Page 44 of Take Her On

Her sudden nervousness made Maya smile even more. “It already was.”

Now Jamie was definitely blushing.

When did Jamie Mellor get so shy?

“I mean…god. I’m usually good at this, but…” Jamie shook her head. “You know what I mean.”

The look suited her. Her honesty was refreshing. That vulnerability held things up in a new light. Or maybe Maya hadn’t really been seeing her before. “It’s nice to see you like this,” she admitted.

“Yeah, I bet you’re really getting some kicks out of it.” Jamie’s mouth curled at the edges. The memory of her lips on Maya’s skin jolted electricity through her veins. “Though I have to admit, it’s also nice to be around you and for you to not bite my head off every five minutes.”

“Don’t get used to it,” Maya teased.

Outside, warm streetlights illuminated the dark road. Without Jamie’s music blasting, the street was eerily quiet, aside from a gruff dog barking somewhere a few houses away. The cold hit Maya as soon as she stepped out of the car, piercing through her thin layers. On a clear night like this, she imagined there would be stars for miles. Shame about the streetlights.

Jamie popped open the boot of her car and pulled her bag of dirty washing out with a huff.

Maya smiled at the sight. “I just realised I haven’t teased you about taking your washing home to your parents’ house yet.”

“I did wonder when you were going to say something. You must be slipping.”

“What’s wrong with the laundry place in the building? Too many commoners for her highness?”

“I think we both know if I’m going to be anything in the royal family, I’d be a prince.” Jamie turned her head, modelling and fluttering her lashes. “Look at me.”

Maya chuckled, enjoying the easy back and forth. “Yes. Yes. Very handsome. Now answer the question.”

“Don’t laugh,” Jamie said, her eyes holding hers. “But someone was stealing my things.”

“Stealing? What, your tightie-whities?”

“We both know I don’t wear tightie-whities.” She raised an eyebrow. “But no, it was my socks, mostly.”

“Socks go missing in everybody’s washing. It’s hardly worthy of a Miss Marple episode.”

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Jamie grinned. “Stop harassing your teammate.”

“Teammate, huh? If this is the way you treat your other teammates, I think we need another chat about Leah.”

“Maya,” Jamie groaned.

“Too soon?”

“A little.”

“Well, I’ll see you around then…teammate.” She flashed her a smile and turned to leave, but Jamie called her back. “What?”

Nibbling her lip, Jamie brushed a hand through her hair.

The sudden seriousness made Maya’s stomach tighten. She’d hoped the joke about Leah hadn’t taken it too far; it’d just slipped out. Please don’t make me talk about what happened between us on my driveway. She’d forgotten about the significance of their evening for a moment and didn’t want to jump back into panic mode. Plus, it would only take five minutes before their conversation was discussed on the local Facebook page. She wouldn’t be surprised if Mrs Corstow had already speed-dialled the police to report their loitering. It was nosy neighbour 101.

A strong gust creaked the branches in the neighbour’s trees before Jamie asked, “Can I get your number?”

Maya blew out a sigh of relief and pulled out her phone. “I think that’s acceptable, seeing as I’ve already seen your tightie-whities.”

Jamie couldn’t hide her smile. “I don’t wear tightie-whities.”

After they exchanged numbers, Maya headed for her door, Jamie for hers.