Page 41 of Quake
“Did you bag that hot personal trainer?” she asked, hitting the nail on the head.
“He’s a boxer,” I replied, rummaging around in my drawer for a box cutter. “He’s won a championship belt.”
“You didn’t!” Hayley exclaimed.
“Did she finally score with the hot boxer?” Dom asked, appearing out of thin air. Dumping his satchel on his desk, he leaned in close.
Never being one to kiss and tell, I covered my face in embarrassment. Seriously, I was never very free with talking to other people about this stuff. Not even Mel had the honor of awkward first kiss conversations when we were gangly teenagers, let alone all the other bits. These guys…well, they were free in a way I wasn’t.
“Spill, Jules,” Hayley said with a frustrated moan. “How was he?”
I crumpled under the weight of her puppy-dog eyes and began to smile like a fool. “Like a porno but with all the romance any woman could ever want.”
“I’m so fucking jealous!” Dom said with a pout. “No man ever rammed me and whispered romantic shit in my ear at the same time.”
A woman, who I recognized from an office down the hall, was walking by as the words left Dom’s mouth, and she glared over her glasses at us. We fell into silence as she passed, and as soon as she disappeared around the corner, we burst out into laughter.
“Did you see the look on her face?” Dom asked, wiping a tear away.
“Talking about ramming in an open-plan office isn’t exactly proper,” I said, surprised at how different I felt.
“If you’re done talking about penises ramming into things, come with me,” Jade declared, standing over us.
Everyone scrambled, leaving me sitting before my boss, my cheeks turning scarlet. Thankfully, her lips quirked in amusement as she crooked a finger at me. If anyone was more crass than Dom and Hayley, it was Jade Forsyth.
“So,” she proclaimed as we walked into her office. “Did the fighter you were Googling the other week finally ram you?”
I almost choked on my own spit, my reaction seeming to placate her.
“Good,” she said. “Now that’s out of the way, we can get down to business.”
16
Caleb
Beat was pumping today, and I was on cloud nine.
I was pretty sure it had to do with the fan-fucking-tastic night and morning with Juliette, but things were… Well, fluid. I didn’t care about the lingering problems with my parents, I couldn’t give a stuff about my career, and all my fears about the future? They’d dulled in the wake of last night.
All I wanted to do was spend time with her any way I could get it.
Standing in the middle of the studio, I watched as Mitch and Gaz worked on their sparring. Beside the ring, Franklin was working a ball, rolling his fists over and over keeping up the momentum at a pretty good pace. In the background, the radio hummed, pulsing some alternative rock song through the speakers.
Outside, the sun was shining, and the birds were tweeting. Damn, I felt good.
Movement in my peripheral vision drew my attention to the door, and I glanced over to find Tommy barging into the studio, a look of pure anger distorting his expression.Shit.Knew that good mood couldn’t last for long.
“You’re a hypocrite, mate,” he said, getting right up into my face.
Instantly, the last of my smile faded into obscurity. “Excuse me?”
“Dude, I saw you ramming your tongue down Juliette’s throat on the street this morning.”
I knew there would be trouble when the guys found out, but I’d disregarded it in favor of focusing all my attention on Juliette. I didn’t know what to say to pull him back into line. I was probably out of witticisms because there were none. I had gone after her, but it was different. I cared for her.
“There’s a difference,” I said, knowing how lame it sounded.
“There is no difference,” Tommy snapped. “You tore me a new asshole for showing interest, and once I was gone, you immediately went and bagged her. So I’ll say it again. You’re a fucking hypocrite,boss.”
