Page 20 of My Trainer Neighbor
"Shawn, I appreciate the offer, but this is getting complicated and I don't think we should keep doing this."
"But what?You don't deserve to have someone take care of you for one fucking day?"
The profanity made her flinch, but it also made her look at me.Really look at me.
"I don't know how to do this," she said.
"Do what?"
"This.Whatever this is between us."She gestured vaguely between our bodies."I don't know the rules."
"There are no rules."I stepped closer, close enough to smell her shampoo."Just two people who are attracted to each other sharing a meal."
"Is that all this is?Attraction?"
The question hung between us, loaded with more meaning than either of us was ready to unpack.Because it wasn't just attraction anymore, at least not for me.It was how she'd looked when she'd admitted she didn't know how to let people touch her.How she'd kissed me back like she was starving for contact.How she made me want to be the kind of man who stayed instead of the kind who ran.
"Come find out," I said instead.
She studied my face for a long moment, and I could see the war playing out behind her eyes.The part of her that wanted to say yes battling with the part that was scared of what yes might mean.
She nodded."Give me ten minutes to change."
"You look good the way you are."
She blushed, the color rising in her cheeks making her look even more beautiful."I'll just be a few minutes."
Twenty minutes later, she knocked on my door wearing a black dress that hugged every curve and made my mouth go dry.Her hair was still down, falling in soft waves over her shoulders, and she'd put on makeup that made her lips look like they were begging to be kissed.
"You look incredible," I said, and meant every word.
"Thank you."She stepped inside, looking around at the transformation I'd made to my usually sparse living space.Candles on the table, actual place settings instead of paper plates, a playlist of jazz standards playing in the background.
"You did all this for me?"
"I did all this for us."
The admission slipped out before I could stop it, and I saw her freeze.Shit.Too much, too fast.
"I mean, I wanted to cook," I said."And it's more fun with company."
She nodded, but I could see she wasn't entirely buying it.Smart woman.
"Can I get you some wine?"I asked, moving toward the kitchen.
"Please."
I poured two glasses of the expensive Pinot Noir I'd picked up specifically for tonight and handed her one.Our fingers brushed as she took it, and I felt that familiar spark of electricity.
"To unexpected Thanksgivings," I said, raising my glass.
She clinked hers against mine."To breaking rules I didn't know I had."
We drank, and I watched her throat work as she swallowed.Everything about this woman was graceful, even how she drank wine.
"Dinner's almost ready," I said."Are you hungry?"
"Starving."How she said it, with just a hint of something that had nothing to do with food, made my pulse spike.
