Drew began to protest, saying they could wait for her, but Charlee insisted they go on ahead without her. Finally alone as she walked down the empty hallway toward the ladies’ room, she let the disappointment set in. She didn’t even need to use the restroom, but she went in anyway. Charlee was only thankful that the banquet rooms had restrooms so this one and the halls leading to it were completely abandoned now that the gym was closed off for anything more than the exclusive party.

She stood in front of the mirror, staring at the clueless girl in the mirror. Gawd, she was stupid or pathetic or both. Why didn’t she ever just trust her first instincts? Sure she’d made a big change physically since last year. It might’ve even been big enough to attract a guy like Hector but certainly not enough to tame him. Guys like Hector obviously couldn’t even be tamed by sex kittens like the ones he’d been dancing with tonight. And in all the photos she’d found of him online with girls, they were all Latinas—dark-haired, dark-eyed girls, who could probably all move on the dance floor as sensually as Leticia and Miriam had. There was never one as lily-white as Charlee with her ridiculously bright red hair that exuded about as much sensuality as a nun.

She leaned into the mirror to get a closer look at her face. At least makeup helped conceal most of her infuriating freckles. Surprised by how knotted up she was still feeling, she walked away from the mirror toward the door even more angry with herself. It was embarrassing how easily her made-up mind had been changed just by the few nice things he said to her and his flirtatious gazes. She walked out, determined to leave this behind her and stop thinking about him.

Wanting to give Drew and Maurice a little more alone time, Charlee took her time walking down the hallway, peering into the windows of the doors she passed. Each room was for some kind of specific training. The one with the trophies and photos on the wall caught her attention for a little longer. There was one light on in the corner, and it was hard to make out much. Standing on her tiptoes, she strained to see the photos furthest away. As if she hadn’t gotten her fix of photos of Hector online already, she scanned the wall, looking for more of him.

“Looking for something?”

Charlee gasped at the sound of Hector’s voice echoing off the walls. She spun around, feeling her face flush immediately. “I was just . . . I had to use the ladies’ room and uh . . . the trophies,” she pointed behind her. “I was just curious.”

Hector smiled, easily making her heart flutter even after everything that had happened tonight alone. “It’s okay,” he said, walking toward her. “Is Drew in the ladies’ room still?”

Charlee shook her head. “No, she’s waiting in the car for me,” she said, trying not to be too obvious, but her eyes seemed to have a mind of their own now.

They roamed his entire body up and down. No longer wearing his coat, his snug black vest over his long-sleeved white dress shirt accentuated his chest perfectly. For a moment, she wondered if he’d taken the coat off himself or if had been stripped off by his dance partners.

“There’s actually some pretty cool stuff in there,” he said as he got close enough for her senses to be once again overloaded by everything about him: his eyes, his lips, his scent, and even the heat from his body when he got close enough that she could almost touch it. This was the very body she’d fantasized about so many times and now knew for a fact just how hard and solid it really was. “I could show you quickly before you go.”

Feeling glued to the spot where she stood, she managed to move so that he could get by her to open the door. “No, I couldn’t,” she said, still embarrassed about being caught snooping and not wanting to confirm just how nosey she could really be.

“Why not?” he turned back with a quizzical expression then chuckled. “This stuff isn’t top secret. Come on in,” he said, opening the door and walking into the room.

She followed him into the dimly lit room and stood in place, taking in the photos on the wall as he walked around turning on lights. With her heart already beating way too fast, she took deep slow breaths to try and calm herself. Not only could she do this but she would and with as much dignity and poise as she could muster. He was after all just a guy—a guy she would in no way be getting involved with.

She turned to see him loosening his tie and unbuttoning the top buttons of his shirt. Her eyes flew open, and she nearly stopped breathing when he began to unbutton the vest.

Hector stopped midway through taking the vest off and gave her that same bedroom-eyed gaze along with the sexy smile that had left her breathless earlier. “Don’t worry. I’ll stop at the vest. I just feel a little stuffy.”

Gulping hard as he continued to remove the vest then pull off the tie altogether, she nodded, knowing full well if she attempted to talk, there likely be no sound. Good Lord, she’d have to dig deep for any poise if he dared remove even one more piece of clothing.

Chapter 11

What the hell was wrong with him? Hector should’ve just let her go when he saw her walk out of the party. Charlee was not the type of girl he should be messing with. He saw this in her eyes yesterday when he’d nearly kissed her—felt it earlier when he held her on the dance floor. Keeping her at a necessary distance was easier when he thought she was just another brainy girl with better, more important things to think about than the new guy on the chess team: the unimpressive winner of the speed tournament—speed chess something apparently beneath her. But he’d been wrong. She had taken time to think of him and his game—lots of time. And he saw it in her eyes yesterday then over and over again tonight that she had been impressed.