MILE HIGH

32

He takes another step back from me, the tension easing in the air. Zanders takes a deep breath, ultimately shifting from the devil dripping in s*x to a perfect gentleman as he holds his arm out for mine to loop around.

“Now, let me walk you back to your hotel.”

I cautiously eye him with distrust.

He playfully rolls his eyes. “I’ll stay a good block away from the front door so your coworkers don’t see me.”

That’s not what my pointed glance meant, but let’s add fraternization to the list of why Zanders walking me back to my hotel is a bad idea.

“I just want to make sure you get home okay.”

His soft smile is sweet and genuine, so I loop my arm around his, allowing him to guide us back to my hotel. He takes quite a few back streets and alleys, which he says is to avoid any fans, though I do note it adds a good twenty minutes on to our walk together.

And the whole time, my body burns with a need I’ve never felt before.

Zanders stays across the street as I walk into the lobby of my hotel. As I open the door, I glance back over my shoulder at him. His 6'5" frame is commanding in his tailored-to-fit outfit, and his posture is stiff as he watches me. I offer him a small wave before dipping into the hotel and refusing to look back at him, worried I’ll change my mind about tonight.

When my head hits my pillow, I can’t help but ask myself, “What the f**k just happened?”

STEVIE

“D

id you have fun last night?” Indy asks before inhaling her plate of vegetarian biscuits and gravy.

“Uh...” I hesitate. “It was definitely interesting. I’ll say that.”

I match her massive bite, filling my mouth with all the carbs I can manage from my favorite local spot in my hometown. Every item on the brunch menu is to die for, and it’s a must anytime I’m back in Nashville.

I’m sure I’ll be regretting this meal when I’m visiting with my mother in a few hours and have to unbutton my jeans in order to sit down and breathe, but it’ll be worth it.

“What was interesting about it?”

Hmm. Let me think. Maybe that Evan Zanders, walking s*x ad, told me he wants to f**k me. Right after he saved me from my inconsiderate high school friends who haven’t stopped blowing me up since his little PDA stunt last night.

Or maybe how he pinned me to the wall with his massive body, the bulge in his pants doing all sorts of things to me when it was pressed against the apex of my thighs.

Or how all of a sudden, this sweet side came out of the self-proclaimed “bad boy of Chicago,” when he insisted on walking me back to my hotel.

Interesting might not be the right word for last night. Confusing? Thrilling? Shocking?

I would love to spill all the details to Indy, seeing as I’ve been a ball of emotions since, but we’re coworkers, and the accidental interaction Zanders and I had last night is a fire-able offense.

“Seeing my old high school friends was interesting. They’re not the nicest, and I think last night was the closure I needed on our friendship.”

“Really?” Indy uses her napkin to wipe the edges of her lips. “That sucks, Stevie. You don’t deserve friends like that.”

“All good.” I shrug it off because it is all good. I’ve needed to cut ties with Hannah and Jackie for a while, and their blatant comments that they assumed were backhanded were my final straw. In the back of my mind, I always knew they kept me around as a connection to my brother. I just didn’t expect it to continue in a different capacity because of my new job. Ryan would be pissed if he knew about it. Which is precisely why I’ll keep that to myself, as I do most things my brother would get upset over.

“How was your night?” I ask.

“It was pretty uneventful. I wanted to go out, but I’m still new to this whole private charter thing, and I’m not going to lie, that speech Tara gave us about fraternization was terrifying. I figured locking myself in my hotel room was a safe bet.”

My stomach drops at the thought of Tara’s constant warnings and badgering about staying away from our clients when we’re off the clock. Clearly, I’m not doing a great job of that, no matter how accidental my run-ins with Zanders have been.

“Do you happen to know what Tara did last night?” I cautiously ask, looking down at my plate, and nervously pushing my food around. What if she was out last night? What if she saw me last night? What if she saw us last night?

This morning, I scoured the internet for any sign of a leaked photo of Zanders and me outside the bar, but his PR team certainly did their jobs, cleaning up any possible evidence of our interaction.

“Probably doing the exact thing she told us not to do. I’d bet money she was running around looking for the guys from the team last night, acting desperate as hell.”

My eyes dart up from my plate, amusement sweeping across my features as I look at Indy’s wide eyes and gaping mouth.

“Oh fuck.” She quickly slaps her palm over her mouth. “Did I say that out loud?”

A moment of silence falls between us as we look to each other, testing the waters, unsure of where we each stand on the topic of our coworker. Until finally, I double over on my side of the booth, laughing my ass off. Eventually, Indy joins in, both of us silent due to how hard we are cracking up right now.

“She’s such a hypocrite.” I wipe away the tear that’s pooled at the corner of my eye.

“Oh my God,” Indy sighs in relief. “I’m so glad we’re on the same page because I’ve wanted to ask you for weeks.”

“She’s worried about us fraternizing with the players, but she’s so thirsty when she’s in the aisles talking to them, doing the exact thing she told us not to.” I smile, thoroughly enjoying the boost of serotonin from that laugh attack. “But regardless, it’s not worth the risk of losing our jobs.”

“Is it not?” Indy questions, c*****g her head to the side. “I think I might put my job on the line for a night in the sack with one of those hockey boys.”

I eye her for a moment, wondering if she knows something I’m not ready for her to know yet. Or maybe ever.

“Figuratively, of course.” She points to herself. “Loving boyfriend and all that.”

“Of course.”