Sidelined

She settled into the open spot on the couch. It must have been instinct, because the instant she laid next to him, he wrapped his arm around her. She smiled. All the nagging doubts she had about letting Ben back in evaporated. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of his breathing mixed with the occasional background explosion.

Fifteen

Bolt glanced around the room, stretching his arms in the process. It had been awhile since he had awakened on this couch. He looked down. Skye was curled along his side, her chest rising with each breath. Looking at her, he kicked himself for falling asleep before she came back to the living room last night. He was more tired than he realized. He had been keeping busier than usual, trying to add extra flights all week and marking things off Faith’s list. Now that it was Saturday maybe he could catch up on rest.

Skye began to stir under his arm. “Hey.” She lifted her head.

“Hey, you. Sorry I fell asleep.” He moved so they could both sit up.

“I realized if those explosions couldn’t hold your attention, I didn’t have a chance. You must have been tired.”

He nodded. “Long week.”

“I’ll be right back.” Skye hopped up from the couch and padded off down the hall.

He stood to fully extend his back and legs. It was nice to sleep with Skye, but the cramped style wasn’t good for his neck. Maybe a run would help. He remembered his truck was at his condo and he’d have to walk back to the downtown trolley stop and then walk home from the mall.

Skye reappeared. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she had wrapped a sweater around her bare arms. He chuckled to himself remembering how she always bottled up in the morning.

He knew he was lucky she had accepted his apology. The way he left things with her was shitty. She didn’t deserve to be treated like the other girls he had been with. She wasn’t like them. He knew her name, he knew how she drank her coffee, he knew where she worked. It was involuntary, but everything she told him he committed to memory.

“Coffee?” She walked to the kitchen and began shuffling in the cabinets.

“Sounds good. Mind if I jump in the shower?” It was probably too soon to ask if she would join him. He wanted to slow everything down this time.

“Um…sure. There are towels under the sink.”

“Thanks.” He walked to her bedroom and took a right into the bathroom.

He turned the shower nozzle and let the water run for a minute. He knew he had changed his approach with her and none of it had been thought out. The second he saw her talking to someone else at the bar it was as if his relationship life flashed in front of him. Some other guy was going to have a chance to make her laugh, to hear her smartass answers, to watch her fidget in the morning, to make her moan at night. No, he thought. It was all wrong. He couldn’t walk away and let someone else have that chance with her when he knew it was his chance he had screwed up.

Maybe it was spending time with Faith that had changed everything. She was a sweet girl, and if anyone treated her like he had treated Skye, he would slug the guy. It was the wake-up call he needed. Riggs and Faith had been happy. They took trips together, scavenged art shops together, had brunch on Sundays,

and did all those married couple things Bolt thought he would steer clear from. But after spending a week in Riggs’s house, it didn’t seem so bad. Actually, it seemed like the perfect way to live.

He turned the water to the left, making the steam rise from the nozzle. He let his head hang in the water. If he wanted something like Riggs had, he was going to have to do things the right way. That meant dating, no more sleeping around with other girls, and cooling it on the physical side of things with Skye. Well, he knew there was no way he could completely pull back on the physical relationship with her, she was hot, but he could stick to the thirty-day rule. He wondered if it would be pushing it too much to ask her if they were starting over on the thirty days or if the clock was still ticking, because by his calculations they only had one more week until they had known each other a month. It was something he had been looking forward to.

No, he’d let her steer the ship. He told her last night he would wait until she asked him, and that’s what he was going to do. Wait.

Sixteen

Ben had been in the shower awhile. Skye was almost at the bottom of her cup of coffee. Last night was nice. It wasn’t what she thought would happen, but it still felt good to snuggle with him on the couch. He looked cute when he slept.

It was hard to ignore that his attitude seemed different. She was used to him jumping her the minute they passed the threshold. She tried to push back the thought that he wasn’t as attracted to her as he was before. He seemed calmer and somehow resolved. Even if she didn’t know him well, she could see the change in how he acted toward her. He was almost hesitant.

“Hey.” He walked in the kitchen, his hair still wet from the shower.

“Hey. How was the shower?” She twisted her bottom lip, wishing she were brazen enough to invite herself in. She could imagine what taking a shower with him would be like.

“Good. Hot. Thanks for letting me.” He reached behind her for a coffee mug.

“Sure. Of Course.” She took a sip and watched as he poured a cup.

“What do you think about hanging out today?” His eyebrows waggled over the mug.

Skye didn’t need to think about it. “Yes. What did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. We’re in San Diego. I’m sure we could think of something fun to do.”