Page 58 of King of Clubs

“You are going to be perpetually disappointed if you're hoping for a girlfriend who can cook and that includes making cocktails.”

“Girlfriend?” He murmured, his voice husky as he encased me against the bar, an arm on either side.

I didn’t answer, my eyes widening.

Why did I say girlfriend?Oh my god, look at me just saying what I want with all the confidence in the world.

Threading his fingers through my hair, he kissed the side of my mouth before his voice danced across my ear. “Would you like to be my girlfriend?”

I nodded shyly, my hands fidgeting with his belt buckle. There was no hang time to consider, not when he surrounded me like this. A compelling elixir of the very best of everything.

His smile split his face, and he kissed me deeply.

“I’ve never had a girlfriend. But I would like to change that – with you.”

Sebastian

Chapter Twenty-Three

“Bro,you’vegonesoft,this chick has you by the balls.” I growled as I punched into his pads harder, hoping like hell he dropped a mit and Iaccidentallyclocked him in the jaw.

I usually loved my Sunday boxing sessions with Cooper, especially because he always ensured we had the gym to ourselves, but today he was pissing me off. His questions about Marlee were at a speed matched only by his swift punches and I was in no mood to give him details.

“Don’t call herthis chick,” I huffed once I was finally finished my set.

It had been three days and fourteen hours since I saw her, and I missed her. I never missed anyone. Which was only adding to my rising irritation as the clock ticked away, expanding the length of time since I’d seen her.

Some small part of me thought if we slept together, I would no longer feel this enigmatic pull towards her. That I could shake her from my system. But it had become worse and when she referred to herself as my girlfriend, there was zero hang time. It felt right.

She was all I could think about, and I damn near saw her everywhere in my house, chasing the remnants of her scent on my sheets each night. These were all thoughts I would not be sharing with the idiot who was grinning at me from behind his upheld hands. I was already dealing with the strange looks from my cleaner, Georgia, who could not understand why I refused to let her touch my bed when normally I wanted the sheets done every couple of days.

“I have never seen you so hung up over a bird. Should I even ask if you two have –” I knew exactly where he was going and cut him off before he dared.

“Shut the fuck up, Coop. You’re talking too much today. Switch,” I said, ripping the gloves off and shoving them into his chest. He threw his head back laughing but held his hands up in surrender.

“Okay, okay, I won’t mention your girlfriend again,” he added, throwing that final little dig at me because he never had been able to let things go. But he didn’t realise how accurate he was and because of his smug grin, I chose not to confirm it for him.

“Hurry up, fool,” I snapped, and he finally stopped talking and started pounding into the pads again.

He was all smiles and charm most of the time, but he was also a strong, ruthless motherfucker. I would never tell him, bloke’s head was big enough, but if I wasn’t fully switched on when we sparred, he could easily knock me around.

Taking the opportunity to speak while he couldn’t respond, my favourite time to talk to him, I filled him in with the details Iwaswilling to share.

“I cooked dinner for her. She stayed the night. We had lunch at Nexus the other day. Haven’t seen her since but I’ve been busy at the club.” He stopped punching immediately, grabbing a sip of water before turning to face me, sweat pouring down his face.

“She stayed at your place again. About time. I’m happy for you, bro.” Using his sleeve, he wiped his forehead before he commenced punching again and I was happy that the topic was done. If only because I didn’t want to share anything else about her – even with someone I trusted emphatically. Having a girlfriend was unchartered waters for me and something I would be navigating as I went along. I was basically winging it and hoping she didn’t notice. The less people I had aware of that the better, although I suspected it wouldn’t be long before all the boys found out. I wasn’t completely daft and while I didn’t really like many people, I valued respect and loyalty above all else, but knowing what could and couldn’t be shared with Cooper, I was going off gut instinct alone.

“Oh, remember Clara? She moved out to the city recently. She is going to do some shifts at the bar.” While he didn’t confirm right away, I knew he would remember her from high school.

“Oh, yeah? Your mum is still hoping you two are going to get married, no doubt.” I sighed knowingly, taking the pads off my hands.

“Probably. Wasn’t interested then and not keen now. Happy to help her out and we can always do with an extra set of hands, but that’s it.”

“Hopefully she sees it the same way or it’s going to be high school all over again,” he breathed heavily. “I’m done with cardio, let’s hit the weights.”

Clara hadn’t changed. When we were kids, I’d often referred to her as a pocket rocket based on her tiny stature and unexpected confidence that seemed mismatched from someone so small.

She was still bottle blonde with long, artificial red nails only now she was wearing the Nexus uniform and standing behind my bar. I was surprised to find I was happy to see her as I headed over to greet her. She spun in my direction as I approached, and her face broke into a big smile.

---