Avoiding Intimacy (Avoiding 2.5)

Tattoo Guy pulled a sharp pivot move on Adam, passed him, and did a layup, scoring. “Game,” he said, raising his eyebrows and that lovely left arm into the air.

Hmm…what was written there?

“Fuck!” Adam cried. “I hate that move.”

“Gets you every time,” he said with a lazy smile.

Oh, this guy was used to winning .

Interesting . She knew Adam was really, really good.

Breaking the confrontation, Chyna walked her heeled feet on the court. The clicking noise drew both of their attention.

Yep, there it was —interest.

“Hey, baby,” Adam said, rushing over to her with a big goofy grin on his face.

He brushed a kiss across her lips, careful not to get her sweaty.

“Hey,” she said, breaking into a smile.

“Who’s your friend?”

“Oh, I’ve been meaning to introduce you two, but there was never a good moment. This is my older brother, John.”

Well, f**k .

“John, this is my girlfriend, Chyna.”

“Nice to meet you,” John said, sticking out his right hand.

She shook it, making eye contact.

Well, it ’ was still there . Perhaps, John was thinking f**k, too. Adam’s brother was gorgeous. There were similarities between the two, but f**king hell if John wasn’t exactly the kind of guy she normally went for. Just her type.

“You, too. I didn’t realize you were in town.”

“Yeah, I have the long weekend off before I have to fly to Japan on business.”

“Oh, interesting. So glad Adam clued me in,” she said, glancing at her boyfriend.

“Can’t be mad at him. I never told him.

I just never know when I’ll be in the city.”

“Ah,” she said with a smile.

“Hey, we’re gonna go clean up, and then let’s get lunch. We won’t be long,”

Adam told her.

“Alright. I’ll just wait out front.”

Chyna stole a glance at John once more before exiting. He was staring at her rather attentively, his eyes smoldering.

She made a hasty retreat. Not good.

She walked off the court and back over to the front desk area. The blonde attendant was on the phone talking insistently to a girlfriend of hers rather loudly. Chyna tried to tune her out as her thoughts drifted to what had just happened.

She didn’t want to be attracted to her boyfriend’s brother. This had never been a problem before because…well, she had never had a boyfriend that she stuck with for more than a couple of weeks. There was something about Adam that she really liked. She wasn’t sure what that was exactly, but she did like him. He wasn’t the kind of guy that she normally went for by a long shot but damn if he wasn’t so sincere. He liked her for who she was and had never cared about anything else—not her money, her family issues, or her illicit social life. He had helped her out in her time of need when he totally could have taken advantage of the situation, and he had asked for nothing in return. She knew labeling someone a nice guy was the kiss of death, but Adam brought nice guy into its own category.

Then, why was she swooning over his brother? Because he had broad shoulders with tattoos and a smirk? She really needed little else.

Why the f**k was Alexa at the beach with her boy toy this week ? That was so inconvenient. She should have known that Chyna was going to have a hot guy melt- down.

Chyna whipped out her compact and reapplied a coat of lip gloss. She already knew that she looked good; some guys had been checking her out while she was shopping with Frederick. Still, she wanted to double check. She didn’t want to look sloppy the first time she hung out with her boyfriend’s brother. That was all, right?

God, she couldn’t do this. She couldn’t be attracted to John. It was out of the question. She wasn’t like her parents—she didn’t cheat! Inside, she preferred to just not get attached. If she was going to be with Adam, then she was going to f**king be with him. It didn’t mean she couldn’t look at and admire his brother—what girl wouldn ’ t? — but that was where the line was drawn. She could eye-fuck John and his goddamn tattoos but nothing else. This would be an exercise in self-control.

Lord, help us all!

Chyna replaced her mirror into her purse and immediately began chewing on her glossy bottom lip. She could do this.

Yep. She could totally do this.

“Hey.” She heard someone call behind her. She turned away from the desk toward the entrance to the locker rooms.

Oh, holy hell! Fuck! Really? How could one man be so attractive? She couldn’t get past that strong jaw, those hazel eyes, and those f**king shoulders.

When did he have time to build that Adonis body? All she knew about him was that he worked all the time, and now, she wanted to know everything. Did he actually have that good of taste in clothing, or did he have a personal assistant? Those dark-wash jeans fit him a bit too well, and the green button-up shirt mostly hidden beneath the grey pea coat was outstanding.

If he didn’t have someone dress him and he actually had a fashion sense well enough to look like he had walked out of a Barneys catalog, she might die. She would take two, please!

Had she responded to his welcome?

She just smiled, deciding it would only sound dumb at this point.

He ran a hand back through his still damp hair and returned her smile. “Adam takes forever to get ready. Thought I’d come out here, so you didn’t have to wait alone,” John said, walking over to where she was leaning against the desk.

“Thanks,” she said, hating her natural instincts right now. She knew she could take him home in a heartbeat. If this were anyone else in any other situation, he would already be in her penthouse, and her tongue would be tracing those tattoos.

“So, what do you do?” John asked, smiling warmly.

“Uh…I’m in between work right now,” she said with an unapologetic shrug. “I try not to define my life by my career. Instead, I just enjoy living it.”

“To define is to limit. I get that,” he said with that smirk.

“Something like that. What do you do exactly that has you leaving for Japan?”

He shrugged as if this was the most boring subject, but he had brought it up.

“International business. I negotiate business transactions overseas for my clients who want to expand their enterprise globally.”