Free Straddling the Line by Jaci Burton

trying to be modest.
    Nope. She drew her top off, then undid her pants and let those drop, too, leaving her in just her underwear. She dried off as best she could, then wrapped the towel around her and picked up her wet clothes. He had only a brief view of her in her wet underwear, but it was enough to make him want to see a lot more of her skin.
    She had a great body. Nice curves, long legs, and a great ass.
    “Are you going to stand there dripping and ogling me, or are you going to get out of your wet clothes?” she finally asked.
    “Sorry. My brain cells sank right to my dick when you started stripping.”
    She laughed. “I’ll take that as a compliment. In the meantime, I’m going to go to my room and take a hot shower.”
    “You don’t want to wait while I undress?”
    She actually paused to look him over, then said, “Probably not a good idea. See you later, Trevor.”
    He liked that she’d pondered the idea. “Yeah. Later, Haven.”

SIX
    “I TALKED TO ZANE,” TREVOR SAID BEFORE SATURDAY’S game. “He’s coming out to the game today, then we’ll visit after.”
    “Really? That’s awesome. I can’t wait to meet him. Does he need someone to sit with?”
    Trevor laughed. “I got tickets for him and a few of his buddies from school. I think he’ll be fine.”
    “Okay. I just didn’t want him to sit alone.”
    “Trust me, my brother is very rarely alone. He’s plenty social.”
    She leaned back in the chair and sipped her coffee, studying Trevor. “In other words, he’s a lot like you.”
    “In some ways, yeah. In other ways, we’re different.”
    “How so?”
    “You’ll see.”
    Now Haven was very curious about Zane. “I’m looking forward to it. But first, the game, right?”
    He gave her a confident smile. “Yeah.”
    She waved at Alicia, who was in team uniform colors near the dugout. Haven snapped a few photos of the team in warm-ups, then made her way to her seat.
    Chicago started out with two runs in the first, and the Rivers didn’t answer with any offense for the first three innings.
    Haven was worried, because it seemed like the Rivers’ bats were cold tonight. But in the sixth, Henderson singled, and Sanchez doubled him home, getting one run in the sixth. The Rivers tied the game in the seventh on a single home run by Coleman.
    But Chicago homered in the eighth, and the Rivers put up no more runs, so they lost a close game. She felt bad for Trevor, who went one for four on the day. The loss wasn’t entirely his fault, though, since it seemed as if all the players had mediocre offense.
    “Tough loss,” she said after the game.
    “It was a close one. If any of us had managed to get just one run, we could have tied the game up. I think we could have won this one.”
    She wanted to lean into him, to offer him comfort. But that would be too personal, and she’d already crossed that boundary. “I’m sorry. You all gave it your best.”
    A lousy platitude, but it was all she could offer without outright hugging him.
    They got into Trevor’s car.
    “Where’s your brother?”
    “He has to drop the other guys off back at their places. He’s meeting us at a bar.”
    “Sounds good.”
    They ended up at a vodka bar in what Trevor referred to as the Central West End. It was a great area, perfect for the younger crowd, especially the university set. Trevor found a parking spot and they walked the short distance to the bar.
    Inside, the bar was loaded with atmosphere—and people. Theplace had a wide expanse of windows, so those seated nearby could watch people walking by. Closer in was an incredible bar that touted it served more than five hundred different types of vodka. There was also an attached restaurant that served burgers, chicken, and fish.
    Trevor took her hand, then said, “It’s crowded in here. I don’t want anyone to carry you off.”
    She smiled at that, and didn’t mind him holding her hand as he zigzagged his way through the throngs of people milling about.