I shook my head back and forth in denial. But secretly hoping it was true.
From behind us, I faintly heard Kace speak to Lyric.
“Dude, like something you see?” he asked him, chuckling.
Lyric let out a deep hum.
At that, my hips swayed a little more, and then I heard a groan that had both Teal and me giggling in unison.
* * *
He waited for me.
I don’t know what I expected. Lyric did say he would still be around when I got done with the class, but in my experience men said a lot of things and didn’t follow through. So when I walked into the lobby and saw him, delight and surprise washed through me.
There he was, his fine ass leaning against Teal’s desk, clad in a pair of faded jeans, one ankle crossed over the other. His drool-worthy biceps were crossed over his valley of tight abs in his navy-blue t-shirt and a laid-back, sexy grin crossed his face when his eyes met mine.
Learning some self-defense made me feel different immediately. I knew it wasn’t much, but I still felt less vulnerable knowing some moves that could help me if I were ever attacked.
Not only that but a few of the ladies had come and it was great to get to know them. Brinley had shown up even though she wasn’t taking the class. Her guy was acting like a caveman because she was pregnant. When she told me about him laying down the law, as she called it, and rolled her eyes, I couldn’t help but laugh. It was nice he loved her so much. Then she said she’d wanted to be there to support me and I had to fight back a tear or two at the sweet gesture. Alley and Gemma were there, along with Teal of course. Although I think the latter was just there to watch her man.
Summer, Jurnee and Capri were missing. Brinley said Capri was busy working on a cake for a wedding taking place the next day. She told us all about it and we groaned as our mouths watered with the details. I was looking forward to trying some of her goodies one day. Summer and Jurnee were home with kids.
While it was great seeing those who had come, Lyric waiting for me after was so much better than anything I’d expected from the evening.
With each step toward him, my body tingled with awareness. He had an effect on me that I didn’t understand. It was a feeling like nothing I’d felt before.
“Hi. I can’t believe you waited.”
His smile faded a bit and his eyebrows wrinkled, a frown forming on his face. I was seriously screwing this up.
Rushing to get the smile back, I started babbling again. “Sorry. I know you do what you say. I wasn’t thinking. My bad.”
Embarrassed as I was that I was rambling, it did bring back the grin that had transformed his face and made me melt.
The ladies approached stopping any further conversation and said their goodbyes. “I’ll text you this week and we’ll find a time to all go to lunch. No backing out, you’re one of us now,” Alley said. The others nodded and put in their two cents in agreement. It felt amazing to be accepted and make friends, even if I wasn’t all that sure I was good at the whole girly thing.
“Okay,” I said, smiling. “Sounds good.” I liked all the ladies, so I was going to try.
I knew a few of them better than others, but they were a tight group, and it would be interesting to see them all together. And not at the hospital when someone was hurt but in a casual setting. They were intriguing, but I found myself curious about Gemma tonight. She seemed somewhat distracted and on edge. I wondered what that was about and noticed the other ladies giving her looks too.
As they all walked off, I saw Kace and Rowan had appeared to join their wives. They gave Lyric one of those cool head nods guys do and started toward the door. Teal turned just before they walked out and called out to me.
“Make sure you enjoy the rest of your evening!”
My face flushed with heat. It wasn’t what she said but how she said it and the wink she graced me with at the same time.
“Hey, Red.”
I snapped my head in Lyric’s direction. “Red?”
He laughed. “I figured it was a good nickname since that was the color of your hair and your face when you get embarrassed.”
I couldn’t stop myself from rolling my eyes. Something else I did in his company a lot. “Whatever,” I said. It may seem like I didn’t like the name but I secretly loved that he had a nickname for me.
Lyric studied me for a second, his head cocked to the side. “You like me calling you that.” He didn’t ask a question but made a statement. Then gave me a pleased smile even though I didn’t confirm his suspicion.
“Have dinner with me?” he asked.
