“It’s been good,” I say, closing the door behind me. “Except for that.”
Jake stands looking down at my sofa, which is in the middle of my living room. “What happened?”
“I clean and rearrange things when I get nervous. It quells my anxiety, but today the downstairs neighbors got mad becauseof the noise.” Crossing my arms in front of me, I incline my head in the direction of the sofa. “I was trying to move that into the next room, but it’s too heavy. I got it that far, and now…” I throw my arms in the air. “It’s stuck.”
Jake goes over to the couch and lifts one end up like it’s a feather. “It really is heavy.”
“To me, but you just lifted it like it was nothing, come on,” I say with a laugh.
“But I can tell it’s heavy, Riley.” He bends down and grabs an end. “I’ll pull it and you push it, how’s that?”
“I’m not going to say no.” I go to the other end of the couch and point to the far wall. ”I only want to move it there.”
“Easy.” Jake lifts his end and starts walking backward while I push mine, only I do it a little bit too hard and he stumbles. Luckily, he rights himself and we take another attempt to maneuver the oversized couch through the narrow doorway, laughter bubbling up between us as the shared task quickly turns into a lighthearted game of tug-of-war. His strong arms strain against the weight of the couch, while I push from the other side with all my might, our efforts punctuated by an occasional grunt of exertion.
With one final push, we manage to squeeze the couch through the doorway, but just as we begin to relax, the unexpected happens—Jake’s foot catches on the edge of the carpet, sending him toppling backward in a spectacular display of gracelessness. Who knew big guys can’t look like ballerinas when they get off-balance?
I watch in a mix of horror and amusement as his arms flail wildly about as he desperately tries to regain his balance. With a comical yelp, he disappears from my view as he lands in a heap on the floor, the couch teetering dangerously as he hits the ground.
In an instant, my laughter turns to concern. I drop my end of the couch, making sure it’s not going to fall on him—like I could do much anyway—and I’m by his side in a flash. He pulls his hands away from his face and, thankfully, he’s laughing. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me on top of him.
“Smooth move, huh?” he quips, flashing me a sheepish grin that melts away any lingering tension. “Were you really worried?”
“Yes!” Smacking his chest, I try to pull away, but he won’t loosen his grip. I’m okay with it because I don’t want to go anywhere else anyway. “What if I’d hurt you a few days before your new contract goes into effect? I’d have to deal with my brother first, then your teammates.”
“Speaking of which,” he says, lifting a piece of my hair and twisting it on his finger. “I spoke to them today. Well, not all of them, but a few of the guys who I really needed to talk to first.”
“How did that go?”
“Better than expected.” His eyes meet mine as he takes a deep breath. “The funny thing is, the only person I wanted to talk to when I hung up with them was you.”
“Oh?” A heat rises to my cheeks, and I know I’m turning at least six shades of red at this very moment.
Our eyes are locked, our breath even as we stop in this moment. I realize I’m really starting to fall for this man. There’s a natural draw that’s happening, my body beginning to lean its way toward him. His fingertips begin to dance their way down my spine as he traces a line that fills my body with appreciation for his touch.
I press my lips together, watching him watch me as I do. Knowing I have his attention, I slowly breathe and smile, a natural instinct kicking in to lick my lips at this precise moment. His eyes widen as he drops the piece of hair his fingers had beentwisting, and takes to cradling my chin between his thumb and forefinger.
From across the room, a ding sounds alerting me to a text, but I don’t care. I lean over him, threading my fingers through his hair and tilting my head to the side. A rush of nerves floods my overwhelmed system, every nerve ending tingling with anticipation. His touch sends electrical signals to parts of my body that I didn’t know existed. At this moment, time seems to slow down and it’s just us. Here, on the floor of my apartment.
Jake’s face twists and his eyes widen with surprise as he cries out, laughing. Surprised, I sit back up and look around.
“What? What just happened?”
“Becks,” he manages to say as he cracks up. “He’s licking my shin.”
I turn around, and sure enough, my new dog has suddenly appeared and is on the floor next to Jake licking the exposed skin of his shin.
“Way to kill the vibe, Becks,” I mutter as Jake sits up and pulls me in so he can hold me close to his chest. Closing my eyes, I let my fingers trip their way up his arm and then gently trace invisible lines around his biceps.
“It’s fine,” he whispers. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Smiling, I press myself against him harder. This man is making me crazy. “So you were saying that you talked to your friends. Is everything good now?”
“It is. It’s been a big day, really. Your brother served Greta a cease-and-desist order.”
“Will she?”
“She needs to.” His face clouds. “You know, I get it that I didn’t end things the right way, but I know she only wanted to date me for what she could get out of it. She wanted the contacts and connections.”
