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“How did you find me, snowboard guy?” I ask as he looks me up and down.
“Long enough to freeze my ass off while I was walking around town, and were you watching my YouTube movies, babe?” he jokes. I stand there awkwardly, twirling the door key in my hand.
“How did you even know I was going to be here?” I continue, my cheeks flaming because I’m totally busted.
He scratches the back of his head. “I might have texted my brother, who texted yours, and he spilled the tea. I know that sounds like I’m a fucking stalker, but are you going to invite me in, Ace?”
“I don’t know.” I smile, totally messing with him. He narrows his eyes at me while he takes off his beanie.
I move around him and open the door.
“That’s cold, babe.” He laughs and closes it behind him, taking off his jacket and following me into the enormous living area. The lights go on when we walk through the door. Apparently, that’s one of the perks when you live in a multimillion-dollar apartment.
“Fuck, this place is amazing,” he says, looking around. “Is it your father’s?”
“No, the guys I house sat for in Seattle rent it out, but I can crash here for a week.”
I press a button and the fireplace roars to life. The apartment is located in the middle of the town and the glass walls give a spectacular view of the city and the mountains in the distance. “You want a drink?” I ask, walking into the open kitchen. “They probably have weird stuff and beer,” I laugh.
“Yeah, I’ll have something hot, if that’s okay?” he asks, pushing his hands down in his back pockets.
I stop in my tracks and burst out laughing. “You know your one-liners need some work,” I tell him.
He scratches his temple. “Fuck, I mean coffee or some shit, but I’ll have you too if you’re offering?”
“Coffee it is, smartass.”
He chuckles and moves around the room to stand near the windows to look outside. I watch him out of the corner of my eyes as the state-of-the-art coffee machine sputters. Why the hell am I nervous? We had sex last night. I know this guy, but a part of me wants to know more. Wants to know everything, and that scares me shitless. It makes whatever this is all the more real.
He drops himself on the cream-colored couch and runs a hand through his long hair. His light brown, semi-curly hair stands up. I smile, handing him the coffee, and take my seat next to him, turning on the surround sound, and Styx’s Man In The Wilderness echoes through the speakers.
“Where did you go today, babe?” he asks, tapping his fingers on the mug.
“I had coffee with my dad, then later saw my mom and brother at their house. What about you?”
“Went out for an early morning ride with the guys, had a bunch of meetings for the Olympic Games and a couple of trips I’m planning on taking later in the year,” he tells me. We lock eyes, and he sighs.
He flashes me a small smile and scratches his stubble, setting his coffee on the table in front of us. I take a small sip and do the same.
“Fuck, this is awkward, isn’t it?” he drawls, tapping his fingers on his knees.
“A little.” I laugh, getting comfortable against the enormous pillows lining the back of the couch.
“Man, I’ve never done this part before,” he says, standing. He walks to the fireplace, turning his back to me.
“What do you mean?” I ask, not knowing what he’s talking about.
“This,” he says. Turning around, he shoves his hands in his pockets again. “I don’t do date shit, Ace of Spades. Like I said, this is all fucking new territory for me,” he rasps and flashes me a lopsided half smirk.
I lean back against the fluffy pillows, and watch him, trying to hold in my big ass smile.
“Don’t make fun of me, babe,” he grits out. “I get nervous too.”
I hold up my palms. “I wouldn’t dare, Jesse.”
“When you weren’t at the house when I came back from my run…” he says, scratching the left side of his face. “Fuck, I don’t know what I felt, it was—” He stops talking and stares at my suitcases, and the boxes scattered around the room.
“What did you feel?” I muse, the tingling sensation starting in my stomach.
