“Ouch.” Devon winces. “Sorry, man.” Ignoring him, I type back,I’ll make time whenever suits you. As long as it’s not during training.
“Hey, Jase, come over here!” Devon waves our other training buddy over, and I scowl at him in warning. I can already see he’s planning something, and I won’t like it. “You know anything about what Sydney is up to tonight that she’d blow off Gabe for?”
Jase shrugs one tattooed shoulder as he crosses to us. “Beats me, but I think Lena is going over to her place after work.”
Lena LaFontaine is Jase’s girlfriend. The newest member of our circle. A possibility occurs to me: is Sydney replacing me with a girl best friend? Lots of people say our friendship is unconventional, but she’s never seemed to mind that before. Perhaps with Lena around, things have changed.
The phone buzzes.
Sydney:Maybe in a couple days.
Frustrated, I drop it and run a hand through my hair. Hardly anything riles me, but she’s always been the key to unlocking my hotter emotions, and right now I want to hunt her down, shake her, and demand to know what’s going on.
Finally, I look up at Jase. From here, he towers over me, but if I stood, I’d be a couple inches taller than him. “Has Lena said what they’ve been doing together?”
There’s a gleam in his eye. One I don’t like.
“She’s experimenting with online dating. They set up an account for her yesterday and I think they’re getting together tonight to look over the candidates.”
I shoot to my feet. “What. The.Fuck.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I look down at him. “You’d better be fucking kidding me.”
He grins, his expression sly. “Can’t say I am.”
I mutter every Spanish curse word in my vocabulary, knowing Jase and Devon won’t understand a word of it.Hell. She’s blowing me off to browse for men online like she’s picking a date from a shopping catalog? Talk about insulting. Not to mention, why does she think she needs to go fishing for men online? She’s beautiful, and damned smart. With her killer figure and flawless complexion, she could have any guy she wanted, any time she wanted him. Do you know what kind of men approach women online? Predators, that’s who.
“She can’t do that,” I snap, knowing I sound crazy but unable to switch it off. She’s had this effect on me since I was twenty years old and barged into her dorm room while she was getting it on with some French douche from her anatomy class. I’d never been attracted to her before then, but ever since, images of her curvy, perfect body have tormented me. She’s the full package. And even though I can’t have her and I’ve always intended to step aside when she meets the right guy, I know that any bottom-feeder who thinks a dick pic is the key to her heart won’t be worthy of her.
“Does she know how many dangerous men are online?” I ask, stomping past Jase to unleash an almighty kick on one of the heavy bags. “They’ll look at her and see easy pickings. Hell no, this is not okay.”
I’ll find a way to stop her. I have to. For her own safety, not because I’m a jealous asshole.
Devon chortles. “Good luck breaking the news to her. Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but women don’t like being told what to do. Sydney has a mind of her own.”
“Don’t care.” I kick the bag again, and the thud is deeply satisfying. Especially when I can imagine I’m striking a faceless bastard who wants to get his hands on my Sydney. “She’s not doing it.”
My friends exchange a look, but I ignore them. They don’t know Sydney the way I do. I can talk her out of this. I can talk her out of anything.
Right?
3
Sydney
“What about this guy?” Lena opens a message from a guy named Jordan that says,Hey beautiful, want to get coffee?
It isn’t witty, but it’s also far less vulgar than some of the others I’ve received. The number of men who send lewd comments under the guise of jokes is outrageous. At least the ones who send dick pics are upfront about what they want and give me the chance to check out their goods, so to speak.
“Show me more,” I say, and she clicks on his profile. His photo fills the screen. Jordan is a handsome black man with a great smile and an adorable golden retriever. “Ooh, nice. He passes the first test.”
“He enjoys comedy shows, basketball, and long walks in the park with his best friend, Frankie,” Lena says in her television presenter voice. “That’s sweet. Do we like him?”
I study the short lines of text, wishing there was some way I could cut through the image he’s projecting and get right down to what he’s actually like. But if that ability existed, far fewer people would be divorced.
“He sounds nice.” Even to my own ears, I sound hesitant. “Yeah,” I add more confidently. “We like him.”
“Fantastic.” Lena navigates back to the messages and types in,Tomorrow?
I’m so glad she’s doing the hard work because I’d chicken out before hitting send whereas she doesn’t waver for a moment. I suppose it’s easier to be that way when it’s not her romantic life on the line. Two minutes later, I have a coffee date scheduled during my lunch hour tomorrow.
