In the Fast Lane (Fast Series Book 1) by Evie Anderson Page B

of...something...that she felt with Dalton right now. There was something there that wasn’t hate, or disappointment, or pity, or, for that matter, obsession. None of those unhealthy feelings were with her now. Now she just felt camaraderie, respect, and a shared desire to win. Maybe that was what this new friendship was between her and Dalton.
    Unfortunately, Jessi was also disturbingly aware that she didn’t think what she was feeling was friendship. They had never been able to keep their hands on that side of the line. Now she was fighting to win gold. Jessi couldn’t afford to cross that boundary again.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 11
     
     
    Dalton stopped Jessi as she headed for the locker room after practice. “Jess, hold on a sec.” He grabbed her arm to turn her toward him. “You were quiet in our film session today. What’s going on?”
    Jessi raised an eyebrow. “Why? Am I normally talkative?”
    “Well, I wouldn’t call you effusive when we watch tape, but you usually have more to say than what you did today. I’d say today you were downright contemplative.”
    “Canada’s coming up. I get quiet when I get closer to the Games.”
    “That’s not it. I’d be fricking ecstatic if you were thinking about the Games. You’re not. I don’t know what’s in your head, but you ought to be worried. We have a hell of a lot of work to do.”
    Something altogether different from Jessi’s reclusiveness was bothering Dalton too. As he watched her try to weasel her way out of the situation, he became increasingly aware of how beautiful she was. It wasn’t like he hadn’t noticed that before, of course, but the thing about Jessi was, she was always moving. She never stopped long enough to let anyone get too much time. Today, however, he’d had the distinct pleasure of observing Jessi at ease, in the solitude of her own thoughts. It had been a heartbreakingly beautiful sight, if not a bit worrisome.
    She looked even better now than she did walking into the film room. Her damp hair was drying fast and was starting to spring into that ridiculous riot of bright blond sunshine that framed her sweet face and swept down to the middle of her back. Looking down at her scowling face, he smiled to himself. Jessi still looked seventeen sometimes. But mostly she didn’t. Mostly, she had matured into an achingly beautiful and confident woman.
    “Very eloquent, Coach. Thanks for the pep talk,” she replied tersely. She shifted and looked at the floor, as if trying to put a name on what she was feeling. Suddenly her head popped up and she blurted out, “Why are you calling me ‘Jess’?”
    “Uh, because that is your name?”
    “ No , my name is Jessi.”
    That kind of hurt. “Okay. Let me try again.” Dalton cleared his throat as if getting ready to recite lines for a play. “Hey Jessiiiiiiii,” he exaggerated, earning him an eye roll that only egged him on. “Hold up a second, please. I’d like to speak with you, if you don’t mind,” he added in a formal tone.
    She rolled her eyes once again, popped her hip to one side, and pursed her lips, but this time she was trying to suppress a smile. “God, you are an idiot,” she said.
    “I know,” he replied, grinning like the little shit that he was.
    She went to playfully hit his arm, but he caught her hand before she could make contact. Their playful mood changed abruptly. He couldn’t say what made him hold her hand tighter and draw her closer to him, while at the same time grabbing her hip to put her in contact with the lower parts of his anatomy.
    He hadn’t moved by any conscious thought, but instead from instinct. If this were another situation and another woman, he’d continue the little game, teasing her a bit more before he proceeded to kiss the hell out of her. As it was, he was standing in the middle of the Olympic training facility, and the woman he was messing with was the nation’s best shot for a gold medal, not to mention the kid whose