Free Tempted (A Player Brother Romance Book) (A Standalone Novel) (Player Brothers Book 1) by Claire Adams Page B

box stashed in my purse.
    "Actually Kelsey and I were—” I began, only to be
interrupted.
    "That would be great!" Kelsey said.
"Almost like a group date."
    I glared at her and she flashed me a mischievous grin
as we followed the group into the darkened theater. In all the shuffling for
seats somehow the brothers each managed to get next to their dates, but since
Aiden was the fifth wheel, he landed on the end. Of course Kelsey insisted on
positioning me next to him. I glared at her once more as we all got settled.
    "What?" she said while raising her eyebrow
innocently as she nibbled on her popcorn. "I have to sit on the end in
case I have to pee. You know how sensitive my bladder is."
    I rolled my eyes and faced the screen.
    "You look beautiful tonight," Aiden
whispered in my ear as the previews began.
    "You aren't supposed to talk during the movie,” I
whispered back.
    "The movie hasn't started yet,” he said.
    "Shh," I replied.
    We all settled in as the opening credits rolled and
the movie started in earnest. I couldn’t help but find myself incredibly aware
of his presence next to me even as I tried to stay engulfed in the plot.
    His knee hovered about an inch away from mine, and his
elbow grazed against my forearms as we had settled on the armrest. He offered
me some of his popcorn, which I accepted laughing to myself about the irony of
our situation.
    Despite my protest we had still wound up together in a
date like scenario, watching a movie and sharing popcorn in a darkened room.
Out of my periphery I noticed that he sometimes glanced in my direction if
something significant had happened on the screen, as if quietly assessing my
reaction.
    The sight of his tattooed arm so close to mine
distracted me on some level. I had never seen him dressed casually since we had
reconnected and I decided that I much preferred him in a suit, mainly because
more of his skin was covered and therefore less distracting.
    WAY less distracting.
    His presence did nothing to calm my confusion. I had
spent the last weeks building my resolve to bury the attraction that I felt for
him and now it was all rushing back in.
    I needed to bury it again.
    I wondered if my body language betrayed my inner
turmoil, because about two thirds of the way through the movie, having endured
the achingly close presence of Aiden next to me and resolved not to do anything
about it, he reached over and grazed the side of my bare knee with the back of
his fingers.
    I froze, mesmerized by his touch which had sent
shivers through my entire being.
    I took a sharp intake of breath that I hoped he didn’t
notice. If he did he made no indication.
    Luckily he didn’t but throughout the movie his fingers
would continue to softly graze my knee.
    Thankfully the movie finally ended a little while
later, and Kelsey and I exited the row. Once out in the lobby, Aiden caught up
with me, touching his hand on my elbow to get my attention.
    I needed him to stop touching me.
    It only made me more tempted.
    "I wanted to let you know, I was able to
reschedule the reservations since you couldn’t go out with me tonight like I
had asked you to the other night,” he said speaking as matter of fact.
    So now we were back to reservations.
    "Okay," I answered.
    I actually thought I had gotten out of this when I
couldn’t reschedule the first time and hadn’t thought much about it since, but
the butterflies in my stomach betrayed my feelings of hesitation.
    "If you’re still up for it," he said.
    "Are you trying to give me an out?" I asked.
    "Of course not," he said. "If you
wanted out, you'd find a way."
    He vanished back with his brothers and their
girlfriends.
    Just what did he mean by
that, I wondered.
    We all said goodbye and parted ways.
    "What was that all about?" Kelsey asked
after we both closed our car doors. She had seen Aiden and I talking alone, I assumed.
    "What was what all about?" I said.
    She and I had decided to drive down the road to the
health shake place. We had