gave me a good squeeze.
A hug.
Jesus Christ, a fucking hug.
Terrific.
I squeezed her back, finally finding my voice. “You’re welcome, Ains.”
“I just can’t thank you enough.”
Sure you can. Nakedly.
We pulled away from each other as I said, “Hey, don’t go giving me all the credit, here. You did this too, you know.”
Who the fuck am I fooling? I did this to myself.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“I really don’t like this.”
It was now the second time Mia had expressed her reluctance to carry out tonight’s assignment. She was supposed to be reciting a report on any subject of her choosing, but she’d been stalling for time since we got here.
We were in a private back room at Roebling, a bar-slash-restaurant in the heart of midtown. It was only us back there, but the space opened up to the main bar area where there was a crowd of about fifty or so enjoying their Friday Happy Hour. Mia wasn’t digging the extra bodies within earshot.
“That’s kind of the idea, Cruz. You’re not supposed to like it.” When she did nothing more than shoot a dirty look my way, I said, “You’re supposed to be letting go of your inhibitions this week. Learning how to not give a shit.”
She grumbled but didn’t argue my point, which I interpreted as capitulation, unwilling as it may have been. “But why is he here?”
Jared perked up at Mia’s acknowledgement. He was clearly happy that she was aware that he existed, and didn’t seem to care that she was annoyed by it. “Extra body,” I said. “I’m easing you into your fear of crowds with a small, safe audience.”
“Safe,” she huffed. “I’m still nursing the bruises he gave me on that basketball court.”
“You crashed into me,” he defended.
“You both crashed into each other,” I clarified. “Besides, Jared’s on Week Seven. He just had his makeover and we needed a place for him to show off his new look.”
“Yeah, so hurry up with this thing. I’ve got some ladies to hit on.”
Mia rolled her eyes. “Great. So you get to kill two birds with one stone, he gets to annoy some unsuspecting women, and I get to be humiliated in front of the entire world!”
I raised an eyebrow at her. “A bar full of people is hardly the entire world. Besides, they’re in a completely separate room from us and they’re not even paying attention. They wouldn’t give a crap even if they were. C’mon. You got this.”
Mia gave a huff in her seat, but her scowl had disappeared as she grumbled, “Fine.” After an extra pause, she stood at the head of the table and cleared her throat. “Welcome, everyone. My chosen topic for our discussion this evening will be Misogynist Themes in the Movie ‘The Princess Bride.’”
Jared and I couldn’t contain our laughter. When she shot us both dirty looks, I explained, “We’re not laughing at you. Promise!”
She stood a bit straighter and launched into her report, a scathing tirade against the patriarchy while still justifying the awesomeness of the story.
The cautious looks she kept shooting toward the oblivious bar crowd became less and less frequent as she spoke, ultimately allowing herself to throw her all behind this task. She talked about “arranged marriages” and “warmongering males in power” before softening her argument to commend the “real men” of th
e story—even managing a bonus Fezzik impersonation—and when she was through, Jared and I broke into applause. I was glad that I’d taken the time to watch the DVDs she’d left for me last week—and crap, I had to admit, The Princess Bride was a really great movie—because it helped me appreciate her report even more.
Mia wrapped up her presentation with a silly curtsey as Jared immediately took the opportunity to split for the bar.
I clapped a congratulatory hand on her shoulder as she plopped down on the chair next to mine. “Great job, Cruz.”
“Thank you.”
“See? Confidence while public speaking is all about preparation. You knew your subject matter well, so I have to imagine it was easy enough to report about it, right?”
Mia ignored my assessment and instead commented, “Dios mío, you smell good.”
The change of topic caught me off guard. “Yeah? Thanks.”
She moved her face closer to my neck and took a big whiff, exaggerating a euphoric roll of her eyes. “Lemme guess. Clinique Chemistry.”
“Yeah. How’d you know?”
She sank back into her chair and crossed her legs, waving me off with a flip of her wrist. “They were my account last year. God, I love that stuff. Gets me all worked up and sweaty.”
“I’ve seen you sweat. Right now, you’re merely glistening.”
“It’s the panic.”
I was starting to think it was her. Mia had such an inner awesomeness about her, it made her glow. “No. I think it’s just you.” That made her smile as I added, “You are going to make some poor bastard insane one of these days.”
“I’m sure you mean that in the most complimentary way possible.”
“Of course. I mean, you’ll drive him crazy, too, but...”
“Gee, thanks.”
She knew I was only busting her chops. “Besides, once I’m through molding you into the perfect woman, you’ll have your pick of ‘em. There won’t be a guy alive who’ll be able to resist you.” I nudged into her but she didn’t nudge back.
Instead, her eyes tightened as she scrutinized me. “I don’t need to be perfect. And I think you’re selling the entirety of the male population short.”