Samantha sat up, making sure to pull the blanket up with her to keep her breasts covered as she leaned back against the headboard that Fletcher had just rattled with their session.
"We just can't seem to get this right, can we?"
Fletcher grabbed her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. "Maybe we can figure something out."
"I would like that."
She gave him an awkward smile, realizing how honest she had been saying that. She really would like to be closer to Fletcher and see where this relationship could go. She hoped it could only get better from here, but at this moment, it honestly wasn't that great. He was going back to Los Angeles while she was building a life here in Chicago. Maybe she could get a bakery job in L.A. and be closer to him, but maybe he would also think that's a little too much for whatever this was so far.
But for now, Fletcher had to go so he got up and started to gather his clothes from the floor of her bedroom.
"Do you want me to walk you to the main street nearby? There should still be a few cabs out there at this time of night."
He zipped up his pants, buttoned his shirt, and tucked it in in a way that made Samantha feel hot all over again. How could someone putting their clothes on still look so delicious?
"Don't worry, I'll call our car service to get me. You stay here."
"In bed naked?"
Fletcher smiled and walked over to brush his lips against hers. Yep, still delicious.
"You look good in bed naked so let me just remember you like that." Then he stood up and ran his fingers through her hair one more time. "We'll talk soon, OK?"
She nodded, too caught up in her own thoughts to actually say anything. And it seemed Fletcher may have felt the same way, giving her one more smile and walking out of her bedroom.
Samantha could hear him pause in her living room and she wasn't sure why. Did he want to come back in? Did he like her Midwest living room and that blanket his mom made for her? And what kind of man would stand there looking at his mom's handiwork after screwing a woman like he just screwed Samantha?
But then she heard his feet moving and the door open and close behind her. Fletcher was gone again, and Samantha was both more satisfied and more confused than the last time he left her.
Chapter Nine
Wait, what was Samantha doing?
She took a step back from the bowl on the stainless steel counter in the bakery and stared at it. She was making... something. Her eyes darted around the ingredients in front of her to try and put together what was going on. Blue icing? Oh, right. The winter ball for some high school.
And that's when Samantha realized why she had been distracted. It was getting into November now, and it was a month since Fletcher had left her apartment. In some ways, it didn't feel like time had passed at all and then there would be days like today when it felt like ages since she last saw him.
They had texted sometimes and he even talked to her on the phone once or twice, but it was nothing like having him close. But neither of them wanted to say what they were thinking, or at least Samantha knew she didn't want to say anything to Fletcher but she didn't know if he felt the same way.
"Maybe I could move there and work in Los Angeles and we wouldn't have to do this long distance relationship."
Ugh, was it even a relationship? They hadn't defined that either.
Wait, what was Samantha supposed to be doing again? Blue frosting was for... winter ball.Time to focus, she thought, scooping heapings of fluffy frosting into her pastry bag to ice the three dozen cupcakes Cora had already finished baking.
She heard the back door to the bakery swing open with a little more force than usual and a growl from someone. Cora had a big smile on her face, which made Samantha think the growl was from Cora's boyfriend.
"Hi, babe."
Riley nodded and took a seat at the kitchen's island away from Cora. The two of them weren't the public displays of affection types so it wasn't uncommon for them to sit apart in the kitchen, but Riley seemed even more put off than usual.
Samantha and Cora stared at him waiting for some explanation, but he just continued to sit there and say nothing.
"Morning rush is finally over!" Georgia said as she walked in from the bakery's retail space. Her eyes followed the other two as they stared at Riley. "What's wrong with him?"
"Your brother hasn't shared that yet," Cora said without taking her eyes off her boyfriend.
Riley sighed and leaned on the kitchen island. "The team made a trade and sent some draft picks away. We were supposed to use those to get some young guys in, but management decided we needed to get Morgan Crawford and Fletcher Keris from the Sunbursts."
