But I just kept coming to the same conclusion, no matter how many excuses I came up with. Gibson was going to be in my life no matter what I did, and it just made sense to at least try to get to know him. Plus, there was the added bonus was feeling completely out of myself every time I was around him.
I sighed and grabbed my phone. I’d been putting this off since that party, but I knew I shouldn’t wait any longer. I typed up a quick text and sent it to him.
“Hey, can we meet sometime today? I want to talk about that project.”
I put my phone down, not expecting him to answer so early. But a second later, my cell buzzed.
“Sure thing. I was wondering when you’d want to see me again.”
“Ha ha,” I typed back. “Not like that. We just need to talk about the study.”
“I have a few minutes between practice and tutoring. Meet at the same spot, around five?”
“Sure. I’ll see you then.”
I tossed my phone aside and stretched. I had some idea about how this project would work, but I needed to find out what Gibson’s schedule was like. The man was clearly busy as hell, and I could already tell that some of my more in-depth ideas weren’t going to work.
Plus, I couldn’t ask too much of him. He already had so much pressure on him; I couldn’t add one more obligation to his life. I needed to make it as simple as possible and be as flexible as possible. He was doing me a favor after all.
As I got up and began to get dressed, I was suddenly nervous. I didn’t really understand it, though. I’d seen Gibson a bunch of times. Heck, I was pregnant with his baby. But for some reason the thought of seeing him about this project made my stomach do flips.
Maybe it was the idea of being close to his body. I kept imagining touching his hard muscles as he smirked at me. He’d make some dirty comment that would set my whole core on fire, but I’d do my best to pretend like I didn’t care about it. He’d see right through me, though.
As I went into the bathroom to get ready, I couldn’t shake the fantasy I had in my head. In my mind, we’d be alone in a lab. He’d be sweating, breathing deeply, and I’d be taking measurements. I’d accidentally get too close to him, brushing my fingers against his hard bicep. He’d smirk at me and know exactly what I was thinking.
I shook my head, looking into the mirror. I needed to stop fantasizing about him. Gibson was in my head, but if we were going to do this project, I needed to try to be serious about it. I couldn’t be too compromised, though having the subject’s baby was probably about as compromised as it got.
I washed up and went back into my bedroom. The smell of coffee came drifting in from the kitchen. At least Harper was up and there was coffee.
Even if I couldn’t stop obsessing about Gibson, at least I was going to get my single measly small cup of coffee.
The day flew by, which was unusual. Mondays usually dragged on forever, as the weekend still lingered in my mind. Instead, today just drifted past as if I were a stone in a river, everything just flowing on by.
Eventually I found myself standing in front of the statue again, waiting for Gibson to show up. I was a few minutes early, and of course I was nervous, but I was doing my best to keep myself from freaking out too much. I had a pretty good idea of what the project was going to look like, so I could keep it professional.
I spotted Gibson walking toward me a few minutes later. He grinned when he spotted me and I waved.
“Avery,” he said. “You’re looking nice as usual.”
I blushed and looked down at myself. “Uh, thanks.”
“How about we skip this meeting and get down to the good stuff?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Come on,” he said softly. “You don’t really want to do some project with me. You want me to take you back into the shadows and make your body feel things.”
“Gibson,” I said seriously, although he was totally right, “I really do need this project.”
He laughed. “I know. I’m just teasing.” He leaned up against the statue’s base and crossed his arms. “So what’s up?”
“Okay, well, here’s the thing. I don’t want to take up too much of your time, since I know the season is coming up this weekend.”
“You can’t take up too much time,” he said.
“I can, but I won’t. So I’m thinking that I could take your vital measurements before and after practices, and maybe get some more intensive work done once or twice this semester.”
“You can work me as intensely as you want,” he said, smiling.
“Good,” I answered. “Does that work for you? I’d have to be at your place early, and I’d meet you after practice. Taking vitals would be quick.”