Page 79 of Prime Time Romance

Eyes up, Brynn.

I shouldn’t be imagining what it would be like to feel his hands all over my body. Or wondering if he tastes like he smells.

“Oh my god. I need to stop.”

“Stop what?” He looks understandably confused.

“I didn’t mean to say that part out loud.”

What am I doing? Why can’t I concentrate?

“I better go.” I head for the door but stop before I hit the landing. Sherry and Barry are downstairs cleaning up from last night’s party.

“I think I’ll take the fire escape.” I turn and head for the window.

“Why?”

Josh, still shirtless, steps toward me.

I avoid looking directly at him. “This town is too small. What if people see me leaving here? What will they think?”

“You’re right. What would people think?”

My eyes fixate on the blank wall behind him, but I don’t miss the hurt in his voice.

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“No, you’re right.” He walks to the window and opens it. “Spencer needs to end up with Sloan, or else we don’t go home, right?” He steps to the side to let me out onto the fire escape. “It’s still pretty early, so you should be good.”

He turns and heads toward the bathroom before I get a chance to thank him for everything.

I manage to make it almost all the way back to Sloan’s without anyone witnessing my walk of shame. Until I hit Sloan’s street.

Spencer is on his front lawn in very tiny shorts, eyes closed in what looks like a very deep warrior one pose. I know I should be excited to see him, but I’m still in last night’s dress and feeling terrible.

I attempt to sneak past, but the moment I do, his arms begin to windmill.

I panic, searching my surroundings for somewhere to hide, but there is no conveniently situated bush this time.

Spencer downward-dogs. Our eyes lock as he lifts his leg into three-legged dog, and he immediately straightens.

“Hey, Sloan! You’re up early.”

I adjust my wrinkled skirt and attempt to fluff out my bed-flattened hair with my fingers. “Yeah, um…I thought I’d go for a walk. It’s such a lovely morning.”

Spencer bends down, retrieves a white towel from his mat, and wipes his forehead. “I was actually hoping to run into you. I wanted to see if you felt like hanging out later. Maybe we could head to Pop’s for a milkshake?”

Spencer moves the towel from his face to his neck, then tosses it over his shoulder. A thin sheen of sweat highlights the toned curves of his body. My eyes drop to his abs, but my body’s response is a sour taste in the back of my throat that I can’t seem to swallow away.

“Yeah, sure. That sounds like fun.”

His face breaks into the most beautiful smile, the kind that, from the ages of thirteen through seventeen, would have made my stomach flip and my southern parts tingle. However, the only thing my stomach does this time is roil.

I practically sprint the rest of the way back to Sloan’s house. I feel like I’m going to be sick. I’m sweaty and antsy, and my body feels off, which is silly because everything that I wanted to happen is happening. Spencer just asked me out again. His Teen Beat smoldering looks are aimed solely in my direction. Carson’s Cove is set up to deliver on all of its promises. And yet…

I barely make it to Sloan’s bathroom in time.

I repeat the events of last night, but this time, there’s no Josh to hold my hair back.