“Fine, just stood up too quickly.”
She looks up at me through hooded lids, and I’m entranced, unable to look away—the way her tongue swipes over her bottom lip is so enticing. I dip my head lower, my mouth moving towards hers. The image of her arse as she turned around to go to the bathroom fills my mind.
Everything about her is alluring as she moves closer, my lips grazing the edge of her mouth, inching closer, ready to take her mouth with mine.
“Shit.” My phone ringing has us both moving apart.
I take a step back and retrieve my phone from my pocket, swiping the screen.
“Hey, man.”
“Where are you?”
Glancing at the clock, I notice the time.
“On my way,” I say before ending the call.
And then I grab my coat off the back of the chair and slip it on. “Sorry, I was meant to be training with Henry.”
I hear her bare feet following me down the distance of the hallway as I push my feet into my shoes.
When I straighten, I turn back and step into her space, giving her time to move, and when she doesn’t, I lower my face. Her eyes flutter closed as I grace her lips with a feather-light touch of mine before pulling back.
Bringing my palm to her cheek, I run the pad of my thumb over her lower lip, causing her to open her eyes.
Fuck, she’s beautiful.
“I’ll speak to you later, Tink.” And then I turn on my heels, pulling open the front door. Once I’m in the corridor, I look over and smile before heading downstairs. The sound of her front door clicking closed echoes behind me.
Once in my car, I start the engine, let it warm, and clear the frost off my windscreen.
I’ve crossed a line, and there’s no way I can play off my feelings as platonic, not now anyway.
* * *
Grabbing my gym bag from the boot, I jog up the metal staircase that leads to the gym, and Henry looks up, cocking a brow at my outfit.
“Late night?” he asks as I hold my fist to him as I pass.
“Something like that. Give me two minutes to change.”
When I join him, he holds out a protein shake and protein bar.
“Thanks.” I rip into the bar, eat it in three bites, and then down half the shake.
“Want to share about last night?” he asks.
Do I want to share?
I shake my head. “No, not yet. I don’t even know, myself,” I admit.
He smiles. “Fair enough, man. But I’m here if ever you want to talk.”
Finishing off my shake, I give him a slight nod of acknowledgement as I go to the bin to discard my rubbish.
And then I grab the sparring pads, pulling them on.
“Ready?”
