“My trust fall.”
This brought his head up, and he tipped hers back with a nudge of his finger. Deep, searching eyes met hers, as if he was trying to read the meaning behind her words. She swayed closer, seeking his solid warmth, waiting for his next words. But if he was going to respond, he never had a chance, because the door to the bathroom swung open again.
“Well,” Erica’s raspy voice interrupted the loaded pause that followed. “This is unexpected.”
Against her body, Sean’s giant chest heaved in a sigh. Slowly, he untangled from her, but kept eye contact, his dark irises communicating a dozen things she couldn’t translate. Or was too afraid to.
“Sooo,” Erica continued. “Is this, like, a thing?”
From the outside, Ivy could only guess what it must have looked like. Her and Sean locked together. Ivy’s fingertips digging into the back of his shorts. Sean’s head inclined toward Ivy’s. From the back, they probably looked like they were making out. Which was a rumor she didn’t want spreading around Thompson Kickboxing.
“No,” Ivy managed, her body still missing the warmth of Sean’s. “We were having a discussion about safety in the ring.”
“Ri-ight. ’Cause that’s exactly what that looked like, right there. A discussion between friends.”
And maybe it was the way Sean’s gaze burned into hers, or maybe it was the way her heart was suddenly galloping in her chest at the wordfriends, because everything about the last few minutes had been decidedly more intimate than anything friends would share. Or maybe it was simply that he was her friend, and she didn’t want to lose that because the thought of disappointing him by trying to be anything more was more terrifying than losing him completely. But whatever it was, she heard herself responding, “Yep, that’s exactly what it was. A discussion between friends.”
Sean’s eyes leveled with hers, narrowed. Then hardened. Finally, he nodded. “Friends,” he uttered straight at her, followed curtly by, “Don’t ever pull a stunt like that again when someone is sparring in the ring. Ever.”
Then he was gone, the door swinging shut in his wake.
She glanced at Erica, who was looking at her with a palpable sympathy.
“Don’t,” Ivy said, holding up her hand. “Please don’t say anything.”
Erica’s mouth curved into a sad smile, but she stayed silent, and Ivy loved her all the more for it. Exhaustion swamped her, weighing down her body and aching in her bones. The last thing she needed was slap-stick banter about what Erica had walked in on.
But there was no banter forthcoming. There was only silence as Erica wrapped Ivy in a big embrace, holding her together so she didn’t fall completely apart.
CHAPTERTEN
It was finally Friday. Thank fuck. Sean walked into Bowie’s not knowing exactly how he’d made it through the week in one piece, only that he somehow had. And now he needed a beer. Badly.
It was 7 p.m. and Bowie’s was already packed. It was one of the most popular local hangouts in the city, and Sean always thought a huge part of the allure was that Gabe kept things simple. The decor didn’t have a particular theme or ostentatious design that might attract some and isolate others. It was a classic space with bar stools and tables set up around the edges, the main bar dominating the back of the room, and a space in the center for a dance floor. Local art, including pieces painted by Gabe’s wife, hung in strategic locations. There was an alcove off to the side for private conversation or a game of pool or darts, if that’s what customers were looking for. Which Sean sometimes was. But not tonight.
Tonight, he was looking for a drink, so he headed straight to the bar and claimed one of the stools. His ass had barely touched the seat when a beer was shoved under his nose. When he glanced up, Gabe nodded at him in greeting from his usual place behind the bar.
He was wearing the classic black Bowie’s t-shirt that all his staff wore and had a black bar cloth slung over one shoulder.
“Thanks,” Sean muttered, then lifted the cold glass to his lip and drank deeply.
“Face looks better.” Gabe made himself busy wiping down the bar, but Sean knew his friend still felt bad about what happened. “Look, man, I know I’ve apologized like a hundred times, but I’m so fucking mad at myself. I wasn’t in my head when I took that last shot at you.” He took his time drying off a glass, watching it intently as he dragged the cloth over it. “I guess I just had my mind stuck in the future, worrying about shit I have no control over and not focusing on what was in front of me.”
Sean knew his friend was talking as much about his real life as he was about the fight. Just like he knew Gabe and Hope’s trouble conceiving a baby was weighing on them both, and those worries had ultimately distracted Gabe in the ring.
“Yeah well, if your head was stuck in the future, mind was stuck in the past. I took a few shots I shouldn’t have too, so forget it dude. It’s in the rearview.” Sean cracked a smile. “Besides, it’s gonna take more than one punch from your soft hands to mess this beauty up.” Sean stroked his knuckles over his cheek while fluttering his eyelashes.
Gabe laughed, and his shoulders relaxed. “You’re such an ass.”
Sean chuckled, grateful for the ease of communication between the male species.
Communication with women seemed to be a thousand times more complicated. He hadn’t talked to Ivy since the incident, though he watched her like a hawk whenever he’d seen her in the gym. It seemed she was avoiding him because she hardly came out of her PT clinic except to train or take a class. Not that she’d taken any of his classes lately. He hadn’t sought her out either. What was there to say? Things between them were so…lost.
But it drove him crazy—needing the distance, but wanting her close.
“Why is it that men can have an entire conversation without saying much at all?” Hope came up beside her husband, kissed him on the cheek, then grabbed a bottle of whisky off the shelf. She was wearing the Bowie’s staff shirt, which told Sean she was pulling a shift behind the bar tonight. She did this from time to time, joking that it was about as close to a date night as she could get with her husband these days.
Gabe never found the joke funny, but Sean knew Hope didn’t mind the work. She was good at it and understood that the bar was Gabe’s passion. She never resented the time Gabe had to pour into it, rather she embraced it as an extension of their family. Which was part of what made her perfect for Gabe.
