Page 7 of Austin
What were the chances of running into a hometown guy in a city this size? And, if shehadto run into someone, why did it have to be Austin, the only guy she’d ever yelled at in public? A guy who wasn’t exactly blameless in what had gone between them many years ago?
Yes, she’d taken a strip off him in public, but he’d started things. Insulted her. And regardless of what people say, an insult in high school, especially from a guy one was secretly infatuated with…although, in her defense, it was hard to find a girl in that school who wasn’t infatuated with Austin…didfeel like the end of the world. Whitney would have shrugged off the insult, flung a few back. Kristen had felt like climbing into a hole. But she hadn’t. Not when he’d drawn the line. And she was still kind of proud of herself for that, even if it might bite her in the butt now.
No. Austin was not blameless. Unfortunately, he’d been in the power position a few hours ago, so she couldn’t point that out.
Maybe, after she confessed to her family, they could have a word.
The idea made her smile grimly.
She set the water on the end table and pulled her phone out of her bag and typed in Austin’s name. American Extreme Bull Riders Tour popped up. Kristen frowned as she studied the lineup of extremely hot guys.
Well, that explained why he was in town. He was a professional bull rider.
He was also pretty damned successful.
She flipped through his internet fan pages, read a few paragraphs of a National Public Radio transcript—Austin on NPR…go figure—then set down the phone. He was successful and articulate. Great. All the better to rat her out.
How had she not known he’d made something of himself?
But then again,whywould she know? She rarely made it home, due to college and work, and when she had gone home, she’d focused on family or vegged out in the house she and her sister had inherited from their grandmother. Relished the freedom to do nothing—until nothing started to get to her. That was when she and her mom and Whit would tackle one of the many house projects her mom saved for “the girls”—repainting rooms, sorting through the basement, organizing the garage. They always made a trip to the Marvell Ranch, if the roads were clear, and she’d reconnect with her cousins. She always enjoyed that because, even though she and her cousins rarely saw one another anymore, it never felt awkward when they got together again.
Kristen picked the phone back up and scrolled through more screens, stopping at the American Extreme Bull Riders Tour schedule. Her forehead wrinkled as she studied the dates and cities. Brutal. Austin was in a different city every week from January to October. Before Reno, he’d been in California, and before that New Mexico. Next week he’d be in Salt Lake City. That spoke of dedication. Commitment. The things she’d once told him he lacked. The irony of his success and her lack of it was not lost on her.
Her thumb hovered for a moment, then she hit the ‘image’ button and was rewarded with pages of photos. Austin with his shirt half buttoned. Austin without his shirt. Austin hanging in midair over the back of a bull. Austin throwing his hat.
Austin looking hot as hell.
Kristen clicked out of the screen and set the phone aside.
Enough Austin. The guy could put a wrinkle in her life, and the last thing she should be doing was ogling his semi-naked and very hard body.
*
Austin jammed thekeycard in the lock upside down not once, but twice. Finally, he got the damned thing flipped around and opened the door. The drink he’d had before riding the elevator up to fifteenth floor hadn’t kept him from mulling over the situation with Kristen Alexander, but it had affected his motor skills.
He dropped his wallet and change onto the dresser, then went to the window and stared out over the city lights. She’d actually pretended to be someone else to keep her family from knowing that she’d ‘hit a few roadblocks’.
That was not normal.
None of your business.
Right.
He’d been told to butt out and he probably would.Probably.
Whitney would want to know what was up with her twin. That was a given. The question was, should he tell her? Was it his place to tell her? He and Whit were pretty good friends and had been for years. He liked her, felt easy around her—which was the opposite of how he felt around Kristen. Even in the short amount of time they’d been together tonight, she’d managed to put him on edge, both mentally and physically. Made him aware of how ridiculous his idea of ‘melting the ice princess’ had been back in the day.
Austin put a hand to his forehead and squeezed. He’d actually said that to his friends. Melt the ice princess. Of course, he’d been two or three beers in at the time, sitting next to a campfire with four of his buddies, discussing rodeo, life and women.
Who you asking to prom?
Kristen Alexander.
No shit? No way!
Yep…I’m going to melt that ice princess.
He unsnapped his shirt, tossed it onto a chair. Wild laughter had ensued. Followed by a few casual bets. His answer had been born of sheer impulse. Kristen Alexander did not run with his crowd, the rodeo crowd. She was on the fast track to success with a full-ride scholarship already in the bag, and she dated only the class elite. Her own kind.
