I approach her and take the box, setting it down on a stack of mats.
She shrugs. “Leftovers. Someone at home will eat this if you don’t.”
She unveils some plates and napkins from the bag and passes them between us. I take the seat opposite her on the mat. Lifting the lid, I see it’s plain cheese, New York style.
“Shit, you did good. This is my favorite.”
“Mine too. This is the only place that makes it right. Like authentic New York.”
“You ever been there?”
“Oh yeah, it’s my second home. I’m a half Jewish New Yorker, Mom’s side. I guess that’s where I get my love for numbers. Double major; dance and accounting. I work some summers for my nana at her accounting firm in New York City. Nana knows her numbers and thanks to her, I’ve been invested since I was young. She’s a wizard. After I hang up my dance shoes, I plan to run my own firm and later, live off dividends. If you need help getting your investment portfolio started, I’m your girl.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I chuckle dryly at the irony I don’t have much in my account due to the fact my dad swiped it to pay for a couple of Red Angus.
“We’re supposed to see a Broadway show this Christmas. I can’t wait.”
I question her while devouring the perfect bit of gooey bread and cheese. “Is that your goal? Broadway?”
“Any dance troupe. I’d love to dance backup in a tour. What about you? Ever been to New York?”
“Nah, we didn’t travel much when I was young. We had too much work to do at the ranch.”
“I’ll bet it must have been awesome growing up there.”
“It was. Lots of vitamin D but a shitload of hard work.”
“Yeah. I can imagine.”
She lifts the pizza to her mouth and takes a huge bite.
“How in the hell did you get all that in your mouth?”
She wrinkles her nose and pulls the pizza away, a string of cheese floating in the air behind it. “Talent,” she says around a bite.
“Impressive.” I finish a slice in record time and am grateful. “This is good. Thank you.”
“Welcome.”
Grabbing a second piece, I look up to see she’s watching me. “You look…less stressed.”
I want to tell her I’ve been beating off more regularly thanks to her weekly shows, but I don’t think that will go over well. “I’ve been sleeping a lot better lately.”
She quirks a blonde brow. “Any particular reason?”
“Excessive workouts.”
Her eyes dart down at her empty plate. “Do you have a girlfriend?”
“If you want to ask me a question, Priss, you need to look at me.”
She doesn’t hesitate, though I know it costs her a little pride. But if I’m honest, I’m tiring of the cat and mouse routine. My interest is past piqued. Our eyes connect, and I feel…something shift. It’s a connection, along with the low-lying pulse that’s been strengthening since the minute we met in this gym.
Her eyes dart to my lips as I lick them clean. “Harper, you had a question?”
“Just asked if you had a girlfriend.”
“I’ve been avoiding it most of my time here because I’m not sure where I’ll end up. I’m concentrating on the game. Wouldn’t be fair.”
She nods. “Makes sense.”
“What about you?”
“I was seeing this one guy for all of ten minutes a couple of months ago, but I swear he was only into me when I danced.”
I choke on some cheese and clear my throat with my chuckle.
Her eyes snap up. “What?”
“Nothing.”
“Tell me,” she prompts.
“Harper, you know damn well you get dirty as fuck at times when you dance.”
A guilty grin covers her lips before she gives me a full smile that kicks my pulse up. “I do know that, but if my ass is all he’s drawn to, we don’t have much to go on.”
Remorse blankets me because, in a way, I’m guilty of the same. But it’s not just the way she moves; it’s the way she looks at me, it’s her backbone, the way she smiles. The way she lights up when she sees me. The way I feel lit when I look at her.
“True.”
“So, yeah, single. I’m too into my goals to take anyone seriously.” She sips her soda.
Silence lingers, and I’m comfortable in it until she speaks up.
“Don’t feel obligated to hang out. It was pizza.”
“What?” Confused, I stare at her.
“It’s Friday night, Lance. Don’t feel like you need to make conversation…or hang because I bought pizza. You got quiet.”
“I’m in a carb coma,” I say, laying back on the mat. “I’m not going anywhere.”
More silence. I open my eyes and find hers trained on the exposed skin at my stomach.
“Busted. You know you check me out almost as much as I stare at your ass.”
“More ass talk,” she rolls her eyes.
“It is one amazing ass you have. And those legs.”
Red creeps up her cheeks as her chewing slows, and she swallows loudly.
“Are you innocent, Harper?”
Shit, Lance, subtle much?
I can sense her deer in headlights vibe. “Don’t answer that. I had no right to ask.”
“I’m not. Not exactly. I fooled around when I was way too young.” She slides closer to me, and I tuck my hand behind my head and peer up at her. “I, uh, made a big mistake in judgment and let’s just say, I compensated with my virginity. My parents found out. It was a bad time. So innocent, no, far from it. But I haven’t…uh, done much since.”
“Much?”
She frowns. “Why are you so interested?”
“Because I am.”
“That’s too vague. If you want to pry, you’re going to have to give me a better reason than that.”
“Because I think about you. A lot lately.”
She pauses her drink halfway to her mouth and stares down at me before recovering.
“I’m thinking it’s not about my sharp wit or pizza ordering capabilities.”
“It’s not like you’ve given me much of a chance to get to know you, Priss.”
“Well, it’s not like you’re the most receptive man in the world with your mastery of resting bastard face.”
We both laugh until I lift her hand and put it on my chest.
“I’m serious, Harper. I think about you. I wonder what it would be like if we just cut the bullshit.”
“You want more of a chance to know me?”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“That clears things up,” she spouts sarcastically, tossing her half-eaten slice down and pulling her hand from my grip to clear her fingers of the crumbs.
“Look, I’m not much into tap dancing around subjects.”
“That’s obvious.”
“I’m just saying let’s not waste time denying there’s something going on here.”
I reach out and run a finger down her cheek, and she freezes. Our eyes lock and my cock stirs. “I know you feel that.”
“I do,” she says, a little breathless. I grip the back of her neck from where I lay and pull her towards me, my thumb sliding along her throat. “Closer, Harper, I want to run something by you.”