“Does that mean more lessons?”It would extend their time together further.
“The likelihood of taking on more than one assailant is rare.I wouldn’t worry about it.”Oh, so no more lessons.He was ready to be done with her.Training-wise at least.Maybe there was still hope for more between them.
“So, dating huh?”There was humor in his voice.She expected a different kind of reaction.June didn’t know what.Anger, confusion, but not humor.That was a good sign, right?
“Rob, I’m so sorry.”It had been juvenile making up a boyfriend, but it was the only thing she could think of to get Mr.Harrow to stop trying to set her up with his son whom she had no interest in whatsoever.“I know it was wrong of me to tell Mr.Harrow we were dating.I hadn’t meant to.He’s just been trying to set me up with his son for over a year.I’ve always told him an excuse.That I had plans.For some reason, boyfriend just popped out of my mouth.Again, I’m sorry for putting you on the spot like that.”
Rob just stood there staring at her.She didn’t like the silence.Even his face was unreadable.She expected him to say it wasn’t a big deal or hey, now that it’s come up, why don’t we date for real.No, instead, she got complete silence.
“We should get going.Dinner is going to take a while,” June said sounding more chipper than she felt.Pretending to brush it off as something trivial.
If he was that silent about a fake relationship, what would he do if she really asked him out?June had been fooling herself thinking she could make something of them.He just didn’t see her as anything more than a friend.Rob had never treated her as more.He never looked at her with lust or affection.
Chapter 22
Rob should have said something after June’s apology, but he was still reeling from her telling the store owner they were dating.Didn’t she have feelings for Jack?Or maybe it was because he was there it was more convenient.
He had played along for show, but after thinking about her in a new light and sidling up, he wanted more.The only problem was that she was interested in Jack.Would it be wrong of him to steal her from Jack or to warn her away from him?
It felt like a betrayal to his friend and fellow teammate, but he selfishly wanted June for himself.He wanted to always hear her laughter; he loved feeling the soft press of her body against his.
The homecooked meals were nice, but he loved their conversations.He just enjoyed being with her.There was a tightening in his stomach every time she looked at him.It was like a veil had been over his eyes, and it was finally pulled free, and he could see June for who she was.
The only thing that was preventing him from acting on it was Jack.He couldn’t get in the way of happiness with his two friends.He wouldn’t be that person to cause issues.It would not only affect his relationship with both of them, but also his working relationship with Jack.It wasn’t worth saying anything as long as June had feelings for him.
Rob parked on the street, grabbed the grocery bags, and headed up the drive.June was already inside and held the door open for him.He realized this was the first time he had ever been inside her house.All of their meetings had been at his house.
It was cute and charming.Everything was neat and orderly.Just like her.The walls were covered in art.Cream-colored couch with an oak coffee table.She had a small wall-mounted TV.Her house had a similar layout to his own, only there were half walls between rooms instead of an open concept.It was an earlier-dated home than his own.Probably by a few decades.The front door opened to the living room.
“Let me give you a little tour.”June led him through the house.There was a hallway to the left of the living room.“The bedrooms and bathroom are that way.”She pointed as she kept walking.The dining room was through an archway and the kitchen was to the right of that.
The kitchen was larger than his and definitely dated, but June seemed to be right at home in it.
“I’ll get started on dinner if you want to get changed,” he offered.He knew what it was like after a long day, how much a hot shower helped ease sore muscles and revive the spirit.
June hesitated.“I’ll at least do the beef part.It’s Rosa’s recipe.”Her face pulled back into a grimace, and her eyes looked sad as if she were expressing that she was sorry to have to do it.
“Ah, secret recipe type of thing.”He wasn’t offended in the least.
“Yeah, the rest though you can do though.”
Rob wasn’t picky.He didn’t mind cooking.He and June had found a rhythm when they cooked.It didn’t matter whose turn it was, both ended up helping.
They worked harmoniously in the kitchen.Since hers was larger, they had more room to spread out and didn’t have to work elbow to elbow.For once, he didn’t like that.
June kept glancing at him as she mixed up the meat and tossed in spices as if she were afraid that he was going to steal the recipe.She had nothing to worry about there.He had no intention of taking it.
“Okay, it’s all set.I shouldn’t be too long,” June announced and stepped away as Rob started boiling water.
Rob layered everything up in the casserole dish June had left out and popped it in the oven.Since June wasn’t back yet, he decided to do some exploring.He had only taken a cursory glance at her home during the hasty tour, but now he had some time to look around.
All the wall spaces were covered in different art.On a console table was a picture of June in a graduation cap and gown, grinning ear to ear and holding up her certificate.He turned in a circle looking for other photos but didn’t see any.
Where was her brother?Surely, he was there at her graduation.He started going through cabinets and drawers looking for photo albums, but there was nothing.That was odd.Who didn’t have pictures in their house?He had his awards on his wall, but he had photo albums in the hall closet collecting dust from his active-duty days.
“Ready?”June asked, coming back into the room a few minutes later.Her hair was up in a messy bun, and she’d changed her clothes to her typical workout clothes.
“Yeah.”
