Page 48 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 10
"I like my women confident," Tim said.
I tuned them out and looked up at Bryce. He was smiling at me. I suddenly felt extremely self conscious.
"You dig me, huh?" I asked. "I like the volleyball pun."
"I'd never lie on a poster." He had rolled the poster up and was holding it in his hand. I thought he might give it to me, but the fact that he didn't was even better. It meant he wanted to use it again.
"Congratulations, Alina," he said and leaned in for a hug. I didn't hesitate to hug him back. He smelled like his cologne and sweat. I'm pretty sure the combination was my new favorite smell in the world. I could easily feel the muscles in his back through his shirt. I had the urge to trace every muscle with my fingertips, butkept my hands rooted in place. I reluctantly pulled back when I felt like I had probably been hugging him for too long. But he hadn't stopped hugging me either. Maybe he liked having me in his arms just as much as I liked being in his.
I nervously tugged the bottom of my jersey. "Are you feeling better?"
"What?"
"Last night, Alex said you weren't feeling well..."
"Oh, right." Bryce laughed. I loved the sound of him laughing. "I'm good. My Uber driver just took the bumpiest route possible. That combined with eating way too much Brazilian steak was not a pretty sight."
"I'm sorry about all the texts. I thought you'd been kidnapped." I smiled up at him. He was going to think I was so ridiculous.
"It's okay. It was nice that someone was looking out for me."
The way he said it reminded me of when he was talking about the reason why he was such a good runner. Because he had something to run from. I wanted to ask him about it, but not in front of Kristen and his friends.
He leaned in close to me. "As much as I love my friends, maybe you and I could hang out tonight just us?"
"I'd love that." I coughed awkwardly. "I'd like that I mean."Love? I can't say love this soon. I'm going to freak him out.
Bryce smiled at me. "We'll catch you guys later," he said as he grabbed my hand.
I immediately interlaced my fingers with his. Again, I couldn't help but notice his large, manly hands. My hand felt so small in his.
Kristen looked down at our intertwined hands. "Have fun," she said with a wink.
Going For Gold - Chapter 20
Tuesday
Alina
Bryce kept his hand in mine as we sat down side by side on the train. He scooted in close to the armrest, the only thing that was separating us. The train's air conditioning was on full blast, but I could feel Bryce's body heat radiating off of him. His hand was so warm. I felt safe and happy when I was with him. This was how I should be feeling after my game. I wanted to rest my head on his shoulder and close my eyes. But falling asleep wasn't exactly the best use of the only alone time we'd gotten since he'd given me my phone back on that bench.
"You were amazing today." Bryce traced the lines on my palm with his thumb as he spoke.
I wasn't sure if my cheeks blushed because of his compliment or because of the way he was touching me. My whole body felt warm. "Thanks."
"Really. I don't think you lost a single point. I've never seen volleyball like that."
I laughed. "We have a really good team."
"And they're certainly lucky to have you."
Kiss me.But Bryce didn't move any closer to me. Maybe because I was a sweaty mess. He had just come from his practice too. A long shower and some nicer clothes might make our first real kiss better anyway. But I wanted to run my hands through hishair and feel the muscles in his back again. I shifted a little closer to the armrest. Maybe he'd get the hint.
"Speaking of people being lucky to have you, I'm guessing Chris came to the game?"
I knew a few ground rules about dating, even though Chris had been my only boyfriend. And one of those rules was that you don't talk about an ex on a date. "Yeah. But it's definitely over. We don't have to talk about that."
Bryce continued to trace my palm with his thumb. It was so soothing. It felt like I could tell him anything. And his silence made it seem like he wanted me to.
