Chapter 9

With a grunt,I flipped the newspaper shut. The last two days had sucked.

No, that wasn't fair. I'd actually had fun hanging out with Aurora, but now I was worked up. Sometime after leaving the diner on Tuesday, she'd put up some serious walls around what was okay and what wasn't. She had to get close, had to touch me, when it was time for the stretches and exercises that my shoulder required. But during every other waking moment, she kept a six-foot bubble of space. And there were no more Harry Potter voices reading. Instead, she gave me a book or a newspaper so I could read on my own.

As much as I complained about the restrictions she and the team doc had put on me, my eyes were tired after just five minutes of reading. They got tired after ten minutes of playing cards. But at least I had stopped losing to her at rummy yesterday.

And the Revs were playing better too. Potter was no longer missing stupid catches, and he was batting well enough that the team was winning. Aurora had been letting me watch the games as long as I didn't jump up and down and scream at the TV. I'd done well not letting myself get worked up.

Until now.

Although it wasn't the Revs making me crazy.

After that intense moment in my bedroom a few nights ago, Aurora had been guarded. She'd kept our relationship strictly professional, which was something I'd typically appreciate. But with her, I didn't.

I was tempted to stand up and shout when she announced she was getting in the shower, because my mind could only think of one thing. Her naked body, slick with soap. Before now, she'd kept details like that to herself, so I'd had no idea when she had showered. I'd assumed she waited until one of many naps. I felt like toddler in that way. I could only make it a few hours without resting, because man, this concussion was exhausting. So drifting off on the sofa was my new norm.

Another new norm for me? Uncomfortable boners. It was like I was back in high school, pining over Aurora. Those days when, if she smiled at me, walked near me, or sat next to me, my dick sprang to life. I thought I'd grown out of the nonsense, but as it turned out, that pesky bad habit had only disappeared because Aurora was no longer around. And now that she was back in my life? I pretty much existed in varying degrees of hard.

She was supposed to be my friend, but friends didn't think about other friends spread out beneath them. Friends didn't imagine what it'd be like to taste every inch of one another.

God, I was glad my teammates weren't around. They'd give me so much shit. Just like my high school friends had given me a hard time about how obsessed I was with the girl.

They'd never understood it. Back then, she was shy and quiet, not part of our world. She was into books, movies about dragons, and staying home on Friday nights. I'd always admired how little she worried about being cool. Even if we didn't hang out in the same circles, she wasn't off-limits. None of my friends were bothered by my crush on her.

But now? The Revs had strict rules about fraternization. Worse than that? If we broke those rules, I wasn't the one who would pay the price. No, I'd get a slap on the wrist, while she'd get fired.

I shook my head. I needed to get out of this apartment. Being in such close proximity to her was messing with my head. I was halfway down the hallway on my way to change when the guest bathroom door swung open and Aurora stepped out.

I froze, and every inch of me went on high alert. Fuck. I pinched my eyes closed, willing them to stay that way. And I was successful too, until the scent of her floral shampoo or body wash or God knew what she'd used on her naked, toned body wafted up and hit my nose. I zeroed in on her flushed cheeks first, then let my gaze drift lower. At the sight of her exposed skin glistening with a light sheen of moisture, all the blood in my body rushed south.

The towel she held in place shifted slightly as she cleared her throat, but she stood in the doorway, watching me like a deer caught in the headlights.

I thought I needed to get out of the apartment before, but that was nothing compared to the desire to flee that hit me as I stood just a few feet from a wet, mostly naked Aurora. "Let's go get lunch before my appointment with the doc," I rushed out.

She tilted her head to the side. "We just ate breakfast."

"C'mon. I'm suddenly ravenous." I took one more glance down at the swell of her breasts, then forced myself to brush past her. "Going to change."

If I stood there any longer, I'd do something stupid, like pin her to the wall and kiss the hell out of her.

So I stalked into my room and shut the door behind me, all the while trying to block out the temptation that had taken up residence in my guest room. The doctor had better clear me to be alone, because I couldn't do this for another day.