Into Your Arms (Squad Stories #1)(19)

"Hey," I hear a deep voice say as Coach assigns the rest of the pairs. Gavin ends up with Gwen, and Tobi gets paired with Clint. The two of them get along well, so they should be fine.

And then there's me.

Slowly, I turn to face Rhett. He has the biggest grin on his stupid-handsome face. I'd want to punch him if I wasn't worried about hurting my hand. His skull is probably hard as a rock.

"You ready to do this?" he asks, holding his hand out as if I'm supposed to shake it.

"No," I say, crossing my arms. I want to throw a hissy fit and stomp my feet like a toddler and ask for a new partner, but that's not going to happen. Not after my little outburst. I'm going to have to do this until Coach decides that she wants to change things up.

Rhett Miller is going to get to touch my ass, and there's nothing I can do about it.

"Okay, let's try some toss hands just to get you warmed up," Coach yells because everyone is too busy chatting. Tobi rushes over to help spot, along with Clint.

She has a smirky smirk on her face, and I give her a withering look as I get into position. Rhett puts his hands on my waist, and I place my hands on top of his. I try to ignore the tingles that chase their way up my arms and zing right into my brain. My body is NOT reacting to Rhett Miller. I won't let it.

"You want to count?" he says in my ear, and I also ignore the shiver that goes down my spine. I want to pretend it's a bad shiver, but it's definitely not.

"Toss on two?" I say, wishing my voice was stronger.

"Yup," he says again, and I tell my body to get its shit together. I don't have time for this.

"One, two . . ." I say and then I'm in the air, landing on Rhett's hands as he holds my feet at shoulder height. Solid. Barely a wobble. My knees are locked, but I've never been so stable in the air. Ever. I put my arms up in a high V.

"Extend?" Rhett says under me, not sounding strained at all.

"On two," I say and count again as he extends his arms fully, and I'm all the way up. The little thrill goes through me from flying that I get each and every time. It never gets old.

"Down on two," he says and brings me down to shoulder height again and then drops me to the floor where I rebound and pretend that my legs aren't all wobbly. Seriously, Freya. Get your shit together. He's just a stupid boy with a stupid beard and a stupid face and stupid arms and . . .

"Wow," Tobi says, clapping. "That was great. Someone's been hitting the gym." She gives me a smirk, and I want to strangle her. This whole Rhett thing is just too amusing for her. Yeah, well, it's not fun for me.

"What do you think?" Rhett says, looking at me with concern on his face.

"Good," I say. I can't lie and say that he sucked as a base because he didn't. He's the most solid person I've ever had under me. I cringe inwardly at the thought. And pretend the idea of Rhett under me doesn't do things to me in certain places. My hormones are just out of control.

"Want to try again?" Rhett says. He's being uncharacteristically quiet and that almost freaks me out more than the fact that we apparently work well together. He wipes the sweat off his hands on the bottoms of his shoes. I avoid looking at Tobi and instead scan the room to see how the other pairs are doing. Not so good. I see a lot of mat eating and stunt dropping.



       
         
       
        

Rhett and I set up again and perform the same stunt and get the same result. Only this time when he brings me back down to his shoulders, he asks if I want to try a cradle. Tobi volunteers to help catch if need be and I brace myself as Rhett dips and then throws me in the air. I just do a straight cradle, turning slightly to the side so he can catch me.

I land in his arms and take a second to settle. My arms are around his neck, and his face is . . . really close to mine. We're both breathing hard. Harder than we should be.

"You wanna put me down?" I ask in a squeaky voice.

"Yeah, right," he says, practically dropping me.

"Thanks, asshole," I say as Tobi makes sure I don't hit the mat.

"Sorry! Sorry," he says, reaching for me, but pulling back. What the actual fuck is happening right now? My skin is hot and feels too tight. I need . . . I need to get some air or water or something. I need to get away from the current situation.

"I'm going to get a drink," I mumble and rush out of the gym, in the opposite direction of the water fountain and drink machines.

The sun is setting as I drag in deep breaths. I'm not having a panic attack, but things were definitely too much there for a minute. I close my eyes and roll my shoulders a few times. The best way to describe how I feel is disturbed. I feel rattled and off-balance, and it sucks. I don't like it and I really wish there was something I could do about it. I don't like the way Rhett looks at me. As if he sees more than he lets on. As if I'm stripped bare and all my secrets are his for the taking.