Page 29 of Wild Blades

The suite door unlocks and Lola strides in looking like a breath of fresh air before the door shuts behind her.

“Only me. I have your dry cleaning. Thought you might want to wear it to… night.” She smiles as she enters my bedroom,noticing I already picked out a shirt. Bought it this afternoon, actually. First time I’ve been shopping for months.

“It’s new.” I pinch the fabric.

“I can see that.” Drawing an invisible line up my body. “That shade of black suits you.”

Her sarcasm doesn’t go unnoticed. “Spicier tonight, Ms. Ramsay.”

She rolls her eyes at me, which she often does.

Looking over at my friends, she waves casually. “Hey.”

“S’up.” They both greet her in sync, and I love how cool they are trying to play it.

Turning her back to them, Lola opens my wardrobe and then hangs up my dry cleaning.

“Thank you for doing that.” It’s weird having someone do things for you. It’s been six weeks and I’m still not accustomed to it.

Dismissing me with a gentle flick of her hand, she says, “Stop thanking me for everything. It’s my job.” Closing the wardrobe, she runs through a list of things she’s prepared, including food for the weekend, printed out my training schedule for next week, and a whole bunch of other stuff I trust her to have under control. I watch her cast her gaze around the room.

“No drinking tonight. Promise. Or I might have to sneak into the club every half hour and check up on you.”

“Promise,” I swear, and hold my hand up in a scout’s honor gesture.

Got to hand it to Marcus. Lola is efficient and nice to have around. Full of chatter and laughter, she’s a ball of fucking sunshine I didn’t think I needed. She’s fun, overshares way too much, and I know practically everything about her. Including how she’s allergic to shellfish, what her and her fiancé are having for dinner every night, and what season and episode they areon ofGrey’s Anatomy. Season ten, episode five, in case you’re wondering.

Scratching her head beneath the gray woolen hat she’s wearing with two huge white fluffy pom-poms on top that make her look like she has Minnie Mouse ears. Her brow dips in the middle. “I think that’s everything, is it?” She taps her finger against her bottom lip. “Oh, and Kali called with a couple of proposed dates for the test photoshoot with Calvin Klein. Pick one and she will book it. She needs to know pretty soon because she’s tagging along. Knows the photographer or something. It’s all on your desk. If you could look through those before Monday, that would be super helpful. And that is it.” Clasping her hands in front of her, she claps them together, then looks at my friends, who can’t take their eyes off her.

She’s pretty. I can see the appeal. She’s a fucking catch and a half.

Graham, that’s her fiancé, did well. Really well. Met him too. Cool guy. Owns a custom sneaker shop and resells retro and hard to buy kicks. Might go there tomorrow for a browse. Not that I need a pair, but I saw a pair of Virgil Abloh Converse on his website I could see myself wearing.

Graham’s a lucky man because Lola is like a super fiancée on steroids. The wedding they are having is all organized. Nothing left to do, and it’s in two years. Two fucking years’ time. Who knows what they are doing that far in advance? I’ve only just thought about what I might do on my day off tomorrow.

However, I’m glad Lola is in my life. She lifts every low mood I’ve been in. Doesn’t entertain mynot in the mood for talkingmoments or my need for quiet. Ignoring those days, she plays music when I don’t want to listen to it but then find myself humming along and then laughing at the ridiculous dancing she proceeds to perform. She even suggested we do a TikTok dance together. Fuck knows how she talked me into that shit, but it wasfun, and I laughed for what felt like the first time since hell froze over. Views went nuts and got her thousands of new followers. She also somehow managed to get me to spill the beans on my life. She knows where I grew up, who raised me, how I got drafted, she asked about my mom. Didn’t tell her much because she didn’t push. Might have though, if she did.

Don’t know how she does it, but she’s like magic or something.

Worryingly, I’ve caught her staring at me for moments longer than I like. I haven’t figured out if she’s still a bit starstruck or if she’s simply making sure I’m okay and reporting back to Marcus on my well-being. Only time will tell, I guess.

“So, what club are you off to this evening?” She looks between the three of us.

“Euphoria,” I answer because somehow Myles and Ezra seem to have lost their voices.

“Wow. That place is awesome. Been once.”

“I’ll get you and Graham VIP seats the next time.”

Eyeballs almost falling out of her sockets, she gawks at me. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

Unexpectedly, she bolts over to me, and I think she’s about to wrap herself around me, but then stops herself and awkwardly holds her hand out for me to shake. “Thank you.” She pumps my hand up and down and it’s way too formal and out of character for her. It’s weird. “Don’t listen to what anyone says. You’re a good man,” she says, quickly stepping back, and I don’t miss her glazed-looking eyes before she turns away from me and bolts for the door. “See you Monday.” She sniffs, but she doesn’t turn back. “Have a nice time tonight.” Then she’s gone.

What the hell was that all about?

She has a boyfriend.She doesn’t like me, does she? Oh, no. Is that why she stares?That can’t happen. I like her but don’t like her,like her. Not like that anyway.

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