I refused to admit I was indeed distracted, not only by recalling the events of last night but also by the sight of Sophie talking to Lance. She laughed and smacked his arm. And he looked pleased with himself. I tore my eyes away from them but not quick enough, because my trainer followed my eyeline.
“Do we need to get rid of her?” he asked.
“Who?” I played dumb but failed. Big-time.
“Sophie.”
“Why?”
“Because she’s obviously a distraction.”
“How so?”
“Are we gonna keep going back and forth while you pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about? Because I have to tell you, it’s getting annoying.”
I ignored his small rant, instead blurting, “Doesn’t Lance have anything better to do than talk to her?”
Trevor turned to look at them, then back at me. “Lance would never cheat on his wife. You know that.”
“Then why is he constantly making her laugh?”
I moved to drape my arms over the top rope, my eyes fixated on them both, but they were oblivious, continuing to flirt with each other.
Having no claim over Sophie whatsoever, I battled with saying something or ignoring them. But a jealousy I hadn’t felt before raged inside me, my body heating the more I watched them.
I hopped out of the ring and made my way straight for them, Trevor shouting at me as I walked away. The commotion was enough to draw Sophie’s and Lance’s attention.
I snarled at Lance as I grabbed Sophie’s hand and gently pulled her behind me as I headed somewhere more private.
“Hi,” she said, the lilt of her voice working to calm me, if only fractionally. “I have the oil in my apartment. I can bring it over later if you want.” Her words evaporated in the air as she continued to follow me, but because I hadn’t released her yet, she didn’t have much of a choice.
Only when we were free from prying eyes did I stop and turn toward her, advancing until she had no choice but to back up, her back colliding with the wall in the hallway.
“Do you like him?”
“Who?”
“Lance.”
“Yeah. He’s nice.”
Her affirmation was like a punch in the stomach.
“Does he like you?” My voice dipped. “Did he tell you?”
“I think he likes me.” Her shoulders bounced lazily, the grin on her face gutting me.
“So, you’re interested, then?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Lance. You. You two like each other.”
Her smile disappeared as confusion etched itself into the lines of her face. Seconds later, her eyes widened.
“No. No. I don’t like him likethat. And he’s not interested in me. He’s married.” She shook her head. “Just… no.”
With her clarification, my heart started to slow its erratic pace.
