Against all odds, we were close to the end of the soccer match, and both teams were tied.
One would think that having to play against a group of shirtless dudes was disconcerting. But I was related to a big chunk of them. I had already seen everything there was to see about one of them—Daniel. And out of the two remaining men, one was about to marry my sister. So, that reduced my distractions considerably.
My main and only source being just one.
One that I usually did a pretty good job at ignoring when we were in our real-world roles. Contrary to the roles we were currently playing, where I, as the girlfriend, was allowed to gawk. And where Aaron, as the boyfriend, was apparently allowed to look like a man shooting a Sports Illustrated cover.
Because that was exactly how a sweaty, shirtless Aaron looked, running across the green field after the ball.
And that was exactly where my two very shallow and very stupid eyes had been all the time. Following him around like two dumb bugs irremediably drawn by an irresistible light. And just like the bug, my eyes had no self-preservation instinct. By the end of the day, the images would be burned into my retinas, and there’d be no way I’d ever be able to get rid of them.
Hell, I already felt a little like a charred insect. Sweat was running down my back, and my skin was on fire from being under the sun. On top of that, my hunger had turned into starvation, and no matter how hard I tried to stay focused on the game, my attention always shifted to Aaron’s long legs, striding from one point to the next. To how the muscles across his torso strained and relaxed as he moved. To the little drops traveling down his chest, across those glorious pecs. To how my blood seemed to simmer and swirl every time our gazes met.
So, yeah, I felt icky and bothered and hot. In no particular order.
And yet, somehow, Team Bride had still scored as many goals as the guys. Baffling really, but what did I know? I had been too busy, ogling my flawless, glistening fake boyfriend.
Gonzalo’s voice boomed across the field, all the way to where I was. “Vamos! They cannot win this!” He accompanied each of his words with an aggressive clap. “Five minutes! We’ve got five minutes, guys! We need to win this shit!”
As the men regrouped on their side of the field, I noticed how Daniel approached Gonzalo and Aaron, gesturing with his hands and pointing at our goal.
“Madre mía,” Isabel said from her position as our goalie, a few steps behind me. “I think they are making strategic changes. This doesn’t look good, hermanita.”
As I took in the men’s motions and consequent change in positions, my sister’s suspicions were confirmed.
“We are screwed, Isa,” I assessed without turning to her. “They are switching Aaron to the front. They are using him as a striker.”
“Mierda. Clark Kent is going to be the one attacking?” My sister came to my side and narrowed her eyes in the direction of our opponents. “Quick, take off your shirt too. That will distract him.”
I scoffed. “What? No.”
“But, Lina—”
“I’m not taking my shirt off. What the hell are you talking about?”
“But your bubbies will distract your boyfriend.”
“They won’t, trust me.” Realizing what I’d said was not exactly girlfriend-like, I explained, “He’s already seen all there is to see. So, forget it.”
“Then, dance or wiggle. Do whatever rocks his boat.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “No.”
“Fine. Then, we are going down.”
“Not without a fight,” I assured her and then brought my hands to my mouth and proceeded to do the same with the rest of the team. “Vamos, chicas! Todavía podemos ganar!”
My words of encouragement were naive; there was no way we could still win the match. Not with Aaron striking. And certainly not if I flashed him, like Isabel had suggested.
Turning back to my sister, I pointed a finger at her. “Remember this moment when the losers, which no doubt will be us, are dancing for everyone tonight. Next time, if you want to bet and jeopardize my rep, pick quiz night. Not stupid soccer. Now, let’s try to finish this with as much dignity as we can.”
As I faced the other team, all the guys clicked into action. My gaze focused on the ball, passing from one player to the next, all of them leaving every Team Bride member helplessly behind. Soon enough, I was witnessing how the ball landed at Aaron’s feet, who, for his hulking size, moved with incredible agility and skill.
For someone who had never played soccer before, he had gotten the hang of it pretty damn fast.
Aaron’s looming figure approached me swiftly, eating away the distance. Way too quickly for my brain to order my limbs to kick into action.
Mierda.
In an attempt to stop him in any way I could that didn’t involve getting naked, I launched myself in his direction with the purpose of intercepting the ball. Or him. Anything would do. Unfortunately, that intent landed nowhere near where I’d expected. Just when I was about to reach him, my foot got caught in a little bump on the grass, causing me to trip and be catapulted forward.
So much for ending this with dignity.
As I braced myself for a painful landing, my eyelids shut involuntarily. I was swallowed by darkness, counting the seconds and milliseconds left for the upcoming crush against the grass. Three, two, one …
Nothing. Impact never ensued. One moment, I had been flying, eyes closed and about to face-plant on the floor, and the next, I was somehow suspended in time. No, I was suspended in the air. Not understanding how, I blinked my eyes open, just as a humph was punched out of my lips.
My midsection landed against something hard.
Then, I was greeted by the sight of glistening, smooth skin. A flawless back. My gaze trailed down, taking in a tight backside in sports shorts, followed by a pair of muscled calves.
Understanding sank in as I realized I was hanging off someone. Particularly off someone’s shoulder—Aaron’s shoulder to be one hundred percent exact.
What in the—
Everybody seemed to be on board, if the clapping and cheering around us were any indication. Ignoring the little commotion behind us, Aaron rearranged me on his broad shoulder, gripping my waist gently but firmly. A complaint rose and died in my throat as he shot off, running.
“Aaron,” I screeched with urgency.
He was running with me hanging off him like a goddamn human-sized potato sack.
With every stride, the symmetric and strained strings of muscle on his back moved. His backside too. Distracting me.
Dammit, Lina, no. Focus.
“Aaron,” I repeated, being ignored again. “What. Are. You. Doing?” My speech was interrupted with each bounce of his body. With each stomp of his long legs, guiding the ball in my sister’s direction. “Aaron Blackford!”
He chuckled. Then, he patted the back of my thigh. “I couldn’t let my girlfriend fall to the floor now, could I?” the bastard said calmly, not sounding one bit out of breath.
“Aaron,” I howled. “I swear to Lucifer—”
He bounced a little extra hard, cutting my words. His hold on my waist tightened. Sending a wave of awareness down my legs. His other palm held the back of my thigh still, his fingers spreading across my skin. God, everything I felt under me was hard and warm.
Dammit.
I couldn’t believe it, but I was mad and … and … and …
Shit. I was a little turned on by the display of strength.
That last thought had barely registered when Aaron’s grip on my waist shifted, securing me with his whole arm. I could feel his biceps against my side. My blood swirled, and it had nothing to do with being upside down.
“Brace yourself, girlfriend. I’m going to win this thing and put some food in you before you eat my head off.”
“There’s no stopping that from happening. Boyfriend.”
Wishing I could know how close Aaron was from delivering the killing goal, I twisted my body upward as much as I could. Behind us, phones were out, recording the whole damn thing.
Oh Lord, please don’t let this end up on TikTok.
One last bounce, and chaos erupted as Aaron’s strides came to a stop.
“Put. Me. Down.” I punctuated my words by attacking his back with my weak fists. Judging by his lack of reaction, I doubted he was even feeling it.
“Hey.” He turned around, giving me a view of my sister, who was still under the goal.
She might have just been scored on, but she was smiling.
Aaron continued, “I knew you were bossy, but I didn’t know you were this violent.”
“You haven’t seen anything,” I gritted through clenched teeth while he remained casually standing there, unaffected by the weight of the woman he had tossed over his shoulder.
His chest shook under my hips and thighs.
Was he laughing?
The nerve of him.
The situation called for extreme measures. So, with all the skill I could gather, I stretched down until my hand reached his backside and pinched his butt.
Yep. I, Lina Martín, had just pinched Aaron Blackford’s butt.
And I regretted it immediately.
One, because it was Aaron’s butt cheek I had pinched. And how could I ever come back from doing something like that when I had to see his face at work—every working day of every week—and he’d soon become my boss?
And two, because it had been so smooth and firm that I wanted to do it a second time, just to be sure that an ass that hard was real. I wanted to double-check if a butt could really have that many muscles.
And that, together with reason one, made me question my sanity.
As that spun in my head, I realized that Aaron had noticed my unfriendly pinch. I knew because he had instantly frozen. My fake boyfriend’s body—which was still underneath my hips, stomach, and legs—had gone very, very still from the moment my fingers came into contact with his ass.
Tempted to pinch him again to check if he was breathing or if I had shocked him as much as I had myself, I waited.
With astonishing care, his hands moved to my waist. Aaron lifted me from his shoulder, positioning my front against his chest, still holding me so my feet wouldn’t touch the grass. Our heads were at the same level, our gazes irremediably meeting.
His face was this unreadable blank mask again, as if I had pinched all emotion out of it.
I realized I preferred playful Aaron to the one who hid whatever he was feeling. But that moved into the background as I recounted the nonexistent space between our bodies from our chests down.
I was feeling a little light-headed, so my arms braced themselves on Aaron’s shoulders. Our eyes never breaking contact. I didn’t think either of us blinked either.
Aaron rearranged my body in his arms, and with the change of position, I could feel the swaying of his chest against mine. I could feel the sweat on his skin under my hands and arms too. But above all, I was enraptured by those blue eyes that gleamed like diamonds under the punishing sunlight. My breath got stuck in my throat, not going anywhere. Just like I was.
Never in a hundred years would I have imagined myself in this position. Being held by a shirtless Aaron and not wanting to run as far and fast away as I could. But shockingly, I wanted to do the exact opposite; I wanted to take my time inspecting every inch of sticky and bare skin I could see. I wanted to stay right where I was, perhaps maybe even let him carry me everywhere for the rest of the day.
And that admission scared me.
No, it terrified me.
Or it should have because in that precise moment, I couldn’t find it in me to care for anything besides the wild beating of my heart, thumping directly against Aaron’s skin.
When Aaron finally spoke, his voice had a breathless texture, “You pinched my ass, Catalina.”
I had. And I was sorry. Sort of.
Which didn’t excuse the shameless, outright joyful grin that broke out on my face. I barely recognized myself in that moment, barely understood the need to smile that big and make him pay me back with one of his own. Perhaps a laugh too.
“I plead the Fifth,” I managed to say through my ridiculously silly smile. Still held in his arms. “Plus, if by any chance, someone might have pinched your butt, you might have totally deserved it.”
“Oh yeah?” The corner of his lips twitched.
Almost there. “Yep. One hundred percent well deserved.”
“Even if I’d saved that hypothetical person from a boisterous fall?” Aaron’s eyes wrinkled with the smile I was looking for, his lips remaining mostly flat. Still.
“Boisterous? I was merely going to brush the floor. Very delicately, mind you.”
“You are a ridiculous, impossible woman, you know that?”
I knew, and I was ready to admit that, but then Aaron went ahead and gave me that grin I had been craving. His lips split, and his mouth gave way to a handsome smile that changed his face completely. One that I had seen only once before and that made my heart go all crazy in my chest. My eyes probably twinkled too.
He was right; I was ridiculous. This whole thing was so very ridiculous.
“Hey, guys.” Daniel’s voice came from somewhere nearby, tearing through the moment and causing the little happy cloud I had been in to vanish. “Food is on the table, and we are all about to start. Come on.”
As I heard what I assumed were Daniel’s footsteps walking away, I knew my grin had extinguished.
Had that moment we had shared been all for Daniel and everybody else’s sake?
Probably. No, most certainly. That was what couples did. Playful touches, wide smiles, heated glances.
And that made me feel … a little dumb. Made his smile worth a little less. And made mine a very foolish one.
I guessed it was a good thing that Aaron’s handsome grin had disappeared too. Although, even with Daniel there, his gaze had never left mine. And it didn’t either when his arms shifted the hold on my waist and slid me down his body. Or so I told myself because as I went down, my eyelids might have fluttered, making it hard for me to see much as I was pressed against each hard plane, bulge, and slab there was in Aaron’s chest.
My legs landed on the ground without much confidence. Dizzy by the overwhelming sensation dancing down my body, I was grateful for Aaron’s hands remaining on my waist.
Once he seemed sure I wouldn’t topple down, he retrieved them. But not without tugging a little strand of hair that had come out of my ponytail first.
My heart proceeded to do the toppling down in that moment.
Even more so when his head dipped slowly. “Not bad for a Greek god, huh?” His voice was not nearly as playful as a few moments ago. Right before Daniel had burst my bubble. But Aaron accompanied that with a wink.
That drew a tiny little smile out of me, and I had to shake my head to hide it.
Who is this man who goes around, throwing winks and smiles at me?
My future boss—that’s who.
And wasn’t that reason enough to start thinking about having a one-on-one with that flutter in my chest? The fact that this whole thing was a charade was reason enough already. But he’d soon be promoted to head of the division—my division—and I had to remember that.
“Come on,” he said when I remained quiet. “I told you I’d put some food in you, and I am a man of my word.”
Yes, he was. And I shouldn’t forget that either.
Aaron had promised he’d play the role of my boyfriend and that he’d do it wonderfully. And so far, he’d done such an excellent job that he was starting to convince even me that he was a different man from the one I had known in New York.
