Settling the Score (The Summer Games #1) - R.S. Grey Page 0,42
She was laughing at something one of them had said, holding a glass of champagne in one hand and a folded napkin in the other. She looked carefree and happy, not at all concerned with the fact that she’d stood me up at the door. What had changed all of a sudden? Her texts earlier hadn’t explained anything.
I made my way toward the corner of the room where she stood with her group. I had the advantage as she listened attentively to one of the women, an athlete I recognized from the Japanese swim team. She was in the middle of a story, but I didn’t care.
“Andie, could I speak with you for a moment?” I asked, plastering on the innocent smile I’d learned as a child. It was the smile I wore around the media, the smile my mother had forced from time to time.
“I’m actually busy at the moment,” Andie said, smiling politely and then turning her attention back to the woman I’d interrupted. She didn’t seem surprised that I’d found her, which said more of my apparent obsession than it did of her lack of remorse.
“Oh, no it’s okay if you need to go talk,” the woman said. The rest of the group nodded, clearly affected by my smile more than Andie.
“I loathe cliffhangers. Please finish your story,” Andie said, waving her hand in the air so the woman would continue.
“It’ll only be a moment,” I promised, though it wasn’t the truth. Not that it mattered; we’d been lying to one another all day.
I turned away before she could protest. I heard a gentle sigh, then the sound of her heels hitting the floor behind me; she was following.
The restaurant was smaller than I’d assumed. There was the main dining hall and a foyer up front. That was where most of the media personnel were stationed, so I steered clear and turned down a side hallway instead. The lights were low and each door we passed was labeled to keep us out. We passed a broom closet and a door marked ‘Staff Only’.
I pulled the door open for one of the private restrooms. It wasn’t the setting I’d hoped for, but when I turned to see Andie follow me inside, I knew it wouldn’t matter.
She was long legs in a tight dress, bright eyes that sparked something inside me. I knew she’d been lying earlier. She was scared and nervous. The easiest solution was to push me away, but I wasn’t ready to let that happen.
It was an exercise in restraint to keep my hands to myself as she walked over to the vanity and turned to face me. I let the door slam behind us and reached out to lock it. The space was tiny, cramped, and dark.
“I asked you to stay away.”
Her voice was calm, but curious.
I unbuttoned the front of my blazer and nodded. “I know.”
Her makeup made her gray eyes stand out even more against her delicate features. She was watching me, studying me, waiting for me to act, but I stood there for another minute, simply taking her in. Her blonde hair was twisted up high. There was nothing touching her neck, nothing that would get in my way.
One of the straps of her dress was threatening to fall from her shoulder and as I stepped forward, a sudden realization passed over me. The games, my records, the press—none of it seemed important if only I could have Andie. Normally I would have chalked it up to lust, but this need ran deeper.
“So is it a game to you?” she asked. “Getting a reaction out of me?”
I shook my head.
“Because I meant every word I texted you earlier. Last night was a mistake.”
I watched the rise and fall of her chest. Every time she inhaled, her breasts pushed against the tight bodice of her dress.
“This isn’t a game,” I said in reply to her earlier question. “I’ve been honest about what I want. And now, what I don’t.”
She crossed her arms around her waist.
“I came to Rio to play soccer and have fun,” she said, working up to an argument I didn’t care to listen to.
“You don’t think last night was fun?” I asked, taking a step closer to her.
Her eyes widened.
“I had fun,” I continued.
She blinked, and blinked again. I could see the logic trying to work its way around her brain.
I took another step closer and fingered the strap falling off her shoulder. “You wanted me last night.”