Page 79 of Take Two

“Not that. Do I stress you out?”

“Yeah, you do. At least recently. I don’t know what the hell got into you, Colt. If you had all these worries, then you should have pulled me aside and talked to me. Not try to control me. That’s never gonna work, but this isn’t about me. This is about the shit you said about Violet. I can handle you. Believe it or not, I get it. I get why you’d be worried, but I wish you had handled things differently.” I rub the bridge of my nose and sigh.

“I didn’t talk smack about her, but I’m sorry if I hurt her and you. I promise I’ll make it right.” He comes around to my side of the desk and puts a hand on my shoulder. “I don’t know how to stop worrying, Charlie, but Vickie says I need to figure it out. I don’t want to alienate you and Violet. I’m sorry for everything. Can you please forgive me so Mama and Vickie can stop being mad at me?”

“Only if you promise to stop acting like a jackass.”

“I never meant for her or you to hear that. I was only ventin' my worry, but I won’t project that on her. I realize that’s what I was doin’. From now on, I’m going to treat Violet how you treat my wife. I love that you and Vickie are friends, and I’m going to reciprocate, okay? And of course, we’ll look after her. Whatever you need.”

“You better or I’ll let her punch you next time.”

Chapter 42

Violet

I drop my head on my desk, and I hope I hit it hard enough to knock myself out, but that doesn’t happen. It’s been a shitty three days. From the moment my plane landed at LaGuardia, everything has gone wrong. Gym equipment broke down. There was a leak coming from the apartment above mine, and someone tried to break into the gym last night.The alarm was triggered, and they ran away, but I had to deal with the police and the security company.

The worst part is not having a tall body to go home to at night. There’s no hot meal waiting for me unless I prepare it myself, although Charlie did order takeout for me yesterday. The deliveryman was waiting for me when I got home, and it almost brought tears to my eyes.

That’s another thing that’s happened to me since Charlie. I cry all the damn time. I cried all the way to the airport and only got myself together to go through security. The moment I sat down in my seat on the plane, the tears returned and didn’t stop until I had to teach a spin class.

I took all my frustration out on that bike that afternoon. Sweat poured down my back and my legs screamed for mercy, but that escape was only temporary. The loneliness returned as soon as the endorphins wore off.

The texts and calls from Charlie only make it worse because I can sense his loneliness too.

“Life fucking sucks,” I say to myself.

“That doesn’t sound like someone who is happy and in love.” Terri barges into my office as if that’s a usual thing. If the circumstances were different, I’d ask her what the hell she’s doing here at almost eleven o’clock in the morning on a Wednesday, but I don’t. She’s dressed to work out though, which is surprising since she doesn’t belong to this gym, and she hates to work out.

“What?” I ask and drop my head on the desk again.

“How was Birmingham?” She plops herself down and when I look up, she’s sitting there expectantly. “Oh. I guess it was good and now you’re depressed because you miss your man.”

I don’t answer. We haven’t talked since I got her that hotel room weeks ago. I’ve talked to my mom, but she hasn’t mentioned anything, which I took as a good sign.

“What are you doing here, Terri?”

“I’m taking the cardio strength class that starts in ten minutes.” She looks at her watch, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “You offer a free class, so I’m taking this one.”

“Well, go. It fills up pretty fast.” I’m not just trying to get rid of her. That class is one of the most popular here.

“And then you’ll let me shower in your apartment. Afterward, we’ll have lunch together?”

“God dammit, Terri,” I say. “No. I’m not in the mood for this shit today.”

“Please. There’s so much I want to talk to you about. Give me one hour.”

I shake my head at her, but she sits there with her eyes wide and waiting. I put my hand to my forehead and imagine just going upstairs and going to bed, but I can’t do that.

There’s a knock on my office door before the receptionist walks in with a huge smile on her face. For one delusional moment, I convince myself that Charlie is here to surprise me even though I talked to him an hour ago and he was at the restaurant.

My day continues to spiral when Colt Chastain steps into my office holding a vase of yellow roses.

“Motherfucker,” I say under my breath. “Thanks, Shelly.” She grins and gives Chastain a high-five on her way out.

“Hi, Terri,” Colt says, and Terri’s mouth opens like a fish. “Good to see you again.”

“Um, hi,” she says. She stands and grabs her purse. “I’ll see you after the class, Violet.”

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