Page 33 of Just Say Yes

She shot me a pointed look. “Very funny.” MJ gestured to the chair tucked in the corner. “I’m an RN with an orthopedic nurse certification. I can show you my résumé, if you’d like.”

“I believe you,” I chuckled as I sat in the chair and pulled up the leg of my sweatpants.

MJ crouched in front of me, her eyes assessing my knee while I assessed her. A soft furrow creased her forehead, and her lips flattened.

“Hmm,” she said. Her fingertips hovered over my bent knee. “May I?”

I nodded.

MJ’s fingertips brushed the outside of my knee, sending tingles buzzing up my leg. Her touch was soft, yet efficient. Her eyes never left my knee as she extended my leg, then bent it again.

When she gently pressed on each side, I hissed.

She sat back on her heels, and I already missed her touch. “It’s a little swollen. Feels a bit stiff. You should probably get it checked out to make sure it’s nothing more serious.”

I pushed my pant leg back down. “I’m sure it’s nothing. I’ll be fine by tomorrow’s game.”

MJ’s eyes lifted, her expression softer, like she’d picked up on more than I intended to let slip. “Sure seems tough on the body.”

“It’s part of the game,” I said, shrugging, trying to sound nonchalant as she stood. “You either keep going or you find something else.”

She tilted her head, her eyes meeting mine, and I felt a jolt, that electric awareness between us kicking up a notch. “You don’t seem like the type to just walk away.”

“Is it that obvious?” I chuckled as I stood, but there was an edge to it, a heaviness. “It’s hard to let go when it’s all you know.”

Our eyes held, and for a second, I forgot about the storm, the cramped room, and the fact that there was barely a foot of space between us. The silence stretched, thick with unspoken things. I tried to ignore the way her shoulder brushed mine, the warmth of her body radiating across that small, shared space.

It was distracting as hell.

“So what about you?” I asked, steering the conversation away from my troubles. “What’s got you so guarded?”

She laughed, but it sounded strained. “Guarded? I’m not guarded.” Her voice wavered, like she didn’t quite believe it herself. Then she smiled, quick and practiced.

“Right.” I let my gaze linger, daring her to challenge me. “If you say so.” I slid into the bed, making sure to give her plenty of room on the other side.

She rolled her eyes, shifting to face away from me, but I saw the hint of a smile, the way her fingers fidgeted with the edge of the blanket.

I wanted to know more, to press her on it, but I could tell from her expression that I wouldn’t get anything real from her tonight. And maybe that was just as well.

We were strangers—strangers sharing a cramped hotel room during a storm.

MJ slipped under the covers, leaving me staring after her, my thoughts anything but innocent.

She pulled the covers up to her chin, eyes fixed on the ceiling. The storm outside roared, the sound making the room feel smaller somehow, more intimate. Her breathing was soft, steady, but I could hear every inhale, every exhale. The faint scent of her shampoo lingered between us, and I had to focus hard to keep my hands on my side of the blanket.

When she settled back against the pillow, the edge of her foot brushed mine under the covers, and she froze, glancing at me, her cheeks just barely flushed.

“Sorry,” she murmured, pulling back, but the tension between us only thickened, that accidental touch lingering like an invitation I couldn’t quite ignore.

I chuckled, lifting a brow. “Relax, MJ. I’m not gonna bite.”

She gave a dry laugh, but I saw her lips curve. “I don’t know ... you seem like the type.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” I shot back, half teasing, half serious, and there was that smirk again, the one that drove me a little wild. She laughed, genuinely this time, and the sound made something twist in my chest.

“By the way,” I said, adjusting my head on the pillow to get a better look at her. “I’m still deciding on the right nickname for you. You don’t seem like a ‘Kitten’ ... and ‘Thunder’ didn’t quite fit either.”

She gave me a skeptical look, her lips pressing together like she was fighting a smile. “Why do I even need a nickname?”

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