“Really?” he asked, surprised. “How?”
Audrey looked away, pulling her knees up in her arms again. He loved the view the yellow shorts she wore gave him, if only she didn’t have those blue tights on. He would have enjoyed a little peek of her tan skin, but just being this close to her without her being standoffish was enough. His plan of being friends before moving on to what he really wanted was working. Audrey just needed a little time, and he would give it to her. Not much, but enough for her to realize he could be the guy for her.
“From my closet. I lean against the wall and listen. You’re amazing, Tate. Really,” she said shyly. Her cheeks were pink and she wouldn’t look at him, which was probably for the best. He would probably kiss her if she did. He liked that she appreciated his talent.
“Thank you,” he said, keeping his mouth busy with his beer while still watching her. It was hard not to watch Audrey. She captivated him.
“So I got a question.”
She looked over at him, and he nodded. “Okay.”
“How long were you with your ex-fiancée?”
Tate leaned back, taking in a long breath as he moved his hand up and down his neck. “Um, we dated about six months before I asked her, then we were engaged for a year before she broke it off.”
Audrey nodded. “So you knew you wanted to be married to her?”
“I thought I did, but I guess I was wrong because I don’t cry over her, or miss her. I haven’t talked to her in almost a year and a half,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
“How did you meet?”
Tate smiled. “In the hospital. I had broken my arm while trying to play without my pads. Stupid move on my part.”
“Wow, that was kinda stupid there, guy.” Audrey laughed. “So was she hurt too or something?”
Tate shook his head. “No, she was my doctor.”
Audrey’s laughter completely stopped. She sat up, her eyes wide as she said, “Excuse me?”
Tate didn’t understand. “What? She was my doctor; she did the surgery on my arm and basically took care of me through the whole recovery.”
Audrey blinked a few times and then asked, “Was she a child prodigy or something?”
“Huh?” Tate was confused.
“How old is she?” Audrey asked, her eyes still wide and locked with his. When she looked at him like that, he really didn’t want to be discussing Elsa.
“She would be thirty-three now. She was twelve years older than me.”
Audrey sat with her mouth hanging open as she gazed up at him. Tate didn’t understand her stunned looked but ignored it as he went on. “A lot of people had issues with it, but we didn’t care. My parents loved her, my sister hated her, and all my friends thought I was crazy, but I didn’t care. I thought I loved her.”
“Wow, that’s nuts,” Audrey finally said. “Twelve years?”
“It really wasn’t a big deal,” he said, before grinning over at her. “I have a thing for older women, I guess.”
Audrey laughed. “Oh, is that right?”
Tate nodded, his eyes grazing her beautiful body and putting a stop to her laughter. “Oh, yeah.”
Audrey shook her head, looking away. “So anyways …”
It was Tate’s turn to laugh. He loved making her blush, and the color wasn’t only on her cheeks but her neck. He could see a vein pulsating quickly, screaming to be kissed. Biting down on his lip, he forced himself to look away. He was starting not to trust his control when he was around Audrey. There was something about her that made his hands itch to be on her.
Damn.
“How long were you and ass-hat together?” he asked, trying to get his mind off his need to touch her.
Audrey sighed as she glanced at him. “Eight months.”
Tate could only nod.
“Yeah, so anyways, I don’t want to talk about him,” Audrey said, sitting up and grabbing her phone. “Have you played Temple Run? I am obsessed.”