Page 88 of Rush

And here I am again, walking to his door to apologize. Only he isn’t waiting in the doorway for me this time.

Lifting my hand, I knock on his door and then wait.

The door swings open, but it isn’t Ares who answers; it’s Missy.

“Hey.” She smiles widely, like she’s genuinely happy to see me here. “How are you doing?”

“I’m…okay, I guess,” I say with a shrug and a small smile. “Is, um…Ares around?”

“He’s upstairs on the twelfth floor. He went for a swim.” My confused look has her saying, “There’s a gym and pool up there for residents to use.”

“Oh, okay. Well, I suppose I’ll go up there and see him. Wish me luck.”

“Luck? But you won’t need it.” She smiles and winks.

I’m taking that as a good sign, as she knows her brother better than anyone, and if he was through with me, I figured she’d know, right?

“Catch you later,” I tell her. Then, I turn to walk back to the elevator.

“You’re still coming to dinner tonight, right?” she asks, half-stepping out into the hallway.

I turn back to her, slowly walking backward. “I guess that depends on your brother.”

“Ari, you’re my friend. You’d be coming even if he didn’t want you there, which he totally does because the stubborn ass is crazy about you.”

Another shot of hope.

“Then, I’ll see you tonight,” I tell her on a smile.

I turn forward and walk over to the elevator. It opens as soon as I press the button. Guess it never went back down. I get in and press the button for the twelfth floor.

I exit the elevator and see the signs on the wall outside. Apparently, the gym and steam room are to the left. Pool to the right.

I follow the sign, coming to a door, and I push it open. It leads me straight into the pool area. There’s an Olympic-sized swimming pool in here. Glass windows are on either side, giving a beautiful view of the city.

And Ares is the only one in here, currently swimming a length away from me.

I kick off my heels and walk over to the pool where I wait for him to finish.

He hits the other end of the pool and stops, hand on the ledge, clearly taking a break.

I stand here, waiting for him to see me.

His head turns as he moves to return to his swim, and he finally sees me.

We hold eyes for a long beat.

I wonder if he’s going to swim over to me, but he doesn’t. He just stays there, the stubborn bastard. So, I swallow my pride and walk around the length of the pool to where he is.

I stop before him and stare down. Water droplets are clinging to his lashes and running down his face. His dark hair is slicked back with water.

God, he’s beautiful.

“Hi,” I say softly.

Hands holding the ledge, he looks up at me. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at work?”

Nice to see you, too.