“You shouldn’t be. I do this sort of thing all the time. Why do you think my posture sucks so badly? I’m perpetually hunched over my computer.”
“I thought you said you were ahead on your work.”
“I am. But there’s always something more I can be doing.”
“You’re on spring break, aren’t you?”
“Yes…”
“I get home on Thursday and I have the day off Friday, so you’ll stay at my place.”
I smile and lean back in my chair. “I’m not sure there was a question in there. See, it should have sounded something like ‘Birdie, will you please sleep at my house on Thursday night because I can’t stand the thought of being without you?’”
“Thursday, Birdie.”
I blush. “Thursday.”
I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve never attempted to watch an NBA game on TV. I don’t even own a TV. Back at my house the next day, I set up my laptop on my bed and watch Ben’s game against the Knicks on ESPN.com, rooting for a miniature Ben as he bounces across my screen. It’s a tough game compared to the other two I’ve watched. Come halftime, Los Angeles is down by six and I’m picking at my nails incessantly, worried about what will happen if Ben loses.
I shouldn’t have worried about it. LA dominates the second half, and they come out on top. Before I close my laptop after the final buzzer, I snap a selfie of my setup and text it to Ben.
RAELYNN: Watched you play tonight.
The next day, he texts me when I’m in the research lab.
BEN: I’m flying to Oklahoma City tonight with the team. We have tomorrow off. Want to see Oklahoma?
* * *
RAELYNN: Ben! No! I’m busy! I’ll see you Thursday…you can wait that long.
* * *
BEN: Not sure I can.
I contemplate the idea. It’s insane, right? I can’t just go to Oklahoma for Ben. I need to be here. Though it is spring break and barely anyone else is on campus right now…
Before I can overthink it, I text him back.
RAELYNN: If you’re serious…
Chapter Thirty-Three
Ben
I look down at my shaking hands and chuckle. I’ve been in some stressful situations. I’ve played in the NBA finals and the Olympic finals, I’ve walked out into a stadium filled with tens of thousands of screaming people, I’ve stood at the free-throw line carrying the hopes of an entire city on my shoulders, and I can’t remember the last time my hands shook like this. I clench and release my fists before I reach down into my pocket to grab my hotel keycard.
I scan it across the sensor then push the door open, my eyes immediately skipping over all the hotel’s finery in search of the most beautiful thing in the room. At the edge of the bed, with her knees tucked up against her chest, Raelynn sits in her pajamas: a flimsy pale blue tank top and matching shorts. She beams when she sees me, unfolding her long legs and letting them dangle off the side of the bed. She tucks her hands up under her thighs, kicking her legs back and forth as I step inside the suite and let the door close with a heavy thud behind me.
I wasn’t actually sure I’d find her here in my room, waiting for me. She’s left me wanting all day. I invited her to Oklahoma, had my assistant coordinate everything with security so she wouldn’t have to worry about any trouble. If they hadn’t updated me about her whereabouts, I would still think she was in California. She’s been ignoring my texts all day. Not a peep.
“Surprise,” she says with a cheeky smile.
I set my keycard down on the table in the foyer then slide off my shoes.
“You were supposed to let me know when you left for the airport.”
“Yes, but where’s the fun in that?”
I arch a brow then reach up and grab the neck of my sweaty shirt. We were just down in the hotel gym, weight training after watching film for our game against OKC tomorrow, and I could use a shower, but it’s not my first priority at the moment.
“I had to get updates about you from my team,” I add, sounding gruffer than I intend to as I walk toward her, dropping my shirt on the floor on the way.
She scoots gently toward the middle of the bed until I reach her, wrap my hands around her ankles, and tug her down, toward the belly of the beast.
Her eyes widen.
“You’re not mad, are you? I wanted to surprise you. Build the suspense.”
I narrow my eyes. “Consider it built.”
I stare at her elegant neck as she forces a swallow.
“Don’t be upset with me,” she says quietly, worry marring her face as she lifts her hands to press them gently against my chest.
I lean down until her freckles blur and I can make out every intricate shade of blue in her eyes. “I couldn’t focus when we were in our team meeting. I doubt I soaked in five minutes of the footage we were supposed to be watching. You are distracting.”
She takes the edge of her bottom lip in her mouth before I reach up to tug it free.
“You could have kept me in Los Angeles,” she points out, her focus solely on my mouth.
“That wouldn’t have helped,” I admit, leaning down until I can brush my nose against hers playfully.
“So then get me out of your system. I won’t distract you then.”
I laugh at the insane idea. She thinks it’s that easy? Thinks I could quench this thirst I have for her? What a sweet, naive thought.
I lean in to kiss her and show her why that won’t work.
Do you see now, Raelynn?
Do you understand what’s happening?
I want to take things further. I want to capture the hem of her tank top between my fingers and tug it up and over her head. Her need is telegraphed across her body, from the arch of her back to the breathless way she whispers my name between kisses.
I thought about putting us out of our misery tonight—it’s the only thing I’ve thought about all day—but now I think I’ll hold off a little longer. Give her a dose of her own medicine.
When I pull back and break the kiss, Raelynn sways toward me, blinking her eyes open.
“You’re not really mad, are you?”
I smile and step back. She slides off the bed and follows me, her hands sliding up my chest and looping around my neck.
“Don’t be,” she says, rising up onto her toes so she can press a kiss to my neck. I can’t suppress a low rumble at the feel of her lips on my skin.
“I’m sweaty,” I warn her.
“Like I care.”
She flattens her body against mine, and I feel every decadent curve. The fact that she’s not wearing a bra threatens my self-restraint. I can’t help but drag my hands up her sides, letting my thumbs run over the edges of her breasts, once, twice, then I step back.
“I need to shower.”
“You’re cruel,” she teases with a halfhearted frown. “I thought you brought me to Oklahoma to seduce me.”
I laugh. “I brought you here because I missed you.”
She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms over her chest. “How very noble of you.”