Page 106 of The Sidekick

What if that was it? No more chances?

The phone is ringing as I walk to the main desk to check my roster.

“Hello?” Her sweet voice washes over me, and I pause my stomping steps to take a deep breath. I may have only heard her speak once, but it’s engraved in my head. My body reacts like it’s trained to calm as soon as I hear it.

She sounds happy, and I can faintly hear people talking in the background. A voice calls out for someone to pick up an order. She’s eating?

“Hello?” She repeats with the smallest giggle. Why is she laughing? Who is she with?

Fuck. Is she on a date? Is she with Max? That fucker better not have skipped the text ban.

I clear my throat loudly and try to act professionally instead of demanding to know where she is. She doesn’t know me, damn it!

“Ms. Evans, this is Asher Broussard from Evergreen Gym calling. We were wondering if you had decided to -”

The three beeps of a call disconnected ring in my ear, and I pull the phone back with a frown. I tap her name again and listen as it rings several times before disconnecting again without the option to leave a message.

Fuck, I just got axed. She’s running.

When I ask to see my current roster, the guy behind the desk startles, staring at me as if he’s never seen me before.

“Dude, calm down. Is there a problem?”

I grit my teeth and pinch the bridge of my nose as I say, “Everything’s fine. I just want to see if anyone has dropped. One of my students hasn’t been in.”

“Meh, it happens, man.” Whatever look I give him as my hand drops makes him cringe. “Just a sec.”

He prints it out and hands it to me warily. Her name is still there, so she hasn’t dropped. I could easily find her at home to-

The thought sinks in, and I cringe. How fucking bad does that look? A guy she doesn’t know showing up at her house to drag her to class with him. Fuck! That’s as bad as taking her to my apartment and tying her to my bed. Tempting but entirely inappropriate.

Tone down the psycho, damn it.

The problem is that in my mind, she’s already mine. And thoughts of her break into my brain at the weirdest times. I want to wrap her up in blankets and snap at anyone who would try and talk to her.

Wait, Shade. I can grill him.

I see those fuckers tomorrow. I’m tempted to call one of them now, but I throttle it back and force myself to wait.

By the time they show up Wednesday, I’ve already got my gloves on and a permanent scowl that’s making people avoid me. I didn’t sleep last night, which makes matters worse. No matter what time I called, there was never an answer. I left my phone at home today so I wouldn’t be tempted to just keep calling because I’m weak and selfish where she’s concerned, hoping that by some miracle she’s unblocked my number. So much for Max being the pushy one.

I choke on my questions as they get ready for a sparring session. I get a few strange looks, but no one asks what my problem is. That’s ok. I’ll have my opening soon. I just need to get all of this tension out first. I’ve been so impatient for answers, and now I feel sick at what their responses might be.

I take them out one by one, taking the longest on Brody. He’s fast for a guy that big, but I’m faster.

“Bad day?” Blaze asks as he rubs his ribs with a wince.

I focus on unwrapping my hands and ask calmly, “Is your friend sick?”

I know she isn’t, but I don’t want to start yelling right away.

“Who?” Ira asks absently from his chair as he guzzles water.

“Ms. Evans,” I grind out and yank the tape hard enough to tear it.

The name grabs their attention, but I focus only on the tape, trying to keep my normal cool. It’s just out of reach right now.

“What do you mean?” The second twin looks over at Shade in confusion. The ‘silent assassin’ doesn’t look up from his glove. He’s frozen in the middle of taking it off as he listens.

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