“Oh.”
“I can only take so much.” Chance slipped his pants on.
His stare was burning into mine. He looked even sexier with his arousal straining through his jeans. As much as I’d felt awkward for putting him in this situation, I loved the idea of being the one responsible for his hard on. In fact, my ability to handle my attraction to him was dwindling pretty fast. With each second that passed, the muscles between my legs were tightening from just the way he was looking at me. These were times I was grateful to be a woman because at least my excitement could be hidden. Still, this wasn’t a good predicament. I needed to break the ice.
Clearing my throat, “What are the plans for today?”
He slipped a shirt on. “We need to eat.”
“So, we’ll get breakfast out?” I stupidly asked.
“Yes, breakfast. What else would I be eating out?”
Uh.
Choking over my words, I said, “No. Breakfast is good. I’m hungry. You?”
“Starving.” The look in his eyes implied that he wasn’t necessarily referring to food.
I was starving, too.
“Okay, then,” I said as I retreated to my side of the tent to cool off.
It took us about an hour to break down our campsite and pack everything back into my car.
We opted to stop for takeout breakfast at a fast food place that was just before the on ramp to the highway. Chance had gone inside to order our huevos rancheros breakfast burritos and coffee. I used the opportunity to take my phone out and typed into Google: Chance Bateman Australia.
There he was. A plethora of pictures popped up. There was one in particular where he was shirtless, wearing nothing but a white t-shirt draped around his neck, and you could see just a tease of the top of his juicy ass. The picture showcased his signature sexy smirk that made me squirm in my seat. That cocky smile. Goddammit, he was handsome. That same image seemed to be the one that came up the most. It was also the one that was being sold as a poster for a cool $19.99 plus shipping and handling. There was even a picture of some girl standing next to the poster on her wall pretending to bite his ass. I suspected there were other people out there playing their own twisted versions of pin the tail on the Chance.
Knowing he’d be back any minute, I was reading through old articles and message boards so fast that my eyes hurt. It was definitely evident that Chance was more well-known for his debut game injury and his looks than anything else. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride for how he’d turned lemons into lemonade, though. Scrolling down, I came across some pictures of him at various events with the same attractive blonde model. Piper Ramsey. A twinge—well, maybe a boatload—of jealousy developed in the pit of my stomach.
A knock on the window startled me. I tossed the phone aside, and it fell into the driver’s seat. Well, more like I threw it over there.
“Open up for your coffee,” I heard him say through the window. I took my cup from him as he walked around and got into the driver’s seat. “What were you looking at?”
“Um, nothing. I was just…”
Shit.
Before I had a chance to explain myself, he lifted the phone, scrolling through the pictures with his thumb. He then threw it down onto the center console. “Well, now you’ve seen it all, haven’t you?”
“Yes…and it’s…pretty amazing.”
He let out a single angry laugh. “Amazing, eh?”
“Yes!”
“And tell me, Aubrey, what exactly is so amazing about working practically your entire life for one single moment and seeing it all go up in flames on the very first try? What is so amazing about being more famous for your failure than your success? You know what was so nice about this trip with you up until now? You didn’t see me as that guy that everyone thinks they know, and now you do.”
Shit. I’d really upset him.
“I’m sorry, but I wasn’t thinking those things at all.”
“What were you thinking then?”
“I was thinking about how wonderful it was that you could stand up proudly in the face of adversity and still make a name for yourself on your image alone. I was also thinking about how striking you are, if you really want to know. And I was wondering who that girl Piper was. I was curious about everything, yes, but not in a bad way. Not once did I think anything negative.”
Chance let out a long, deep breath and muttered, “Let’s just go.”
I felt so horrible for upsetting him and even though the internet was public, it somehow felt like I had invaded his privacy. More than anything, I felt like I had hurt him, and that hurt me, because whether or not I wanted to admit it, there was an unwanted ache in my chest. I could feel myself falling for him, and that scared me.