Page 17 of The Hook Up
Ty took a few deep breaths and thought about football, grilling techniques for cheeseburgers, and whether he needed to do laundry. Anything but the image of Ellie with her hand sliding up her thighs and under her dress and?—
“Shoot!”
Her tame expletive fizzed with frustration, and there was a clatter behind him as something hit the floor.
“You okay?” he asked in a voice that didn’t quite sound like his own.
“I dropped the thingy,” she said. “The box that you’d hooked to the back of my dress? I’m sorry. It just came off.”
“No problem. Is it safe to look?”
“Yes. Sorry.”
“No worries.” Ty turned back around, relieved to see her dress in place and the mic pack all in one piece. “My fault,” he assured her. “I knew that fabric was probably too slippery. Let’s try something else.”
He stepped toward her again, inspecting the dress—not her body, dammit—as closely as he dared. Those cutouts at the waistline were sexy as hell, but not sturdy enough to hold the weight of the mic pack.“Okay, what if you hooked it to your, uh…your…”
He froze, not wanting to make this more awkward than it already was.
Ellie frowned, uncomprehending. “My what?”
“Your, um…”
A small smile flickered in her eyes. “Is this like charades with body parts and articles of clothing?”
There was a teasing note in her voice, and Ty reminded himself which business she worked in. It wasn’t like he was going to offend her.
“Your underwear,” he said. “Panties.”
Ellie laughed. “Yeah, one problem with that.”
“What?”
“I’m wearing a super-tiny thong. More of a G-string, I guess.”
Holy mother of?—
“Okay, then.” Ty cleared his throat, grateful he couldn’t see the expression on his face.
But Ellie saw it, and it made her laugh again. “I wasn’t trying to be sexy or anything,” she said. “These cutouts dip too low on the sides, so regular panties wouldn’t work. And the lace is pretty flimsy, so I don’t think?—”
“Okay!” Ty said again, a little too loudly this time. His brain was buzzing, and he definitely needed to turn up the air conditioning, or maybe just stop thinking about Ellie Sanders’s underwear. “Let’s try something else.”
“What if I just held the box thingy in my hand while I talk?”
Ty shook his head. “It tends to inhibit people’s ability to be expressive. To use their hands when they talk. Besides, won’t you need your hands to show some of the merchandise?”
“Good point.” Ellie frowned. “How about my bra?”
“Great idea! That’s probably sturdier.”
Ellie gave him a wry look. “I don’t know about that. I’m not exactly big enough to require any heavy-duty support. But at least that should be more secure. You want the mic thingy hooked in back, right?”
“Right. That’s definitely best.”
“Okay, then I’m going to need your help.”
Ty swallowed hard and stood rooted to the floor. “How do you mean?”
