Page 51 of Bumping into You

I feel every breath, every movement of him against me. A sensation of being flooded with warmth passes through me, and I have a strong awareness of my heartbeat. It thumps erratically, and even though I’m supposed to be controlling my breath, it comes out in a quick rising and falling of my chest.

I’m not the only one feeling something. I can tell in the way Niall is breathing that this pose is affecting him as well.

When we are called to release the pose and ease back up, our eyes meet, and there is a fire burning in his. The blue eyes which normally hold so much humor and light are now like ocean waves during a storm. Wild and untamable.

Without a thought, we are once again close to each other, our faces mere breaths apart.

“Niall?” Greg asks. And our spell is broken. We quickly jumpback from each other. Greg is looking at us with concern, but Holly seems pleasantly surprised.

“I, um . . .” says, Niall.

“We were . . .” I start, but we’re saved from answering by a sudden commotion.

Bradley and Tammy have managed to fall over into a tangle of limbs on their mat. I breathe a sigh of relief, glad for the distraction. I’d forgotten they were even in the class. Niall seems to keep having that effect on me.

If I can have this much fun and feel this good with someone I practically just met, even if he’s just pretending to date me, was I ever truly happy with Bradley? It’s something I’m starting to question.

The shock of that hits me, causing me to sway slightly.

“Whoa, you okay?” Niall asks, worry creasing his forehead, as he holds my arm.

“Yeah, no, I mean, yes, I’m alright,” I say, shaking my head a bit. The warmth of his touch brings back a desire to be physically close to him again. I shouldn’t be wanting that.We’re just fake dating, Gwen, get ahold of yourself.

“How about we go get a bite to eat?” Niall suggests, glancing at his watch.

“I could eat,” I say. “This session wore me out.”

“What are you two up to?” asks Greg, with some concern in his voice, as he and Holly approach us.

Did we go too far? Does Greg think there is something going on between Niall and me? I hope not. I can’t even wrap my head around how I feel about Niall. How am I going to discuss this with my brother?

“I was going to get something to eat,” I say.

At the same time, Niall says, “We were going to get lunch.” Niall and I exchange looks.

“Maybe we’ll join you,” says Greg, eyeing us both.

“No, we won’t,” says Holly, giving me and Niall a hopeful look. “We’re going to go get cleaned up and rest before we head out on our excursion for the day.”

“Don’t you want to grab some food?” Greg asks Holly.

“I think we should do room service,” says Holly.

“But, what about—” Greg starts.

“Room service,” Holly repeats, giving Greg a flirtatious look.

“Room service it is,” says Greg. “See you two soon.” He grabs Holly’s hand, and they head out of the fitness center. Holly throws me a wink before they’re out the door.

“Did she just wink at us?” asks Niall.

“Nope,” I say. “Definitely not.”

Niall and I snag a table at Imperial Café that looks out over the ocean. The sight is beautiful. Blue skies and blue ocean as far as the eye can see.

After ordering and getting our food, Niall asks, “So, all of you grew up in Chessie Valley?”

“Yeah, except Holly, Margot, and their family. They moved in when Holly and I were in the sixth grade, but we’ve been inseparable ever since. Well, except during the time Holly lived away with her ex. Thank goodness that’s all over!”

---