“Even on the weeks we lose?”
“Even on the weeks you lose,” she echoed. “Although that hasn’t happened much lately.”
“With every win, I see those dreams within reach. It also ups the stakes and makes me even more frustrated about being stuck here while they’re all practicing.” He bumped his shoulder into hers. “Even though I’m also really glad to be here with you.”
“I should probably tell you that you don’t have to butter me up, but I’m enjoying it too much.” She tucked her leg underneath her as she twisted to face him, her lower back resting against the arm of the futon.
A strangled noise came from the back of Gavin’s throat. “Seriously, Jules? I’m doing my best not to stare here, but I’m not a fucking saint.”
It took her a moment to realize that about 90 percent of her legs were exposed, along with at least a glimpse of her panties. “Oops.” She clamped her thighs together and straightened her legs. It meant draping them across his lap, but she supposed that was the lesser of the two exhibitionist evils. “Hazards of being too comfortable around you, I suppose.”
“No such thing. Although, that’s not exactly a word I’d use to describe the situation in my pants.” He readjusted himself, and now she was the one ogling his crotch. She was about to give up stretching out and place her feet on the floor, but then Gavin wrapped one of his large hands around her calf, and she ruled in favor of never moving again.
“Okay, so what do we do now?”
Gavin shrugged his uninjured shoulder. “Beats me. I guess I should probably avoid licking frosting or anything else off your body.”
Her attempt to swallow didn’t go anywhere. “And I’ll avoid upping the ante by giving your finger a blow job.”
Gavin’s fingers dug into her calf muscle, and his voice came out strained. “Let’s avoid the words ‘blow job.’”
“Noted. Although for the record, you were well aware that I have a broken brain-to-mouth filter. It’s why I needed your help flirting and flinging in the first place.”
“Right. The fling.” Gavin let his head drop against the top of the futon. “That’s gonna be miserable to watch.”
“I know that I said I wanted to be more exciting in bed, but I’d planned to draw the line before voyeurism.” Julie assumed he’d understand she was joking, but the way his gaze shot to hers made her think otherwise—God help her, the predatory gleam in his eyes left her clamping her thighs tighter together. “That was supposed to be a joke. If it makes you feel any better, after our kiss in the kitchen, I don’t think I can conjure up so much as a glimmer of attraction for Kory. Anything with him would now fall short and flat.”
“Selfish as it is, I’m glad.” Gavin stroked his fingers over the stubble on his chin. “But I also can’t ask you to wait. I doubt my life will calm down anytime soon, and you just landed that big promotion in Phoenix. I couldn’t even make a relationship with Kristin work while we were living together, so long distance doesn’t stand a chance. All those odds stacked against us, and frankly, we don’t know if we can even pull off a romantic relationship…”
She nodded. What else was there to do? They didn’t have time to explore this connection before he’d be on his way to the next destination, and with her new job duties, she’d also struggled to find time for a personal life.
Gavin blew out a breath as full of exasperation as she currently was. “I’m afraid we’re just not meant to be. In that way.”
The words jabbed deeper than she expected, considering it was a perfectly logical conclusion and her romantic feelings had barely begun to form. “Probably for the best, yeah. Now we won’t risk messing up this awesome friendship. After all, who else would put up with us?” She prodded his arm with her foot, attempting to get a rise out of him.
Right as she’d decided he wasn’t going to take the bait, he captured her ankle and gave it a quick tug. A yelp escaped as she flung her weight forward. The huge overcorrection nearly made her tumble off the side of the futon, and she clasped onto the crook of his elbow—if she was going down, so was he.
Then his injury registered, and she quickly let go, afraid of exacerbating it. The move aligned their faces, only a foot or so’s distance between them, and while her brain had totally gotten the message about shutting down the attraction vibes, her thundering pulse and tingling lower lip were slower on the uptake.
“Can I ask one super selfish thing?” he asked, and she managed to nod. “Don’t sleep with Holt. I’d like to say it’s solely so you won’t get hurt, but he’s my closest friend on the team, and I’m not sure I could find out that you two…” A muscle in his jaw ticked. “Without wanting to beat the shit out of him. Then I’d need to pass to him, but his arms and legs would be broken, and it’d be awkward all around.”
Well, if he could ask a selfish thing, she could too, right? “What about you and that reporter? It’s not like she lives in the same city as you, either.” Ugh, now she realized that she was being unfair. “Never mind. That’s a whole different situation, and—”
“Deal.”
“Really? You’d be willing to do that for me?” The slight squeak gave away her rising insecurities, and yet, she needed to hear that he wouldn’t go out and date someone right away. It’d hurt, no matter how short-lived the kissing part of their relationship was.
“I’d be willing to do a lot to keep you happy. Including not hooking up with the reporter or with you, even if I’m looking at you again and thinking I must have lost my mind.”
“No mind, but you’re still focused.”
He huffed a laugh. “In theory, but if you knew my thoughts right now…” He ran his gaze over her bare legs and skimmed his fingertips along her shin, inciting a riot of goose bumps.
“Do you need me to work out the knots in your shoulder?”
“God no,” he said, and she gaped at him. “What I mean is that I need to spend a little time getting my head right before having your hands on me. In fact, I should leave and go to my room for the same reason.”
Despite it being the last thing she wanted to do, she pulled her legs off his lap and sat forward. Then she stood along with him and walked him to the door, as if he couldn’t show himself to his own bedroom.
Mere steps short of the door, Gavin abruptly spun around and cupped her cheek. “Promise we’re okay?”
She placed her hand on top of his, soaking in the warmth of his touch once last time before having to close the book on the possibility-of-them for good. “I promise. And we always will be. We’re Gavin and Julie.”