Page 18 of Playing for Keeps

I nodded, because my words failed me. His dark eyes looked even darker in the car, with only the streetlights around us to light up the space. I knew how he felt and his impassioned plea sparked a flicker of hope in my chest.

“I believe you,” I finally managed.

“Good,” he said, his eyes glistening in the dim light. His tongue flicked out over his lips and my eyes followed the slow motion. “Are you ready for this?”

“I’m ready,” I told him, my voice too breathy for my own good.

“Ok, wait for me so you don't get wet.”

Before I could respond, Aaron grabbed his umbrella from beneath his seat and jumped from the car. I shook my head in confusion. By the time I realized we were parked in front of my building, Aaron had yanked my door open and was holding the umbrella above my head as he pulled me out of the car. He led me to the awning that covered the sidewalk right out front.

“How’d you know where I live?” I asked.

“I drove Kelly home from the airport last week,” he told me with a shrug. “We travel together quite a bit for work.”

I glanced away from him, casting off unfounded suspicions and trying to hide my embarrassment at the same time. Before I could look back at him, a dark figure just beyond the street light caught my eye. Sitting on top of a sleek black motorcycle was a figure dressed all in black. The helmet on his head hid his face, but a chill ran through me as if his eyes are glued to mine. Black leather gloves hid his fingers, thick black boots covered his feet. Sheets of rain were pouring down on him, but he acted as if he didn’t notice.

There was no one else out in the dreary weather, no one coming toward the motorcyclist or walking away. When I looked back at Aaron, his eyes were playful and the corners of his lips were pulled up. He didn’t notice the stranger on the bike. He just looked at me like he was waiting for me to speak.

Had I missed something? Had Aaron said something and I didn’t hear. Before I could ask, he glanced down and squeezed my hand.

“I better let you go,” he told me. The look in his eyes made me think he didn’t want to. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“You will?” I asked as he released my hand and started to walk away. Aaron turned back to me, dropping the umbrella back so the rain that hit it wouldn’t splatter my face. “Don’t you work on a different floor?”

He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and stepped toward me until his face was hovering over me, so close I could almost feel his breath against mine. “You don’t think you can get rid of me that easily, do you?” His fingers touched my jaw and I squeezed my eyes shut as they trailed down the back of my neck.

Before settling on my shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Have a good night.”

His warmth left me, and when I opened my eyes, he was striding toward his car. He was whistling again as he opened the driver’s side door, and his eyes locked with mine, his brows raised and a smile on his face before he winked and ducked inside.

A wave of relief splashed over me even as I swam in an ocean of confusion. I barely knew Aaron, yet I found much-needed comfort in his presence. I was certain he was going to kiss me, the way he lingered over me with his mouth so close to mine. I wanted it, and yet I didn’t. There had been no one on my mind in the past year, not since a few weeks after my brother was shot. But that flicker of hope that I’d felt all day was there, Aaron’s almost-kiss fanning the flames.

Maybe.

Just maybe.

After Aaron’s white car sped away, I looked back down the street. The biker still sat there, and another chill rolled through me. I hiked my purse on my shoulder and turned on my heel, rushing inside to the warmth of my building.

The minute I stepped inside my apartment, I heard squealing.

“Jen-Jen!” Kelly, my best friend and one of the reasons I accepted the job at Guardian and moved back to this city, came rushing toward me. She threw her arms around my neck and I nearly stumbled backward into the door. “Welcome home, roomie!”

“Hey, Kels,” I told her, hugging her back.

“So,” she asked, pulling back, “how was your first day?”

I gave her a grin as I tossed my purse on the floor. “It was awesome. Everyone is so nice. Rhys is amazing, and—”

“You met Rhys?” Kelly was beaming at me, her aqua eyes shining as she pulled her mop of curly red hair off her neck and fanned her face.

“He’s my boss. Of course, I did.” I laughed at my friend. She'd been crushing on one of the accounting managers for months, but she refused to say which one. “So, I take it he’s your guy?”

Kelly rolled her eyes and slapped my shoulder playfully before turning toward the kitchen. “I will not justify that with an answer. Besides, I want to hear more about your day.”

“My day or my boss?”