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“I mean, we can’t keep doing this like a surprise. I can’t keep feeling I’m on edge with you. I can’t keep feeling like I have to avoid you. Because it might turn into this.”
“Then let’s not make it a surprise,” he says.
“What?” I choke, the implications of what he’s saying racing through my mind. Does he want more? Do I?
“I don’t mean a real relationship,” he adds quickly, seeing my shock. “I just mean, you know, let’s have a code for when we’re bored and kinda horny. You know, like a friends-with-benefits kind of thing.”
I nod slowly, processing, trying to work out what to say next and to hide my disappointment at the same time. Even though the idea of a relationship flashed through my mind for less than a second, it still hurts that he doesn’t want me for more than my body.
But even though I should say no and spare myself the heartache, I don’t want to lose him. I like what we’re becoming. I like the banter and teasing. It’s comfortable.
“Okay,” I say. “A code. I can get behind that.”
“Okay. Cool.”
“Cool.”
I pull on my pants, dragging up the zipper tooth by tooth so that I don’t have to look at him, even though him getting dressed is all I can see in my peripheral. A thousand questions are racing through my head, but the only thought that has any clarity is that I want to curl up in his arms.
It’s too much to handle.
“Well, I’m going to go,” I say, plastering a fake smile on my face and turning for the door.
“Wait, Olivia,” starts Miles, but before he can even finish his sentence, I’m out of the bathroom and letting his hotel room door shut behind me.
CHAPTER 16
MILES
“I just don’t know what I would do without Olivia,” I say, my voice dripping with the kind of sarcasm that Americans simply do not understand. It takes a considerable effort not to make a dramatic gesture too. Olivia though sees right through me. She shoots me a glare from across the table, which I meet with a wink.
Performance reviews are such a drag. But having Olivia to tease and flirt with definitely improves the experience.
Since we got back to Miami, we’ve been hooking up like three times a week, and it’s been amazing. I keep expecting her to get bored but sometimes she’s even the one to start it.
She doesn’t seem to be such a fan of the flirting, though.
“That’s great to hear,” says Olivia’s manager, Tim. I’m not sure what his exact purpose is beyond jumped-up office guy who thinks he’s a hotshot. “It’s awesome that you’re having a good time here with us. I hope you know that your well-being is important to us. After all, you are a star player, and you have been helping us out a whole bunch. The guys are happy to have you too.”
“It’s my pleasure,” I say, drawing out the syllables as I make eye contact with Olivia, licking my lips to try and communicate to her exactly what it is I’m thinking about. She looks away, frowning, her eyebrows crumpling in that adorable way that they do when she’s cross about something.
She’s sitting next to Tim, wearing this white blouse that’s very nearly see-through, showing off the curve of her breasts, teasing me with the outline of her bra, her chest straining the buttons of the shirt. It would be so easy to reach over and undo them. Only a desk separates us. She’s pretending to study her clipboard but she keeps glancing up at me, so I know I’ve won.
Carefully, I slip off one of my shoes and reach out to tap her leg with my toes, the trousers she’s wearing today really showing her bum off too. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she dressed up just to wind me up. She jumps a little at my touch but recovers admirably quickly, her glare deepening. I lick my lips again, grinning.
“I’ve got to say, we did have our concerns about you, Miles,” says Tim, blissfully unaware of what’s happening. “You’ve got yourself quite a reputation there. And even though we do need all the help we can get, some guy from England who by all reports is more than a little headstrong… Well, you wouldn’t have been our first pick, but we’re damn glad to have you now. You keep on scoring those winning goals and we’ll send you home as happy as Larry.”
“It’s like I always say, Mr. Leas: you gotta do what you gotta do.” I put enough emphasis on the word do that it makes Olivia shoot me another stern look. I reach out for the cup of coffee on the desk that was provided for me, looping my middle two fingers through the handle to curl them around the mug in a move that’s subtle but, to Olivia, obvious. After all, she knows exactly what these fingers can do.
All this is still flying under Tim’s radar though, because he grins again with the kind of smile that someone who’s seeing dollar signs before their eyes gives you.
“Well, it’s been a real delight, Miles. I hope we can go out as strong at the end of this season as we started it.”
“I’ll do my best,” I say. Not that I’m really going to have much to do with the end of their season. I only have a couple of months left here in Miami and I’ll be gone before their final games. That realization squeezes my heart a little more than I thought it would.
I am enjoying it here, way more than I thought I would be. And despite everything, Olivia is a big part of that.
“I know you will,” says Tim with a smile. “Now, what have you got for me? Any questions? Complaints? Comments? Feedback?”
