Page 26 of Drawn to You
“What’re you thinking?” he grins. He’s finished his food, every bite of it.
“Nothing,” I say, sipping the orange juice to hide my flush.
“Look, Britt, about last night.” He clears his throat.
My heart caught in my throat. Oh no, he’s going to tell me he made a mistake and that he won’t do it again. He blurted out those passionate words on the spur of the moment. There won’t be every night. He doesn’t own me. I’m not his girl.
“Don’t worry about it,” I say quickly. I don’t want to hear the words that hurt. “I know you didn’t mean what you said. You lost control last night. We won’t be doing it again.”
He frowns and reaches to hold my hand. “You make me sound like a jerk, Britt. But that’s not what I’m about to say. What I want to say is, I like you, Britt. But I can’t promise you anything.”
My mouth opens. “You mean. We would do it again?”
He chuckles. “If you let me.”
I can’t hide my grin. “Of course, I would.”
“Are you sure?” he asks. “No strings attached, okay?”
I nod without thinking. “It’s fine with me.”
“Good,” he smiles.
Of course, I’m lying. I’m disappointed. No strings attached means I’m not his, and he isn’t mine. But then again, what more do I expect?
I take a deep breath and change the topic. “I’ve been searching online for marketing strategies that would work for our gym. We could probably run a competition and donate half of the entry fees to charity organizations. Since we have some celebrity clients, it’ll for sure get us media attention.”
He pauses briefly to register the new topic and then raises his eyebrows. “Not a bad idea. Better yet, we can find some sponsors and forget about the entry feeds. What about the prize?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Free classes or membership for the winners?”
He nods. “I like it. What else do you get?”
I pause for a moment. “We could also offer corporate discounts to nearby offices. Many corporates offer their employees fitness benefits, including paying for their gym membership fee. So we could give them discounts for group enrollments.”
Andrew looks skeptical. “I’m not sure about that, because I’m afraid our price isn’t competitive enough, comparing to places like LA Fitness or 24 Hour Fitness. We’re a private gym.”
“I see,” I say. “But it wouldn’t hurt to try, right? We could still attract people who prefer a small, private setting and are willing to pay for it.”
“Sure, but make sure you target the right places. Otherwise you’ll end up wasting time,” he advises. “We’ve made that mistake when we first started.”
“Okay.”
He leaves the table and goes back to his bedroom to get ready for work, and I remain in the kitchen to finish my breakfast.
A moment later, he reappears, in a t-shirt and jeans, his hair freshly styled and beard trimmed. “I’ve got to go,” he says, taking me into his arms and kissing me on my lips. I kiss him back right away, and soon we’re moaning into each other’s mouth. He pulls away finally, breathing hard. “Damn. Maybe we should ride together again.”
I giggle and let go of him. “We should.”
He opens the door to the garage. “I’ll see you at the gym.”
“Okay,” I say. Knowing he’ll get his coffee, I add, “Don’t flirt with Stephanie!”
“Yes, ma’am,” he says in a low, gruff voice that sends shivers down my spine.
I stand where I am after he closes the door behind him, feeling sad about the fact that he isn’t that serious about me, after all. I let a few drops of tear spill onto my face while cleaning the breakfast table, and then I push Andrew out of my mind.
I still have over three hours before I go to work, so I take my phone and sit in the yard to read. Of course, I can’t read because my mind is too overwhelmed with what’s between Andrew and me.
