All the while, I tried to sneak peeks at Freddie. He was working with a trainer on the other side of the room, an older man who was helping him stretch out his arms and shoulders. Twice, I glanced over my shoulder and found him watching me. His trainer was jotting something on a sheet of paper, but Freddie was focused on me. I blushed and glanced away.
The third time I looked back, I thought I’d go into cardiac arrest on my training table. Freddie was in the middle of tugging his shirt off over his head. Time slowed as his arm and stomach muscles coiled and stretched. I’d seen a glimpse of his arms and back earlier, but when his shirt came off and I was met with his perfectly sculpted chest and abs, I nearly lost control of my vision.
“Andie, are you focusing?” Lisa asked.
No. Absolutely not. I was watching Freddie’s trainer as he pressed an ice pack on the back of Freddie’s right shoulder. He wove an elastic bandage over his chest and around his arm to keep it in place. I’d never wanted to change places with a human being as much as I did in that moment. He was getting the privilege of touching him. His hand was on his chest!
“Foster,” Lisa snapped.
“Yep!” I said, jerking back to my table and trying to regain control of my tongue so I could answer her.
“Lisa! Phone call!” one of the training assistants called from across the room.
Lisa nodded and let go of my hand. “I need to take that. Rest for a minute and then we’ll finish up.”
“Oh thank god,” I mumbled under my breath as she walked away. I’d been training with Lisa for eight days and each day I woke up with a little less pain than the day before. Still, her sessions were unbearable. Any break she offered, I’d take.
I stood up from the training table and shook out my arms. I reached for my water bottle and took a sip before giving in to the urge to steal a glance back toward Freddie. He was sitting on the edge of his training table, typing on his phone with one hand—THE PHONE HE’D USED THE NIGHT BEFORE…oh god. His trainer had left to help another athlete while he iced his shoulder, which meant I had a short window of time to talk to him alone. I scanned over to Lisa’s office to find her gesticulating animatedly on the phone with the door shut. Without a second thought, I grabbed my water bottle and headed for Freddie.
He didn’t notice me approaching until I was only a few feet away. He dropped his phone beside him and straightened up. I swallowed down a groan. Seriously, it wasn’t real. The chest. The abs. His body was so sculpted it seemed to fit on the pages of an art history book better than it did in real life. I stepped closer and held my hand up to block everything from my view except for his face.
“What are you doing?” he asked with a smile.
“I can’t talk to you if you aren’t wearing a shirt. It’s very distracting.”
He laughed and reached for my hand to pull it away from my eyes. “You’re mad.”
“Fine, but if I start to drool or something, you can’t hold it against me.”
He shook his head and glanced away, almost as if he were embarrassed. Dear god, he couldn’t look like that and be humble; my brain would short-circuit.
“Are you done with your training?” he asked, glancing back to me and dragging his gaze down my body. I was wearing yoga pants and a tank top, nothing too glamorous, but he seemed to like it well enough.
I shook my head. “Lisa wants me to do another set.”
He arched a brow. “And do you always do what Lisa tells you?”
“It’s easier if I don’t test her.”
Freddie nodded, taking in my answer for a moment before reaching for my good hand.
“Let me buy you dinner tonight.”
His fingers were laced through mine the same way Lisa’s had been, but Freddie’s grip was tight enough to make my heart skip a beat. His thumb dragged up the inside of my palm, sending a shiver down my spine.
“Dinner?” he repeated.
No. I couldn’t do dinner. Dinner was a bad idea. Dinner would be a slip in the wrong direction. Dinner would be me handing over another piece of myself, a piece he didn’t deserve. Not after he’d kicked me out of that bathroom. Not with Caroline still in the picture.
“I’m busy,” I said, meeting his eyes once again.
“With who?”
“The team,” I lied.
“You’re lying. Your hand, maybe.”
I’d thought I was going to survive the conversation without him bringing up our phone call, but I was wrong. I bit back a smile and tried to keep my cheeks from burning red.
“Cancel. Tell them you’ve got something important to do,” he continued.
It was so tempting. I mean, I was staring at shirtless Freddie, a sight more beautiful than any of the world’s wonders. What was Giza compared to his chiseled, tan six-pack? Who needed the hanging gardens of Babylon when you could have the low-hanging fruit of his loom? I lingered on his abs, indulging in the sight for another moment before finally coming to my senses.
I shook my head. “I can’t.” Freddie and I couldn’t just date.
He narrowed his eyes.
“What about after—”
“Foster.”
I turned over my shoulder to find Lisa standing there with crossed arms and a deep frown marring her facial features. “I’ve been looking for you for the last five minutes. Are you ready to finish up? I have other athletes to train.”
I blushed. “Oh, right. Okay.”