I hold her a little tighter and kiss the top of her head as I try to find the right words. “I could bash on that woman with you right now if that’s what you want. I could also list a hundred different ways I think you and your body are perfect. I could tell you that I check you out from head to toe every time you walk away from me, and that, last night, I had a dream about you that would definitely make you blush.” She chuckles against me. “But I think what you need is to hear that your ex was a self-serving idiot. You’re beautiful, June. His words had nothing to do with you and everything to do with his teeny-tiny—”
“Ryan!”
I laugh and squeeze her. “He was a jerk. End of story. It was wrong of him to cheat on you and even worse to make it seem like you were to blame for it. It’s not your fault he cheated. It’s his loss.” I look down and push some of the hair clinging to her face back behind her ear. “But I can’t say I’m not glad he’s out of the picture.”
Her emerald eyes look up at me from beneath her lashes, and for a split second, I think she’s going to give in to me. That her heart will melt right into my hands. I hold my breath and look down at her lips. Just as I do, I see her beautiful mouth frown. “I’m not ready yet, Ryan.”
She pulls out of my arms and walks out, grabs a towel from the hook beside the shower, and wraps herself in it before tossing another over to me.
As I spend the next five minutes trying to wring the water out of my clothes, I can’t shake the feeling that we’re running out of time. She’s not ready yet, and I’ve got a life to get back to in Chicago soon. What if when she’s ready, it’s too late? I’m not asking for marriage or a pledge of her heart. I just want a chance. A chance to see if we are as good together as I think we’ll be.
A few minutes later, I emerge from the bathroom with my wet clothes in my hand and the towel wrapped around my waist. I open the bathroom door at the exact moment that she steps, fully dressed, out of her closet. Her eyes land on me, widen to the size of saucers, and her lips part.
She scans me up and down like she’s trying to memorize every bit because she plans to paint a portrait of my body later. I clear my throat, trying so hard to keep the cocky smile off my face, but it’s useless. She’s practically drooling, and I’ve never been happier. I use her moment of stun to my full advantage, stepping closer to her.
“I’m sorry I pulled you in the shower. Probably wasn’t the best way to go about getting information from you.”
“Uh-huh.” She sounds a million miles away. She couldn’t care less about the shower fiasco right now.
I get a little closer and hold up my clothes. “I just need to put these in your dryer for a few minutes before we go to the store.”
I watch her swallow before her eyes finally make their way back up to mine. She gives me a tilted smile and shakes her head slowly with narrowed eyes. “You play dirty, Henderson.”
I let my dimple pop because I’m the most innocent man on the face of the earth. “Play dirty? What are you talking about?”
“I tell you I’m not ready for whatever it is you're wanting yet, and then you parade your rock-hard body around my house in the buff? Just rude.”
“I’m not in the buff. I’m wearing a towel.”
Her eyes fall to my abdomen again, and then she emits a noise somewhere between a groan and growl and turns to flee the room faster than I’ve ever seen anyone move. She’s The Flash.
Once she’s out of sight, she yells, “The freaking dryer is down the hall on the right. Use it and then put your clothes back on!”
I smile and make my
way out of her room when my eyes catch on a tiny piece of yellow paper tucked into the corner of her vanity mirror. It’s half hidden behind a picture of her and Stacy, but I recognize it right away. I check the door to make sure June isn’t watching before I go pull the paper out of its hiding place.
My stomach clenches when I verify that it’s the note I think it is. Seeing it again immediately jolts me back to that day, our tenth-grade year, when I wrote it during homeroom. June had spilled a soda on her white sweater, and everyone teased her endlessly all day. There wasn’t any actual bullying, and the teasing was only coming from her friends and boyfriend, but I could still see the humiliation behind her I’m-being-a-good-sport-about-this laughter.
So, I passed her this note: You look cute covered in soda.
It was the only outright compliment I ever gave her in high school. At the time, I didn’t think it meant anything to her. She read it, crumpled it up, and rolled her eyes like she thought I was still just messing with her.
But apparently, it meant more to her than I thought. Enough to smooth it back out and hold on to it all this time.
And now I’m thinking maybe we won’t run out of time…maybe we’ll get it right this time.
Chapter Fourteen
June
Oh, Ryan, Ryan, Ryan.
He thinks he can just waltz around my house in a towel for half an hour—yes, it took a full freaking thirty minutes for his clothes to dry—and then I’ll be putty in his hands? Begging him for a date? For him to kiss me?
Ha!
He’s right.