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I rolled my eyes when I heard her very loud exclamation, “Oh, that’s the biggest gun I’ve ever seen.”
Was she kidding with that crap?
Infuriated, I could barely concentrate on my work. This was something I knew I needed to get used to. Cole was good-looking. Women were going to come on to him. I had to learn to deal with it.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You look a bit queasy,” I heard Simon say as he entered the studio.
I glanced up to see him leading a young woman toward me and she did indeed look very pale. She’d gotten her belly button pierced. Disappearing into the closet behind me where we’d put in a counter with a new coffeemaker we all could operate along with a fridge, I opened the latter and pulled out a piece of chocolate from my stash.
“Sha
I smiled at her and handed her some chocolate. “That might help.”
Her fingers trembled as she took it from me. “Thanks.”
After she paid I watched as Simon, ever the gentleman, walked her to the door. He offered to let her sit in our waiting area until she felt better, but she seemed adamant to get gone. Once the door shut behind her he turned to me with a sigh. “That reaction seemed to come out of nowhere. She’s got her nose and ears pierced and never had a problem with it.”
“She’ll be fine.”
Simon leaned over my desk. “Any chance I could nick a bit of chocolate?”
Gri
It was true for the last two weeks Cole and I had been a little preoccupied with each other. We’d moved into a new stage in our relationship, though, and admittedly we were both a little addicted. At least, I assumed Cole was as addicted as I was.
I frowned, thinking about the flirty, cocky brunette he was right now putting his ink on. “Drinks this Friday?”
“Not if it’s a cause for a
“Oh no, that’s not why.” I heaved a sigh and lowered my voice. “Cole’s customer might as well have stripped naked on the couch and offered herself to him. She’s getting a tattoo on her hip.”
Simon grimaced. “He gets that sometimes.”
“Why are some women so blatant? They don’t even think that he might have a girlfriend.”
Now my friend was gri
“You know, for someone so alpha you really are a gossip queen.”
“Don’t avoid the question.”
I hadn’t actually admitted to anyone other than Cole that we were in fact in a relationship. A
But I wasn’t wrong.
I wasn’t.
“Yes, I’m his girlfriend. Happy?”
Simon chuckled. “I’m sure Cole is.”
We were silent a moment, Simon scrutinizing me as I chewed my lip in thought. “Simon?”
“Yes?” he drawled.
“You’re gay.”
“You noticed that, did you?”
I smirked at his sarcasm. “Would you say you were particularly perceptive?”
“Because all gay men are clairvoyants?” He was smiling, so I knew he wasn’t offended.
“No . . . I just . . . I’ve always thought most women were more intuitive than most men, and I was just wondering if—”
“Being gay made me more intuitive?”
“It sounds terrible when you say it like that.”
“What? Like you’re generalizing a whole group of people because of their sexual orientation?” he teased.
I made a face. “Forget it.”
Simon tapped my nose with his finger. “Speak up, wee fairy. What’s on your mind?”
Glancing over my shoulder at the door to the back hallway, I took a deep breath. “What do you think he sees in me?”
He seemed taken aback by the question, as Simon’s inquisitive gaze searched mine. “Really?”
I shrugged. “You said it yourself . . . Cole’s hot. Beyond hot. And he’s talented and charismatic. He could have his choice of anyone.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Well, Cole told me all about how you two met when you were fifteen.”
“Yeah?”
“Can you remember it?”
I smiled softly. “Of course.”
“Do you remember feeling insecure then when he was talking to you? Did you ever ask yourself why a good-looking kid like him was interested in you?”
My brow knitted. I slumped toward Simon, my elbows on the counter, my chin resting on the palm of my hand. “No,” I said quietly. “I was always a bit self-conscious of my hair and height but . . . no. I was fairly confident when I was younger.”
“So why aren’t you now?”
Because of Ollie.
My hands curled into fists. “For no good reason at all.”
Simon covered one of my hands with his. “Good answer.”
I looked up and his expression was tender.
“You know your worth, Sha
I smiled gratefully. “You’re the shit, Simon.”
His eyebrows rose and he gri
I laughed at how happy a swearword made him. “We really are a weird bunch, aren’t we?”
He winked. “Wouldn’t want us any other way.”
* * *
The smell of chlorine hit me as I followed Cole into the sports center and a wave of nostalgia crashed over me. I had loved swimming when I was a kid. Every summer, during the school holidays, Logan would take Amanda and me to our local swimming pool once a week. Sometimes I managed to squeeze two trips a week out of him. My brother never abandoned us if his friends showed up, no matter how much he got teased for hanging out with his little sisters. He was always watching out for us, entertaining us.
“You okay?” Cole glanced back at me as we walked down a cream-colored tiled corridor.
“Yeah. I was just thinking if I wasn’t so curious to see you in class I could have gone swimming instead. I haven’t swum in ages.”
He gri
Cole had changed into his suit after work. It was a blue Adidas suit like Nate, Cam, and their companion wore, and Cole’s belt was also black. I didn’t know what any of the belt colors in the room meant, but I knew black belt was higher than the others in rank. Cole had given me a quick run-through in the car. Although my brain had been a little too preoccupied—with thoughts of Renee and women like her, the fact that my birthday was fast approaching and I still hadn’t heard from my family, the fact that I desperately wanted to visit Logan but knew he didn’t want to see me, and the fact that I felt guilty because Cole was making me happy while my brother rotted away in jail—to pay enough attention to remember.
It struck me that Logan would like Cole. I knew that without a doubt.
But then I threw Logan out of my thoughts because they were likely to pull me into a dark depression, and instead I looked up at my boyfriend.
Since martial arts were such a big part of Cole’s life, I’d gotten a little nosy. I wanted to see what it was all about. Cole became overenthusiastic about my nosiness, assuming that my interest was due to a desire to possibly start taking instruction. He’d suggested I observe a class to see if it was something I might like to try. I was happier with Cole thinking I was curious about martial arts rather than him realizing I was just a little Cole-obsessed right now.