“Didn’t you work out this morning?” I asked him.
“I did,” he said in a tone that said something was wrong.
“Is everything okay?” I asked him.
“It’s just one of those days,” he said. “I need to blow off some steam.”
I sensed his frustration. “Can you wait two minutes and I’ll go down with you if you’d like?”
“You want to work out?” he asked with disbelief.
“I’ll do a little one,” I said. “But nothing major.”
He shrugged. “Sure.”
I quickly changed into a pair of leggings and my sports bra once again. “Ready,” I said and grabbed a bottle of water.
I thought I caught his eyes rake over my body. My outfit wasn’t unlike anything I saw in other gyms. I had a few more curves stuffed into my tight clothing, but I wasn’t naked. Maybe I was imagining things.
We took the elevator down this time. I noticed he was very quiet and it was clear there was a lot on his mind. Instead of pestering him with questions about what was wrong, I let him be.
“I think I’ll do the elliptical this time,” I said once we were in the gym. “I don’t dare get on the treadmill again.”
That got a small laugh out of him. “I’ll do the treadmill,” he said.
He set his speed at an easy clip. I did the same with my machine.
“I got to deal with some real characters today,” I said in an attempt to make small talk.
“How so?”
“One guy seemed convinced I killed Gloria and stuffed her behind some books,” I said with a laugh.
“Damn. Should I start locking my door at night?”
“The guy was way into the paranormal,” I said. “I left him alone to do his thing. The other customers were normal, except one guy that wanted books that are only sold in certain kinds of stores.”
That got his attention. “What? Like porn?”
“He called it the language of love or something like that, but it was pretty clear what he was looking for.”
“Maybe it’s not such a good idea for you to be alone in that place,” he said.
“I think the guy was harmless,” I assured him. “He was just in the wrong bookstore.”
“Language of love, my ass,” Thomas muttered. “He was a perv.”
I was happy he cared. He seemed to be relaxing a bit the longer we worked out. It wasn’t long before I started to really sweat. I didn’t want to give up, but I had to slow down. He seemed to notice my distress and stopped his treadmill as well.
“I’m sorry,” I said out of breath. “Don’t stop on my account.”
“No, I think I’m good.”
I waved my hand in front of my face. “I’m so hot.”
“Let’s go swimming,” he said.
“Right now?”
“We’ll go up and get our suits on,” he suggested.
I shrugged and agreed to go. We took the elevator back up, which I was very grateful for. I didn’t think I had the energy to climb the stairs. I changed into my swimsuit and pulled on my coverup. Thomas was shirtless and wearing only his swim trunks. I actually had to keep myself from whistling or making any other obscene comments.
Fuck me. “Ready?” I squeaked.
“Yep,” he said and grabbed a towel from the couch.
We made the trek back downstairs. “It’s empty,” I said with a surprise.
“Just the way I like it,” he said and tossed his towel and glasses on a chair.
Before I knew it, he was diving into the pool. He sank below the surface and swam a few feet before resurfacing. I was standing at the edge, stupefied. He was sleek and sexy. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him.
He was grinning at me. “You going to get in or just stand there?” he teased.
I pulled myself out of the little fantasy that was dancing through my brain. “I’m definitely getting in.”
I pulled off the gauzy coverup and tossed it on another chair beside my towel. I loved swimming and was pretty good at it. I dove in and felt the freeing sensation of being weightless. I supposed it was why I loved the water so much. I wasn’t an athlete but I could swim.
Thomas treaded water and moved through the water toward me. “Feels good, huh?”
I smiled and moved closer to him. “Amazing.”
We were inches away from each other with only our heads above the surface. “Why don’t we swim more often?” he asked. “We have this amazing pool right here and we never come down.”
“Do you want to come down more often?” I asked.
“I do. Seeing you in a swimsuit is reason enough.”
I smiled and felt myself blush a little. “Ditto. Why don’t we make it a thing? How about at least two nights a week?”
“What if there are other people down here?” he asked in a sultry voice.
“Ah, you want it to be just the two of us?” I teased.
“I do,” he said. “I don’t want to share the pool.”
“I guess we might have to come late at night,” I suggested. “When it’s just the two of us.”
“If it’s just the two us, maybe we could go skinny dipping,” he said with a sexy grin.
“Oh, now you are getting dangerous,” I said.
“Have you ever?” he asked.
“Swam naked?” I clarified.
He slowly nodded with his eyes holding mine.
I shook my head. “No. You?”
“Nope. It’s on my bucket list though.”
“I imagine it would be incredibly freeing,” I said.
“We going to do it?”
I bit my lower lip. I knew if I said yes, he was going to hold me to it. I wasn’t sure I could commit to doing something that made me very anxious. Despite inwardly freaking out, I heard myself agree. “Yep. You better not back out.”
He propelled himself away from me. “Not a chance in hell.”
He dove under the water once again. He came up for air and flashed me a playful smile. I dove under and chased after him. I grabbed his ankle and pulled. He rolled around and grabbed my hand. He pulled me against him, and together, we resurfaced once again. We were both laughing as I pulled out of his hold.
Thomas gave chase as I swam away. We played like kids and flirted like adults. I was out of breath and pulled myself against the wall. “I’m starving,” he said as he swam toward me.
“We’ve got leftovers,” I said.
“Good, because I’m too hungry to wait.”
He used his upper body strength to hike himself out of the pool. He reached down and pulled me up. We made our way upstairs, and without bothering to change out of our wet swim clothes, we raided the fridge.
I leaned against the counter as I downed a piece of fried chicken like I hadn’t eaten in a week. He was devouring his own chicken leg. That was where we were at in our relationship. I could eat without worrying about trying to be dainty. By the time we went to bed, I was exhausted. The swim had wiped me out. That didn’t stop me from thinking about him.
Things felt different between us. I found myself noticing him in a way I hadn’t noticed him before. He was a very attractive man in a physical sense, but it was his personality that was truly sexy.
16
Thomas
I checked the time and realized I still had time to swing by the store. I saved the document I’d been working on and was about to close the computer down when Chris walked into my office and had a seat without invitation.
“What’s wrong now?” I asked.
“I checked into that other marketing lady,” he said. By his tone of voice, I knew something was wrong.
“And?”
“And it is a definite no,” he said. “She’s a newbie. Her resume sucks. She is a waste of money.”
“Wow, that’s harsh,” I said with a laugh.
“And now the other company is booked,” he said with frustration. “We’re up against a deadline. We need to figure something out.”
“I know and we will,” I said. “We need to fine tune this thing before we worry about marketing it. It’s not ready to go to market yet.”
“Did you go over the list I gave you?” he asked.
“I did and I’ve made some tweaks,” I told him and checked the time again.
“Going somewhere?”
“Yes. I need to leave early.”
“Again?” he said with surprise.
“It’s an hour early,” I said. “Besides, I’ll work tonight.”
He held up his hands. “I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. I think it’s great. Are you guys a thing?”
“No,” I said. “We’re friends.”
“What are you guys doing today?” he asked.
“It was her first day of class,” I told him. “I want to do something special for her. She was pretty nervous about it this morning.”
He was grinning like an idiot. “You are so sprung.” He laughed.
“I am not.”
“Yes, you are,” he said and shook his head. “When are you going to make a move?”
“I’m not trying to make a move.”
He groaned and put his head in his hand. “You’re doing all these little things to try to get her to notice you.”
I shrugged. “She notices me just fine. She’s a friend and I want to make sure she had a good day. That’s what friends do.”
“And you want her to think of you as more than a friend,” he teased.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not pushing anything,” I said. “I’ve told you that. Now, I’ve got to go.”
“Fine,” he said. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Feel free to be late if you get waylaid, if you know what I mean.”
I ignored the innuendo and collected my things. I got home before she did. I unrolled the tube of cookie dough I picked up at the grocery store. I didn’t dare risk trying to actually bake cookies from scratch. After putting the cookies in the oven, I set the timer and went to change.
I piled the fresh-baked cookies on a plate and waited for her to get home. When she came through the door, she stopped when she saw me. “What are you doing home?” she asked.
“I wanted to be here when you got home from your first day of school,” I said.
Her eyes dropped to the plate of cookies. “Did you make cookies?”
“Yes. I unrolled the package, that is.”
She grinned and put her bag on the table. “You made cookies,” she said again.
“I remember how much you loved coming over to my house after school in the old days,” I told her. “Milk and cookies.” I grabbed the carton from the fridge and poured her a glass of milk. “Sit. Tell me all about your first day.”
She sat down at the bar and grabbed a cookie. “It was slightly boring and intimidating at the same time. It’s going to be a tough ride, but I think I can do it.”
“You know you can do it,” I said. “You didn’t come this far to fail now.”
“True,” she agreed and took another bite of the cookie. “These are really good. Almost as good as your mom’s.”
“Don’t tell her that.” I laughed. “She would be horrified to have her cookies compared to prepackaged dough.”
“I miss your mom’s cookies,” she said with a sigh. “These are very similar. It takes me back to the days when life was so much simpler.”
“Those days were simple, but they weren’t great for me,” I told her. “I couldn’t wait to get through high school.”
“I wanted out of school, but when I look back at the mundaneness of life back then, I miss it. I miss waking up in the morning and listening to my mom lecture my dad about not mowing the lawn or whatever. I miss the dumbest things.”
“Like what?” I prompted.
“I miss my mom asking me where I was going. I miss my parents demanding I be home for dinner. All the things that drove me crazy at the time are the things I miss now.”
I reached out and touched her hand. “I’m sorry about your mom. Tamlyn told me she passed away. That had to have been horrible.”
She smiled and took another bite. “It was.”
“What’s the story with your dad?” I asked. I had heard rumors but I wanted to hear it from her.
“He just kind of lost it,” she said. “He always drank, but after Mom died, it was like he gave up. He didn’t have her there to monitor him and bitch at him for drinking too much. I tried to be understanding. I tried to help, but after two years, it was enough. I couldn’t let him drag me down. I couldn’t deal with his abuse.”
“Abuse?” I asked.
“He is a mean drunk,” she said. “I haven’t talked to him in months. I hate to give up on the guy, but damn, how much am I supposed to take?”
“You don’t have to take anything,” I told her. “I think you’re doing the right thing by staying away. You’ve been through a lot and don’t need to deal with any more bullshit. He needs to hit rock bottom before he can help himself.”
“Honestly, I think it’s been a long time coming,” she said. “I knew there was tension between them, but they always tried to hide it from me. I knew he had a drinking problem back then. Mom used to get so pissed at him when he would take money that was supposed to go to bills and go out drinking. Honestly, your family kept me sane. After Mom died, your family became my second family.”
“I’ve gone home a few times and I was surprised you weren’t at the holiday gatherings,” I said.
She shrugged and finished her cookie. “While I have always thought of your family as my second family, it wasn’t easy to see how normal you guys were. I did try and give my dad good holidays. I made him a big dinner one Thanksgiving. He’d been drinking all day and passed out before I ever carved the turkey. That was the last time I did that. I chose to work on holidays instead. I could usually get double time for working the holidays no one else wanted to work.”
I nodded with understanding. “I get it.”
“But that is in the past,” she quickly said as she brushed off the sadness. “I’m happy with the way life is going now. I’m choosing to focus on making my mom proud. Dad can’t be proud of me, but I know my mother would have been.”
“Exactly,” I said with a nod. “And we are all proud of you. I know my parents have always thought of you as a bonus daughter.”
“How are they?” she asked. “I feel like I haven’t seen them in forever.”
“They’re good,” I answered. “Dad is considering early retirement. Mom is still working at the kids’ club and loves it.”
She smiled at the mention of Mom. “She always knew just what to say to kids. I bet those kids love her.”
“She loves helping kids that are struggling,” I said and found myself smiling as well.
“She collected all the strays in town, human and animal,” Lily joked.
I groaned and shook my head. “They still have three dogs,” I told her.
“What about that little pig?”
I snatched a cookie. “He died last year. She was crushed. We all assured her he had a good life because of her. I don’t think she thought ahead. She collected all those animals without thinking about their eventual end.”
She pouted. “How sad. I think this is why I don’t want a dog. It’s a given I’m going to outlive it, assuming I don’t die of some horrific accident.”
I didn’t like where our conversation was going. We started out with warm cookies and now we were talking about death. “Did you make any friends today?” I asked, and the moment I said it, I realized it sounded very juvenile.
Her face lit up. “Actually, I did meet a few people. We’re going to form a study group. They’re a little older, but I think that’s a good thing. I need people who are serious and not all about finding the next party.”
“Good influences,” I said with a nod.
She drank her milk and left herself with a milk mustache. I watched as she wiped it away, with my eyes drawn to her lips. Her eyes met mine and I was certain I felt
the sizzle. There was something happening between us. I knew it. Was this the moment we addressed the brewing chemistry?
“Thank you for the cookies,” she murmured.
“Absolutely,” I said and had a sudden burst of courage. I was going to ask her to dinner. I opened my mouth, ready to take the plunge when she jumped off the barstool.
She pulled her phone from her pocket and laughed. “I forgot I had it on vibrate.” She giggled before stepping away and answering the call.
I listened to her end of the conversation and felt my initial excitement for the night fading fast. I’d waited about a second too long to ask her to dinner. This was what Chris had warned me about. He told me I was going to miss the boat. This might be the boat pulling away from the dock. She ended the call and turned to look at me.
“Wow,” she said.
“What’s going on?”
“That was Donavan,” she said. “He and Laura are going out tonight and asked me to go along. I guess they are getting together with a few other people.”
I had to be happy for her. “That’s great!” I said with fake enthusiasm.
“I don’t know,” she hesitated. “I’m not sure I want to go out drinking and dancing.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not sure it’s really my scene,” she said and worried her lip. “I should just stay in.”
“Why?” I asked. I hated that I had to encourage her to leave me and go out with other men. Men that were going to be drinking and dancing with her and were probably going to touch her.
“I’m so awkward,” she groaned. “I don’t dance. I always feel like the wallflower. I don’t want them to see who I really am. It’s cool if we’re at school because then I fit in as a student. I get to be smart and studious, and no one is going to think anything of it. But out in the wild, it’s a different story.”
I understood her concerns. I felt the same way. “You should go,” I told her. “Go and have fun. Meet more people. It will make your experience over the next two years much better if you have friends.”
She hesitated and looked like she was going to say no. And then she smiled. “Thank you,” she said. “I’m going to do it. I have to take risks. I’ve been the perfect student the last four years. It’s time I had some fun.”
Match Me Up Page 10