He liked that she’d actually tried to beat him. And damn near had. A little competitive instinct was something he understood. He too liked to win. Also, she was hot as hell all flushed and sweaty. Her long legs and toned body turned him on. He couldn’t wait to get her flushed and sweaty underneath him in bed.
“Next time.” He opened the truck and pulled out a couple of bottles of water. “Here.”
A few icy snowflakes had started to fall from the gray sky. They continued to walk in circles, gulping down water until their heart rates and breathing had slowed. Amber put a hand on the side of the truck and pulled one ankle up behind her back, stretching her quadriceps.
“I hate stretching,” Duncan said.
“What? It feels so good.”
“I know it’s important. I just don’t have patience to be still that long.”
She shook her head, smiling. They both moved through a few stretches.
“When’s your first exam?” he asked.
“Friday.”
“So you have a whole week to study.”
“Yes, but I have another exam Monday after that and two Tuesday. And I still have work to do on my thesis.”
“You’ll do great.”
“Well, thank you.” Her lips twitched. “Although I don’t know why you have so much confidence in me. I could be failing all my courses, for all you know.”
He tipped his head. “Somehow I doubt that. You’re a very smart woman.”
She swallowed and stared at him. Then she snapped her mouth shut, blinking rapidly. “Thank you. Nobody’s ever said that to me.”
“What?” He frowned. “Nobody’s ever told you how smart you are?”
She hitched one shoulder. “I did okay in school. I wasn’t a straight A student but I got some As. My parents weren’t impressed by good marks. I don’t know if they even read my report cards.”
Now his jaw slackened. “You’re shitting me.”
She huffed a laugh. “Nope. They were busy with other stuff.”
“What the fuck?” He moved closer to her. They were both sweaty, but oh well. “That’s just wrong. Are you an only child?”
“Yeah.”
“Shit.” He stared at her in dismay. “What were they busy with?”
“Eh. Stuff.” She waved a hand. “I’m hungry.”
Changing the subject. He let her have that one, since she obviously didn’t want to talk about her parents. It made him curious, though. “Yeah, me too. Let’s go. What do you feel like eating?”
They debated deep-dish pizza versus Indian versus Mexican and ended up stopping at a noodle place for pad woon sen with shrimp, fried rice, ginger chicken, crab Rangoon, and little egg rolls. When they got back to Duncan’s place, Duper and Lovey were there. Lovey sat at the island and Duper leaned on it near her, both of them looking at takeout menus.
“Oh, hi.” Lovey sat up straight and blinked at seeing Amber. “Nice to see you again.”
“You too. Thanks for emailing me the link to your blog. It’s really awesome.”
“Thanks! Wow, what have you got there? That smells fantastic.”
Duncan set the bags on the island. “Yum Yum Noodle House. You guys want some?”
“Is there enough?” Lovey looked at Marc. “We were about to order something.”
“There’s lots,” Amber said. “I think we might’ve overdone it.”
“We need to have a quick shower first,” Duncan said. “We just went for a run.”
“Cool.” Duncan could see that Lovey was burning with curiosity about them, and that made him smile.
“Come on.” Duncan grabbed Amber’s hand and dragged her down the hall to his bedroom.
“Um, we’re going to shower together?” She dropped her backpack on the bed.
“It’s more efficient.”
“True.” She pulled her shirt off over her head as she walked toward his bathroom. He admired the sleek lines of her back down to the waistband of her leggings, and her slender but toned arms, then admired the way the stretchy black fabric outlined her sweet ass. He followed her into the bathroom and cranked on the shower. Christ. His dick hardened. Just what he needed, a hard-on in the shower with her.
“I love this shower.” She pulled her sports bra off over her head.
“I love it even more with you in it.” He stripped off his own sweaty clothes while she peeled away leggings and socks. She did something with her ponytail that turned it into a messy knot on top of her head, and they stepped into the steamy enclosure. “Just wish we had more time. And that my sister and Duper weren’t out there waiting for us.”
He wanted to take his time and leisurely wash and explore her body, but this was a purposeful shower intended to clean the sweat off them, so he let her wash and rinse herself while he did the same. Before they stepped out, though, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her—a long, hot, steamy kiss, naked body pressed to wet, naked body.
When he drew back she blinked up at him and swallowed. “Whoa.”
“Yeah.” He smiled at her. “Let’s go eat.”
She sighed and he turned off the water.
They dried themselves and he watched her dress in the clothes she’d packed in her bag: skinny low-rise jeans and loose-knit, sky-blue sweater. They returned to the kitchen.