“You’re weird,” I whisper and she flips me off.
Standing just before the living area, I fold my hands into the pockets of my combats and three sets of eyes bounce between mine. Anaïs clears her throat but my eyes slice to her.
Athena. She sits quiet, eyes burning into mine and my gut twists.
“Look,” I say on an exasperated breath, my hand curled around the back of my neck as I give it a squeeze. Tension is growing at the top of my spine.
“Get to the point,” Nora shouts.
Anaïs laughs, and Athena’s lips twist.
“I’m sorry, okay? Fuck, I was out of line, I shouldn’t have said you were a geek.”
Athena raises a brow. “Actually, I think it was astuffygeek,” she corrects me and I drop my face, shaking my head. “But anyway, apology accepted.”
Lifting my eyes to her, I give her a weak smile.
“Don’t think you can pull shit like that again. I’m not some walkover.” She purses her lips and Nora and Anaïs are clapping and cheering.
“There is something wrong with you two.” I laugh, the tension in my shoulders is slowly dispersing. “Could I maybe take you for coffee, or lunch…” I trail off, running my hand under my chin.
“Tomorrow?” Athena asks.
I look to Nora.
“This weekend is pretty clear, so get all your socialising out of the way now because you’re going to be a busy boy, Royce Lexington.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I smirk, then avert my attention back to Athena.
“Tomorrow then, pick me up at noon?” she asks me.
Anaïs and Nora sit there like proud parents. I don’t get them. They’re thick as thieves. Best of friends. Yet they open their arms to any newcomer and make them feel at home.
“Okay, it’s a date.” Panic wraps around my throat, my skin pricking with sweat as I laugh nervously. “Not a date, like that.” I chuckle again and they all just stare at me. “Not that I wouldn’t want to date you, but I mean, it’s just not a date,date.” I hook my finger in the thick neck of my tee and pull it from my neck. “I’m just gonna…”
I trail off and flick my eyes back to Athena. Her curly black hair is in a loose bun, strands framing her heart shape face, amber eyes glued to mine. Her cheeks are pretty pink. I’ve embarrassed her. Fuck.
I turn on my heel and bolt out of there like a bat out of hell feeling like a complete wanker. Dug my own hole, again. Fuck’s sake.
Slamming their hotel room door, I pace down the hallway and call Dane, my personal trainer; I need out. Need to occupy my brain and stop thinking about Athena and how I just royally fucked that up.
I’m sittingin the sauna after a brutal work out, and Dane keeps eyeing me.
“Stop looking at me,” I grunt, my eyes firmly closed.
“I’m not,” he lies.
“I can feel you looking at me.”
“Your Spidey senses are well off,” he quips and my lips break into a smile. “Feel better?” he asks after a beat or two of silence.
“Think so.” It’s not a lie, but it’s not the truth, either.
I feel an ache in my gut. I disappointed all of those women in that room and I didn’t like that. I am an asshole at times, more so towards the team and racing, but never to Nora and Anaïs. They copped it when I made that stupid comment about Athena.
It was cruel, and I’m not cruel. Not really.
“Wanna talk about it?”
