“You think we could ask for a break?”
“And be told we’re weak?” Nora grumbled, knowing that would be what Brandon said. He’d said it to a guy who asked last week, and everyone snickered.
The whistle blew, and I was our saving grace. We both tumbled to the ground, sighing heavily as we did. I wanted water. I wanted a nap. I needed a shower.
“How did you guys enjoy today?” Brandon stopped in front of us, a smirk still on his face. I was pretty sure it didn’t leave him for the entire training session.
“Oh, it was wonderful,” Nora cooed in her sarcastic tone as she wiped at her forehead. “Thinking of doing this for a living.”
I held back a laugh as Brandon raised an eyebrow at her. He chuckled. He pulled his hands behind his back and stood there for a moment. “You guys did well today. You’ve both improved a lot since we first started this.”
“Oh, I’m so glad,” Nora chirped sarcastically. “I’ll be sure to remind my calves later when they hurt that at least I looked good. You think all this sweat and hard breathing is going to catch me a man?”
Brandon chuckled before his eyes went to me. I felt a blush roll over my face. Nora made a groaning noise and pulled herself up. “Just fuck already.”
Nora walked away, and Brandon laughed. He tilted his head slightly as he looked back at me. His voice dropped low to a whisper. “Did you want to tell her we already did that?”
“Hush,” I grumbled as I pulled myself up. “People will hear you.”
He made a face. “Oh, how dare we have sex while we are husband and wife?”
“Everyone knows the marriage was out of obligation, not because you wanted to.”
He took a step closer, his body hovering over me. I inhaled slowly, his scent surrounding me like a blanket. “That’s true, but us fucking the other night wasn’t.” I felt my throat go dry remembering how wet I’d been. I remember how I moaned loudly, and how I curled close to him after.
A part of me wanted to desperately open myself up and let him in, but the other half was still unsure. As badly as I wanted to forgive and forget, I was having a hard time doing so. There was so much on the line.
Brandon and I needed to have a serious conversation and just lay all our cards out. But with everything going on, how could we? There was never a good time to open your heart up when you could lose everything to monsters.
“I need to go get Ilsa from daycare.” I broke free, needing air. Every time I was near him, my brain seemed to short-circuit and make quick, bad decisions. And I really needed to think about what I wanted. Should I give it a chance, or do we need to discuss setting better boundaries?
“Alright, I’ll see you at home.” His lips pulled into a huge grin. “Wifey.”
The nickname hit, and I felt myself melt a little. He made it so bloody hard to hate him.
I turned on my heels, biting hard on my cheek, stopping myself from jumping him. I headed across the training ground toward the parking lot. Nora was standing by her car waitingfor me. She scanned me quickly, giving me a pitiful expression. “Your clothes are still on.”
I rolled my eyes at her. “Oh, stop. I don’t need people hearing you.”
She laughed. “With the way you were just eye fucking him, everyone is aware you two are sleeping together.”
“We aren’t,” I said quickly, too quickly. Nora’s eyes narrowed slightly and then widened. “Oh my god! You guys slept together again! That’s why you’ve been staring at him. It’s not just because of the first time. You’re sleeping together.”
“No, we aren’t,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s… I… we.” I couldn’t form a sentence, and she started to laugh. She moved closer, invading my personal space. “I don’t know how I didn’t see this until now, but wow… you’re so in love with him.”
“I am not.”
She covered her mouth as she nodded, trying to contain her excitement. “You are. Oh my god, you’re in love. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because there is nothing to tell.”
Nora reached for me, her fingers tight against my shoulders. “I need to know everything. What has happened between now and the last time we discussed him?”
I wanted to deny it, but I wanted to tell Nora. She was my best friend, and I felt like I had missed out on telling her so much. I had been so focused on Brandon and everything with him that I felt she and I hadn’t spent much time together.
“There are some things to tell,” I admitted, and her hands only squeezed me tighter.
“Oh my god!” she squealed. Several other people looked at us, and I quickly covered her mouth. “Okay, but not here. Not now.” I swallowed. “I have to go get Ilsa. We can chat about this later.”
