Page 137 of Ignition

“The movement remains the same,” he continued, squeezing my hip to snatch my attention and guiding me into pivoting on my feet.

“Except right before you release the ball, you give it a little spin.”

His other hand covered mine and tilted it to a ten o’clock position, giving my wrist a little twist. His eyes slid to me, as if checking to see if I’d understood—or if I’d caught fire yet, I couldn’t tell.

“I got it,” I blurted out. The tips of my ears had turned scarlet, blush sweeping down my neck.

“Show me, then.” Too low, too intimate for the bowling alley.

I fought a shiver under the pretence of rolling my shoulders again. His instructions rang in my mind, and my body repeated the motions, until they became automatic.

My head turned, eyes locking on his in silent question.

He nodded, lips curling into a slow half-smile.

“Good girl,” he murmured, voice a low hum vibrating along my bones. Then, he let me have the floor, as if he hadn’t tossed me a grenade and walked away with the pin between his teeth.

My skin grew molten as his words moved through my body, kicking up shivers in their path, from the top of my spine to my toes.

Shit. How can he say that with a straight face?

It felt like being caught in a storm with no way out.

A maddening, blue-eyed storm.

I could do nothing but clutch the ball tighter and pray he couldn’t read the thoughts swirling in my mind. And I would’ve worried more about how strongly my body had reacted, but I couldn’t, not with his eyes glued to me, waiting for a slip-up.

A few sharp breaths and a roll of my shoulders later, my hand still trembled where it clutched the ball.

I ran up to the approach, and the difference in the shoe size hit me at once: my toes didn’t need to grip them, and I didn’t slow down either, for fear I might fall. My hips pivoted a fraction as I sent it flying with a little spin and prayed.

Pri and Mark stepped into my peripheral vision, all our collective focus narrowing to the low rumble of the lime-green ball barrelling over the polished lane.

My heart hammered in my chest, keeping rhythm with it.

A sharp clank rang out as it kissed the pins. They swayed and fell with a loud clatter, one by one, until one lone pin was left standing.

The breath died in my lungs.

It teetered and wobbled, and time stretched cruelly, pulling my nerves taut with it.

Then, it dropped to the floor, the sound reverberating across the large open space of the alley.

A victorious beep and cheering whistles followed.

Triumph zapped through me, shooting me into a little victory jump as I turned to them like I’d won the lottery.

I only caught a glimpse of Josh and his wide smile before Pri’s arms enveloped me. She squealed in a timbre only dogs could hear, and Mark hollered whoops from behind her, clapping a large hand on my shoulder before joining the embrace.

The incandescent bubble in my chest swelled as their cheers swept over me, better than any match point, better than acing any exam.

When they let me go, my gaze sought him.

He was still grinning, eyes luminous and crinkled at the corners—and that was sweeter than everything combined.

He pushed off the wall and sauntered towards me with an intent focus that made my heart forget what it was supposed to do, before it kicked up again with a vengeance.

His hands snapped to my waist and in a fluid, dizzying motion that left my stomach on the floor, he lifted me as if I weighed nothing. A small squeal burst from my lips, drawing a chuckle out of him, before he twirled me in the air.