The Recruiting Trip (The University of Gatica #1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

no.” The words were out of her mouth before she could even process the thought. She was crushing on a boy she’d never met, drooling over his picture and now panting like an animal in heat over the possibility of going inside his house. What was going to happen next? Would she go and steal a pair of boxers?
    Jani dropped her leg and grinned. “Good. I’m liking you more and more by the minute.”
    Another girl at the high jump pit called over, “Jani, you coming?”
    Jani yelled back, “One sec.” She turned to Aileen. “I’ve gotta measure out my approach. Tee can chat you up a minute.” She gave Aileen an exaggerated wink and whispered, “Try to keep you knickers on.”
    Aileen watched her go, unsure what she’d meant by that last bit. It only took seconds for her to find out. The bleachers shifted as someone sat down a couple rows below Aileen. She glanced down and sucked in a breath.
    Tyler Jensen . In the flesh. That beautiful mixed skin, covered in black and burgundy workout clothes, the back of his head showed his tight, curly hair cropped short against his perfectly shaped skull. Long, graceful fingers were busy tying his shoes.
    He looked up as he finished and flashed her a smile. “Hey.”
    “Hey,” she said in a breathy whisper.
    “I’m Tyler.”
    “I know.” She shook her head. “Sorry. I’m Aileen. Aileen Nessa. I’m visiting on a recruiting trip. I do the hurdles.” She cringed inside. She sounded like an idiot. A babbling one.
    He moved up to sit beside her and ran his eyes up and then down her again. “I know who you are.”
    “You do?” He smelled like an expensive musky cologne. It was probably deodorant but she would never forget that smell ever. She inhaled deeply and reprocessed what he had said. “You know me?”
    “I watched you race at nationals this summer. You beat a friend of mine to get into the semi-finals.”
    “Oh, sorry about that.”
    He chuckled. “Don’t be sorry. You looked a little lost in the race, hit the first three hurdles but managed to recover and still run a decent time.”
    She shook her head. “That was a crappy race. I was actually glad I didn’t make the finals.” Talking about track always helped her relax. She could talk about it forever.
    “You made up for it a couple weeks later, I hear.”
    She shrugged. “It was my last meet of the season. I like trying to PR when it’s the last one.”
    He gave her an appreciative nod. “Me, too!”
    “You won NCAAs.”
    “I thought it was my last meet of the season.” He touched his knee to hers. “I didn’t think I’d be running last summer. So I had a crappy meet too.”
    “You came fourth… at Nationals! ”
    “Can I let you in on a little secret?” His beautiful eyes met hers and held her gaze. “I don’t like to lose,” he whispered, his warm breath brushing her cheek and ear like a feather.
    He was so close she could see little specs of brown and almost yellow inside his blue-green eyes. She couldn’t stop staring at them.
    His eyebrows rose. “You okay?”
    “P-Pardon?”
    “Are you alright?”
    Suddenly reality sunk in. She blinked and shifted away from him slightly. Her entire face burned, not just her cheeks. She knew her skin would be tomato red in color. Why did she always have to get so embarrassed? She’d just made a fool of herself. “I’m fine. Sorry.” She bowed her head, letting her hair cover her face before finally looking out at the track. Anywhere but at him, praying the feeling of fire would leave.
    “Tyler!” Coach Anderson called. “Let’s go!”
    He touched her leg. “I’ll catchya later.” Then he was gone.
    Aileen felt the bleacher shift from his weight and watched him go from the corner of her eye. She was definitely not coming here next year. Either that, or she had better start working on being flirty and graceful. How come she could be so smooth and elegant on the track, but such a mess off of it? It was beyond annoying. She fought the urge