They walked a few steps without a word until her friend squeezed her arm. “And what?”

“I can’t tell you here.” Ella glanced around nervously. “But what you said . . .” She glanced around again. “What I told you Charlee said . . . I guess you were both right. He wants to . . .” She gulped. Having to actually say it out loud felt even more absurd. It was still so surreal.

“Wants to what, Ella?” Carmen asked, looking as if she were ready to burst. “You’re killing me!”

“He wants me to give him a chance,” Ella whispered as they reached the door of the self-defense classroom.

“A chance for what?”

“Oh, don’t make me spell it out,” Ella finally stopped whispering and laughed nervously. “And guess what else,” she added quickly before her friend could start rambling again. “He doesn’t wear cologne.”

As if she hadn’t already dropped a bomb on Carmen, her friend stared at her, her mouth forming a perfectly shaped O. Ella was sure she’d worn the same expression when she’d asked Felix what brand of cologne he wore before they left the stairwell. He’d laughed at her reaction, explaining he only wore antiperspirant when he worked out. Maybe a little lotion but otherwise that amazing scent was all him.

Ella tried to calm herself, but the emotion running through her was unreal. She only wished it was all good. As thrilled as she felt one moment losing her train of thought constantly because she’d remember Felix’s amazing kisses, in the very next moment she was so consumed with the paralyzing fear that this euphoria could all come crashing down on her. And if it did, it would be bad. After only a few kisses from him, she already knew. Just like he said he’d be dying until the next time he had her alone, just thinking about it made her tingle all over. Even in places that had her feeling flushed.

She could not, would not, let it go there any time soon. If his kissing alone had her feeling this way already, she could only imagine if . . .

That’s why she wouldn’t even imagine it.

~~~

The being discreet thing wasn’t going to last. Ella had lost count of how many times Felix had pulled her into the stairwell since that first time almost a week ago. Each time things got a little more frenzied.

“There are security cameras in here, you know,” she’d pointed out one of the times in between kisses.

“Doesn’t matter. Only people who’ll ever see this would never leak it.”

If it weren’t for the hours they’d begun to spend on the phone a few nights ago, she might still be holding on to the theory that this was all just a challenge to him. That and the fact that she’d made it clear she didn’t date guys who smoked. The very next day he’d proudly showed off his nicotine patch.

“I told you whatever it takes.” His smile had been so breathtaking it’d taken everything in her not to kiss him right there in the middle of the gym for everyone to see. “Not that I really need it,” he’d added. “I haven’t been smoking that long, but I figured I can hold on to the patches afterward and we can put them in the scrapbook we’ll start about the story of us, just as soon as you say you’re in this all the way. That’d be something cool to show our kids, no?”

That time it’d been her who’d pulled him out into the stairwell where she’d jumped in his arms and he’d immediately pinned her against the wall. It’d been one of the hottest and longest sessions they’d had to date. Yep. Their discreet days were numbered, and she knew that her time to make up her mind was too. If he kept doing and saying things like that, she already knew which way her heart would be siding. Again, this, too, thrilled her as much as it terrified her.

“So let me get this straight,” Felix said as Ella glanced at the clock radio on her nightstand and realized they were past the two-hour mark tonight. “You can watch classic baseball match ups, entire series even, but you won’t watch a classic boxing match?”

She smiled. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t. I said I never have,” she explained. “Baseball to me is like boxing is to you.” As soon as she said it, she laughed out loud. “Okay, maybe not exactly. I’ve never even really been good at it. And I guess we can say you’re good at boxing.” She giggled, feeling silly. “But like you, the classic games bring back good memories, especially the ones I actually lived through and remember watching with my parents. Vin Scully is like an old friend of the family around here.” Her other line beeped, and she frowned when she saw it was Grayson—again. “Let me get my other line this time, okay?”

“Go ahead. You want me to call you back?”

“No. It’s just the third time he’s called since I’ve been talking to you. I just wanna make sure really quick that it’s not an emergency or anything unless, of course, you wanna hang up now.”

He was quiet for a moment before he cleared his throat. “I’ll wait.”

She clicked over, trying to put on her most unfriendly voice then nearly laughed at the idea. How was she supposed to say hello in a mean way? “Hello?”

Her calculating backfired on her because her pathetic attempt to sound annoyed when she answered came out more like chuckling, and that seemed to amuse Grayson. “You’re in a good mood.”

“I’m on the other line, Grayson. Is this important?”

“Well, that’s a matter of opinion. I think it is. I wanna talk to you.”