Page 57 of Rookie Season
Quickly, I remove my jacket and offer it to her. “Here, you’re cold.”
She shakes her head, the stubborn woman. “No, I’m fine.”
Unwilling to take no for an answer when she’s freezing and her arms and legs are exposed, I take the corners of mysuit jacket in both hands and wrap it around her shoulders, holding it closed in the front.
Her teeth begin to chatter, and she laughs. “Okay, that does feel nice,” Ally says, her voice low.
I can feel her breath lightly on my face as she speaks, and I realize the motion of wrapping my jacket around her brought our faces much closer together.
“Good,” I say, my eyes moving from her chocolate brown eyes to her full, red lips.
“Thank you for tonight,” Ally says, bringing my gaze back up. “For the no-drinking suggestion.” Her head tilts as she looks at me, and she huffs a laugh. “I adore Penn and Fisher, but the moment they got tipsy they would’ve ditched.”
I breathe in a deep breath, not breaking our eye contact. “They can stay sober for one night. You being comfortable is more important than a few cocktails.”
Her eyes soften, and I swear she leans closer. My heartbeat speeds up at her nearness, each breath coming faster.
“You make me feel so safe.” Her words are quiet, almost a whisper, and her eyes take on a glossy cast.
Fisher told me when Ally first moved in that she’d been through a lot, and everything she’s just told me makes me wonder if someone from her past made her feel unsafe. And if that hypotheticalsomeonehas anything to do with the hurtful rumors she told me about. The thought makes me want to punch something…or someone. The instinct deep within me to protect those I care about threatens to overwhelm me. My fists tighten on the lapels of my jacket that I’m holding closed around the woman in front of me.
Ally brings a hand to rest on my knee, like I’m an angry, wild mustang that needs taming. Her touch affects meinstantly, calming me…grounding me. My breathing evens out as I study her. Our faces are so close, only inches away. I can smell her minty breath mingling with the sweet scent of her perfume as my mouth hovers just above hers. My hands are still holding the suit jacket, and my fists clutch the fabric tighter, our proximity daring me to tug and drag her closer to me.
But she said I make her feel safe, and I don’t want to ruin that. I’m not sure what she wants, not sure if she wants me to kiss her. And even if she does, I’m not entirely convinced she wants it as badly as I do.
I force myself to relax my hands on the fabric.
The low sound of someone’s car horn in the traffic far below us has her blinking and pulling away slightly. She sets her shoulders, like she’s coming back to herself, awakening after a dream.
Ally sighs. “Okay, I’m ready to dance again. Should we head back inside?”
I nod, but that’s the last thing I want to do right now.
As I stand and follow her, I try to swallow down the disappointment that she pulled away instead of leaning in and kissing me.
CHAPTER 24
ALLEGRA
He was goingto kiss me…I’m sure of it.
Noah Downsby was actually going to kiss me.
And instead of letting him, I panicked. Like a total idiot.
Don’t get me wrong, Iwantedto kiss him. Badly. I can’t stop thinking about the way those dark eyes of his were fixed on my mouth, about how his hands twisted in the jacket he held around me, the scent of his warm skin mingling with the salty sea-breeze swirling around me as he leaned closer, his body radiating heat and tension.
In that moment, all I wanted to do was lean in and lose myself in him.
But instead of trusting my instincts and doing just that, some deep-rooted fear in me made me clam up to the point where I found myself breaking away instead of moving closer.
After I totally killed the moment by doing that, Noah and I went back inside and acted like nothing happened—because, unfortunately, nothingdidhappen—and the next day, the boys flew to Denver for the first of two back-to-back games on the road. Which has left me with way too muchtime on my hands at home alone to think about Noah’s full lips, and how I can’t believe I didn’t let myself find out if they’re really as soft as they look.
Even Harry is miserable. He won’t stop scratching at Noah’s door.
“Hello, earth to Allegra?” Cora waves a hand in front of my face, and I snap out of my reverie.
“Oh, sorry.” I blink at my new friend, a flush rising on my cheeks as I shrug on my cropped puffer jacket and shrug off my thoughts of Noah. “I was lost in thought.”
