About midway through the class, my nerves get the best of me, and I almost tell Cora we need to leave. Instead, she leans over and whispers, “He looks really familiar.”
Shit. Of course. Bentley’s face is fucking everywhere. Now do I tell her? Or just suffer through the class until it’s over and never return?
I’m almost in the clear with ten minutes left of class before he begins walking toward the back. I turn my body away from him in hopes he doesn’t come this way. I pretend to be working on my punches and kicks when I feel him behind me.
His voice. God, his voice fucking ruins me. I immediately tense up at the sound of his coarse tone. It’s the same tone he’s used many times when we were in bed together—his domineering tone. It’s sexy as hell, and it use to soak my panties every time I’d hear it, and, unfortunately, this time is no different.
My body tenses the moment I feel his hand against me. Does he know it’s me? Did he recognize me and was now slowly torturing me?
My breath hitches for the hundredth time when I feel his thumb rub against my scar. Oh, god.
I expect him to make a scene or even yell at me to get out of his gym, but he doesn’t. I soon realize the entire class is staring at us. His thumb rubs against my shoulder once more before he backs away and begins walking to the front of the class again. My body screams at the loss of his touch.
Fuck me.
“Uh, great session, everyone. I’ll see you all Thursday.” His voice is anxious, and I know I have to get the hell out of there—fast.
Everyone begins packing their things and swinging their bags over their shoulders. Cora is immediately to my side with her mouth agape.
“Holy fucking hotness! What the hell was that?” she asks half-shocked and half-amused. “I wonder if he has a twin.” She cocks her head as she continues staring at him. He’s surrounded by girls who are all chatting him up, flirting I’m sure, with the infamous Bentley Leighton.
“He doesn’t,” I answer without thinking. “I mean, he’s an only child.”
“I knew you knew him!”
I eye her, signaling her to keep her voice down. “That’s Bentley…Leighton,” I whisper.
“Shit,” she whispers back, getting another look at him. “I should’ve known.” She smiles wide. “What are the fucking chances?”
“Yeah, what are the fucking chances,” I groan. “What the hell is a model doing teaching kickboxing classes anyway?”
She doesn’t get to answer because both our heads snap up to the front of the room where another instructor waltzes in, shooing off his own personal fan club.
“Let’s go,” I say firmly. “I have to get out of here.”
The other instructor places a hand on his upper arm and a tinge of anger flutters through me. She’s laughing up at him, and then he leans down and kisses her cheek.
God dammit. I need to get out of here now. Being around him brings feelings to the surface that I’m not allowed to have anymore. Feelings I left behind long ago. Or tried to anyway.
Feelings that make me feel guilty for having.
“I’ll walk behind you. Lead the way.” She grabs her bag and begins walking behind me as I walk along the wall, as far away from him as possible. I secretly thank the other instructor for distracting him as we make our way through the door and out of the gym.
“You better start talking the second we get in that car.” She points a finger and scowls at me.
“There’s nothing to say. I’ve told you everything,” I remind her. She throws the bag across the car roof just before getting in.
I shake my head at her as I walk to the trunk and wait for her to pop it open. I shove the bag in and shut it, relieved to be leaving.
I think too soon.
The second I shut the trunk, I see him.
He’s staring at me as if I’m his last meal, and I’m not sure what to think when he begins walking toward me.
“Ceci,” he growls as we come face to face.
“Bentley,” I say formally. He steps closer to me, instinctively making me take a step backward. “I didn’t know you worked here,” I blurt out. I swallow hard at his intensive stare. “Just so you know.”
He brushes a hand through his hair, roughly. I can tell his mind is spinning just like mine is.
“What are you doing here?” he asks, taking me off guard.
“Well,” I begin hesitantly. “Cora actually signed us up, and well, she made me come.”
“No,” he says roughly. “What are you doing here…in Omaha?”
I swallow, confused by his words. “I live here. What are you doing in Omaha? Aren’t you like a world-renowned model or something? Why are you teaching an intro kickboxing class?” I ask more defensively. Who the hell is he to ask what I’m doing here?
“I thought you’d be off living at college,” he admits. “And I’m taking some time off, didn’t want to travel as much. I teach a few classes here in my spare time.”
“I’m on summer break,” I explain. “I live back with my mom until fall semester.”
“Oh, right. I hadn’t thought of that.”
I cross my arms and take another step back, needing to keep a safe distance between us. “Sorry to have interrupted your class.” I walk around him and head toward the passenger door. “Don’t worry. I won’t be returning.”
I grab for the door handle, but he firmly takes my elbow and spins me around to face him. “No, you should come back.” He stares intently into my eyes, and I can’t find any words to say back to him. Hell, I can hardly find my own air to breathe. “Just don’t be late next time.” He releases my arm but keeps his stare.
“I’ll think about it.” I turn and open the door, getting in and slamming it behind me.
“Drive,” I tell Cora.
* * *
“Well, that was intense,” she finally says half way back to my house.
“No, that was awkward. I haven’t seen him in two years. Holy shit.”
“He’s hot on camera, but damn, he’s fucking delish in person,” she gushes.
I tilt my head toward her and scowl. “Don’t even.”
“A girl’s allowed to appreciate a nice piece of man-meat, thank you. And appreciate I will…Mondays and Thursdays for the next eight weeks.” She laughs.
“Then you’re going alone. I am not coming back.”
“Oh, yes you are. It’s our only nights off from the bar. You have to come.”
“I don’t know,” I mumble just before we arrive at my house.
“Just think about it. Ignore the fact that Bentley Leighton is your incredibly sinful, hot model that you used to sleep with and just come to class to learn kickboxing.” She smiles as if she’s just made this whole thing easier on me.
“I hate you right now.” I grip the door and open it, letting myself out.
“No, you don’t. You love me!” she yells just before I slam the car door in her face. I smirk to myself because I really do love her, dammit.
I walk into the kitchen to my mom making dinner, stirring something in a huge pot.
“What are you doing?” I ask suspiciously. It’s past seven and there’s no way she’s making an actual home-cooked meal.
“Making a late dinner. I’m glad you could join, because I want you to meet someone.” I raise an eyebrow at her.
“Who?”
She stops stirring and turns fully toward me. “A guy I’m dating.”
“What? You’re dating? Since when?” I nearly shout at her. When the hell did this happen?
“Cecilia, calm down. I’ve been seeing him a couple months now and it’s becoming serious, so I wanted you and Nathan to officially meet.”
“Oh, god. A couple months? You never said anything,” I say softer this time.
“I know. I wasn’t sure it would turn into anything, so I was waiting,” she replies, turning back to the stove.
“Waiting for what?” Her body stiffens, and she doesn’t have to answer for me to know what she’
s referring to. “Do I really have to meet him? I’d like to just go up to my room.”
“It would mean a lot to me, Cecilia if you would.” She looks at me pleadingly. “Please.”
I groan because I don’t know why it matters anyway. “It’s not like he’s going to be my new daddy,” I snap. I never thought of my mother dating again. I don’t know why, but it never occurred to me. She never brought guy’s home before. Even if she had dated in the past, I never knew about it.
“Cecilia,” she says sternly. “I didn’t raise you to be a cold-hearted snot. You can be pleasant for one evening. It won’t kill you.”
“Humph. You didn’t raise me at all,” I fire back, turning on my heel and walking upstairs to my room.
* * *
Brandon: I miss you, baby.
A calm smile flashes over my face as I read his text.
Me: I miss you, too. This is going to be the longest summer ever. :-(
Brandon: Don’t think like that. It’s going to fly by.
Me: I hope so. I’m already dreading being here with my mom. I’m meeting her new “boyfriend” tonight. Yay…
Brandon: Be nice.
I can hear his teasing tone in my mind as I read his last text. He knows my mother and I don’t get along the greatest, but I hadn’t told him why.
Me: I’m always nice. :-) I’ll call you later, babe. Time for the meet-and-greet.
Brandon’s originally from Wisconsin, so he went back home for the summer. It feels weird to be away from him after all this time as if a part of me is missing.
I sit next to Nathan whose eyes are glowing wide at the guy across from him. Tony. What the fuck kind of grown up name is that anyway? Tony?
He looks a couple of years older than my mother with short, brown hair. He’s fairly built with a decent smile, but something about him doesn’t sit right with me. Perhaps it’s because there’s another man in my house, but either way, I don’t like him.
“So, Tony, what do you do for a living?” I ask, stabbing the chicken on my plate.
“I’m a college professor. I teach economics.”
Hmm…impressive.
“Have you been married before?”
He swallows uncomfortably. Good.
“Yes. She passed away a few years ago.”
Oh, shit.
I look down and apologize for bringing it up.
“It’s all right.” His voice is calm, light even. I look back up at him with a pained expression. “She had cancer.”
“Oh.”
I know I’m acting like a selfish brat considering Tony hasn’t done anything to warrant my nasty behavior, but I just don’t want another man in my house—my dad’s house.
I mainly stay quiet for the rest of dinner. He asks about college and my major before Nathan talks his ear off. Nathan was too young to really remember Dad. He’s never had a father figure in his life before, and from the way his face is lighting up, I can tell he needs one.
I’m anxious to leave, but I promised Mom I’d be ‘pleasant.’ I think I’m in the clear after dinner is over, but then she announces there’s dessert.
Dessert?
We haven’t had dessert in years.
I tap my foot anxiously as I wait for my mom to return from the kitchen. Nathan is talking sports and who’s going to be drafted in some sport this fall. I don’t pay much attention, but I notice how well they seem to get along.
I lay in bed, unable to sleep. I have way too much on my mind.
Bentley.
And Mom’s new ‘boyfriend.’
And seeing Bentley again in three days.
Did I want to see him again? Yes.
No. Yes.
Fuck, I don’t know.
It’s been two years. I was just getting to the point where I wouldn’t see his picture and cry myself to sleep. I was just starting to move on from him.
Perhaps we could be friends.
Could we do that? Did I want to do that?
Perhaps it’s too soon.
Chapter Eleven
Bentley
GOD, WHAT WAS I doing?
I shouldn’t have followed her out. But I did. I didn’t even have a chance to talk myself out of it before I was standing in front of her.
And now my emotions were all over the place—remembering her scent, her delicate facial features, the way her body would tremble underneath me—memories that were impossible to forget and now they were all slapping me back in the face.
One second I wanted to hate her for all the agony she’s made me feel over the last couple of years, and another second I wanted to get in between her legs.
Make up your fucking mind!
It’s impossible when I spent the last year trying to forget her completely and then to have her show up in my class—a class I wasn’t even supposed to be teaching.
Was it fate?
Or just a coincidence?
There are plenty of other gyms in the city that offer kickboxing classes. There are plenty of instructors. But she showed up in mine.
That has to mean something.
My mind isn’t anymore made up by the time Thursday arrives. All I know is that I want to see her. Even if we can’t talk, I just want to watch her. I want to get a glimpse of who she is now. I can still remember all the intimate details about her. The way she eats. The way she nervously rubs her shoulder. The way she bites down on her lower lip. I can’t help but wonder if she’s the same girl with all those traits.
“What’s up with you today?” Maya asks as I walk into her office. “You’re…cheerful.”
I slap a hand to my chest as if I’m offended. “I’m always cheerful.”
“You got laid, didn’t you?” She raises an eyebrow in suspicion.
“No.” Not yet. “Have any friends looking for company?” I tease.
“Not that’d be interested in you,” she taunts.
I flash her a pained expression and she laughs. Maya has become a really good friend to me this past year, and I value her friendship more than anything. She’s the one person I’ve really been able to open up to since leaving my father’s company. I lost all my ‘friends,‘ or rather acquaintances, and I haven’t had the urge to find more.
She deals with my crazy traveling schedule when I get booked up, and always gives it to me straight—no bullshitting around.
“Excited for your intro class tonight?” she asks as I sink into the chair across from her.
“You could say that.”
“You have quite the fan base.”
“They’re not fans. They’re admirers.”
“And the difference is…?”
“You’ll see.” I wink, teasing her because it’s just too easy sometimes. “I can’t help what God gave me, Maya. Sometimes it’s a curse.”
“Oh, shut up. You’re so annoying sometimes.”
“And you love me.”
“You’re an arrogant asshole, you know that?”
I push myself up and bend over the desk to where she’s sitting. “I know.” I smirk at her, knowing it always gets me out of trouble. “Wish me luck. I’m heading to vulture city now.”
“I hope they eat you alive!” she calls out as I walk out of her office.
“Trust me, they will.”
But I’m only slightly interested in one right now.
I walk into the studio at quarter to six, a few girls already sitting on the floor and waiting for class. Their eyes instantly light up as they see me. I flash a small smile at them, hoping they stay put.
No such luck.
“Bentley, we are like huge fans of yours!”
“Like totally! Such huge fans!”
“Can we have your autograph?”
They’re looking up at me like lost puppy dogs. Fucking great.
“Sure. What do you want me to sign?”
“Oh…um…” one girl stumbles, looking back at her friend. My eyebrows rise in suspicion, as they have no paper or pens in their hands.
&
nbsp; “Actually, can you sign us?” the other asks. It’s a pathetic plea, but I go with it anyway.
“Um, sure.” I step back to my stereo cabinet and grab a marker that’s sitting next to it. “Where do you want me to sign?”
The both giggle as they push their shirts down, revealing their sports bras.
This is so unprofessional in so many ways. If Maya catches me, she’ll chew my ass out. Instead of arguing, I quickly scribble my name on one of the girls’ unimpressive chest.
“Oh, my god! Thank you!” she squeals.
“Me next! Do me next!”
Oh, god. Someone please make her shut up.
This is the exact reason I stopped traveling and shooting as much as I was before. I just want to live a normal life while doing something I enjoy. But I know that’s nearly impossible.
I sigh and turn to sign the other girl’s chest. I hear the door open and glance over to watch Ceci and her friend walk in. She grimaces and turns her eyes away from me as she walks to the back of the room.
Fuck.
More people start piling in, so I quickly sign my name and shoo the girls back to their spots. I ignore the others that say hello to me as I make my way to where Ceci is.
“You’re not going to stay back here the whole time, are you?” I cross my arms over my chest, smiling down on her. “You won’t get a very good view.”
She’s on the floor changing her shoes and tying them as she replies, “I think the view is fine. I’ll just follow bimbo one and bimbo two’s leads.” She mocks, standing up finally.
I cock a grin, leaning my body in toward her. “Jealous? I can make a spot up there for you.”
She jokingly laughs in my face as if being jealous is not even on her radar. “No, we’re good back here.”
It’s six o’clock, and I know I have to start class now. “Well, don’t think hiding back here is going to keep you from participating in my class.”
“Of course not, sir,” she replies in a professional tone. She grins as she steps in front of her bag.
The Intern Serials: Complete Box Set Page 22