I could picture her smooth skin glistening, my hand caressing up her thigh…
I came out of the bathroom with renewed energy. Of course, Lindsay was still on the bed, hunched over the computer. I could see the screen from this angle. She was working on some kind of slide presentation, and the slide on the screen had a picture of a scale, and then in big, bold letters, it said AVERAGE WEIGHT LOSS AMONG
CONTROL GROUP.
I didn’t know what it meant. “What’s a control group?” I asked.
Lindsay turned around like I’d startled her. She pulled the screen down, nearly shutting it completely. “Excuse me,” she said.
“Excuse you? Why?”
“It’s just… I’m sorry, but this stuff is supposed to be confidential.”
The look on her face was partly bugging me, but partly turning me on for some strange reason. She looked both cute and uptight, her lips pursed, eyebrows arched. I jumped onto the bed next to her, causing both her and the computer to fly a few inches off the mattress.
Lindsay yelped and grabbed at her laptop. “Justin!” she cried.
“Ooh, it’s confidential,” I mimicked her. I couldn’t help but laugh. “What is with you tonight?” I reached out and grabbed her wrist lightly. “Can’t you even chill for a second?”
“No, I cannot chill for a second. I’m supposed to be working. We talked about this and you promised you wouldn’t bother me.”
“I’m not bothering you,” I said, giving her my best version of puppy dog eyes.
“Am I?”
“Yes!”
I laughed again and pulled her closer, nipping at her neck, grazing my lips across her skin. She exhaled sharply, letting me know that I’d definitely gotten her attention.
“Come on, Linds.” I leaned in again, this time kissing her neck for a second.
“All work and no play…”
She sighed again and her body started to relax. I pulled her closer, and brought my lips closer to her lips. Her eyes locked on mine and I knew I’d finally broken her down. That stupid Carter and the stupid slideshow she was working on wasn’t going to beat me—beat us. We had a connection, we had a spark, and I was going to make it my mission to turn that spark into a raging inferno tonight.
But just when I was about to really kiss her for the first time since I’d arrived at the room, I heard an obnoxious buzzing sound, all too recognizable to be anything but Carter texting her once more.
She pulled away from me again and reached for her cell.
“Come on,” I moaned. “Can’t you at least let the guy wait a minute before answering?”
But she was already back at it, texting away with a fury.
My good mood soured as I watched her eyes intently scan her phone as the two of them corresponded back and forth.
What could that jerk be saying to her that was so important? I wondered.
But she didn’t think I needed to know what was so important, apparently, because she never bothered telling me what they were texting about. Instead, she pretty much just ignored me.
I sat there next to her on the hotel bed, watching her have this intense conversation with some other guy in front of me, treating me like I was invisible. And my blood started to boil.
I could feel it happening. My shoulders tightening, my face getting hot, my jaw clicking as I grit my teeth together. This was the way I got before a fight—before a tough sparring session at the gym. I wanted to hit something.
Or someone.
Hard.
I closed my eyes and tried to calm down, but that was the thing. I’d always been best at fighting—calming down wasn’t really my strong point.
Still, I did my best. What had someone once told me? A teacher had said that you should take three deep breaths if you were getting angry. I’d usually punched the other kid before I’d had a chance to even take one breath.
But now I did my best to take a few deep breaths, because I knew what would happen if I flipped out on Lindsay in the hotel room during her work trip. She would hate me for it, hate me for lying to her when I said I wouldn’t bother her—hate me for messing things up for her.
I needed to try and get some perspective.
And somehow, some way, I actually did it. I felt my hands unclench and I opened my eyes. I’d calmed down enough that I wasn’t about to run over to Carter’s room and jack him in the face when he opened the door.
But I still wasn’t happy, as I watched Lindsay continue to text with him. She shook her head. “I just don’t get how we’re going to ever finish this presentation in time,” she said. “It’s going to take all night.”
“Come on,” I said. “Take a break for two seconds, Lindsay. You’re going to drive yourself crazy.” I flashed her my most charming smile and she finally looked at me and smiled back.
“I think you’re the one who’s most in danger of going crazy, between the two of us.”