Page 31 of #Awestruck

Of all the things he’d done that night to impress me, the one thing he’d done that he hadn’t expected me to see was what impressed me the most.

My phone buzzed with a text message, and I realized it was still recording. I held it up, pushing the stop button.

I’d started the evening off thinking that I could give the recording to Brenda. He’d stayed with his “I’m a virgin” bit, but there were lots of really personal things on here we could use for the show.

Without hesitation, I deleted it.

“Ready to go?” Evan asked. “I’d like to walk you out to your car.”

“Yep.” I grabbed my flowers and followed him out. He moved quickly through the main dining room of the restaurant, and I realized it was to avoid being recognized. The hostess thanked us as Evan opened the front door for me, putting his hand on the small of my back to guide me through it.

I felt his touch all the way to the cuticles on my toes.

He didn’t drop his hand, and we continued to walk quietly toward my car. When we got there, I suddenly felt thirteen again and completely awkward. I pushed the button on my key fob to unlock the car.

I turned to face him, standing in front of my driver’s side door. “So, thanks for the flowers and the blackmail and the free steak.”

His grin was slow, sexy, and smoldering. I leaned against my car for support. “You wanted to come to dinner with me. You let me win.”

“I didn’t ...” But the words died in my mouth. I had totally let him win. I knew it, even in the moment when it was happening, no matter how much I’d tried to convince myself otherwise.

“And I had a really fun time tonight. If you’re interested, I’d like to see you again.”

See me again? Like he wanted me to stand in his line of vision, or he wanted to go on another sort-of date? He needed to clarify.

“Because call me crazy,” he said, putting his hands on the side of my car, effectively trapping me in place. I tried to back up but was met with a wall of metal behind me and a wall of muscle in front. “But I think we’re having a moment.”

“A moment of delusion?” I croaked, my throat not operating properly since my throbbing heart was stuck in it. “We’re kind of friends. That’s what we established.”

“I can move from the friend zone into the end zone.”

It was so cheesy I laughed, and he held up one finger. Now he was counting laughs, too? “You are a very long way off from the end zone.”

His eyes flicked over me, studying my face, and my skin went hot, like he was touching me again. Even though he wasn’t. “Have you ever seen me drive a ball down a field?”

Of course I had. He was the best at it. Chopping away at the other team’s defense, slowly gaining yard by yard until he scored.

I was now greatly concerned. “That’s not happening.”

“The last time you said that, it did happen.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

“I don’t have to. You’re doing that for me.”

How was I doing that? My flushed skin? My rapid heartbeat? My wobbly knees?

He might have had a point.

“I want to make things right. I know words aren’t enough. I’ll do whatever I need to do to earn back your trust.”

Somehow he moved even closer, making my pulse skitter and my nerve endings totally fray.

“And, Ashton? I don’t think of you as my kid sister.”

He reached up, his large, warm hand totally engulfing one side of my face. His gaze trapped mine before it traveled down to my lips. His breath mingled with mine, and I felt the soft material of his pants against my bare legs.

Evan Dawson was going to kiss me.

---