“Hey.” She gives me a timid smile, pulling her keys out of the ignition. I can tell she’s nervous.
I extend my hand to her, and she takes it. Once I help her out of the car, I close the door for her and she locks it with the key fob, sliding her keys into the pocket of her white puffy coat.
I let my eyes roam over her, my heartbeat kicking up a notch. Her hair is thrown up in a high ponytail, slightly teased, and what I can see of her outfit under her winter coat is a black pair of jeans with a pair of short heeled boots. She also has on a light application of makeup— mascara and eyeliner, which make her brown eyes pop—something I’ve never seen her wear before. And even though she looks beautiful in simple, casual clothing, I have to admit this is a nice change of pace. She looks phenomenal.
I can’t wait to see what’s under the jacket.
I give her hand a reassuring squeeze and lead her to the main entrance. “Ready?”
She looks at me nervously, giving me a stiff nod that says otherwise.
When we get to the front door, the bouncer checks our IDs before letting us in the dimly lit club. Inside the music is thumping,as strobe lights and lasers dance across the walls to the beat of the music.
“This way,” I instruct her, yelling over the loud music.
With her hand still in mine, I pull her through the crowd to the back of the club, finding my teammates already occupying a large seating area.
“Miller!” Brennen beams, spotting me first. Then the rest of the team bursts out in greeting.
“Hey, guys. This is Olivia,” I introduce her, pulling her to my side.
She gives a shy smile, and they greet her warmly.
JC pops up from his seat, beer in hand. “Hey, Liv,” he says with a fond smile.
She genuinely smiles back, probably relieved to see another familiar face. “Hey, how have you been?”
I remember JC mentioning that she was his physics lab partner last year. Trusting that he’s not going to make any moves on her, I saunter a few feet over to Chase and some of our other teammates to let the two of them catch up briefly, not wanting to breathe down her neck. But I stay close enough to make her feel secure.
“Holy shit,” Chase hisses. “She actually came?”
I shrug, a huge smile on my face.
Chase shakes his head in disbelief. He may or may not have heard some of my nervous rambling about whether she was going to show or not. “I for sure thought she would bail on your ass.”
“Nah,” I say, more confident now than I was a few hours ago. I knew deep down Olivia would never stand me up, but still, I’d be lying if I said a part of me wasn’t worried.
Realizing Olivia and JC’s conversation is tapering off, I make my way back over to her. Shrugging off my jacket, I drape it over the back of a nearby chair, motioning for Olivia to do the same.
Slowly, she grabs the zipper of her coat and drags it down. Once it’s all the way unzipped, she slips it off her shoulders, revealing a high-neck black halter top of some sort that makes my breathing falter.
I take her in, marveling at her fair, smooth skin in the dim light of the club. She looks so delicate, so feminine, so perfect that all I want to do is drag my lips across her bare shoulder to the small sliver of collarbone showing, up to the long, smooth lines of her neck.
Fuck.
I swear, any girl could come up to me right now with less clothing and I wouldn’t be nearly as impressed.
Swallowing thickly, I reach for her coat, deliberately letting my fingers graze hers, and set it on top of mine. I take a step toward her, leaning in to ask if she wants to grab something to drink, my hand reaching around to rest on her back, but I freeze as soon as my hand lands on a smooth, warm span of skin.
All blood flow to my brain seizes momentarily, my hand soaking in the feel of her soft, bare skin. A tingle runs up my arm and down my spine, and I struggle to form a coherent sentence. I clear my throat, my voice still gruff. “Do you want anything to drink?”
“I’ll take a water.”
I raise a brow. “That’s all?”
She gives me a sheepish smile. “I don’t drink,” she admits.
I nod once. “I respect that. Do you want to stay here or come to the bar with me?”
