Page 68 of Only You
She glared, staring him down but he didn’t budge. He didn’t have much patience for her on a regular day, much less when they were two feet apart. Granted, she didn’t have much for him either but, thanks to Jack, they were stuck together for the rest of the day.
Reluctantly, she closed the door.
‘Jack usually takes me to his place,’ she answered. ‘That or the garage. Lately, he’s been taking me to the gym.’
‘And your house?’
‘Not an option,’ she said, being careful not to be too snippy with him. He still might kick her out.
‘I’ll take you to the gym,’ he decided, turning the car back on.
Neither of them spoke the rest of the ride, nor did they utter a word as they entered the gym. Demir set his practice bag in his usual corner and got to work. Crossing her arms, she sat on the stool in the corner of the room and looked around, noticing an office in the corner.
‘I’ll be right back.’ Demir nodded as she walked to the office. She knocked on the open door and the manager looked up from his desk as she put on her sweetest smile, cocking her hip out just enough. As expected, his eyes trailed down her curves.
Like clockwork, she thought, clearing her throat to bring his attention back to her face. ‘Do you have a phone?’ she asked with a playful smirk.
‘Y–Yeah back here,’ he stuttered, pointing to the table behind him.
‘Thanks, sugar.’ Walking past him, she made sure to keep the smile as she dialled the garage. She did her best to ignore the stare as the phone rang. Finally, someone answered, ‘Hello?’
‘Is this Jack?’ Selene asked sweetly. ‘Yeah, who’s this?’
‘Your wife, sweetheart,’ she said, an edge appearing in her voice, and she felt the manager’s eyes finally leave her.
‘Oh, Sel! Hey, I’m super busy, but I’ll be there in a couple of hours – wait, where are you?’ he asked quickly.
‘The gym,’ she said. ‘But Jack—’
‘Cool. Just do some homework or something til I get there. Love you.’
The line went dead, and Selene gripped the receiver, the urge to scream on the tip of her tongue.
Don’t lose it, she told herself.
‘I love you, too,’ she said to no one, hanging up the receiver. The manager was staring down at his ledger. Selene rolled her eyes and left. She returned to her seat, pulling out a textbook from her bag.
‘You okay?’ Demir asked suddenly.
Selene swallowed before looking at him. ‘Fine,’ she answered nonchalantly as she opened the book.
‘Where’s Jack?’
‘He said he’ll be here in a few hours.’
‘That’s it?’
‘Yep,’ she said through gritted teeth. Pulling out a pencil and notebook, she started studying. A moment later, Demir went back to practising.
Eventually, she felt herself start to relax, the rhythmic sound of fists hitting the punching bag steadying her. It felt like they were in their own separate worlds as she focused on anatomy, getting lost in her notes. She didn’t look up again until she heard someone rushing down the stairs.
Jack was practically gasping as he approached them, the barest hint of a limp showing as his knee became agitated. Usually, this would stop Selene cold, but today she didn’t care. Before either man could even greet the other, she slammed her book closed and stood.
‘Where were you?’ she demanded.
Jack barely looked at her. ‘Don’t worry, Sel,’ he dismissed before stepping around her. ‘Nice form, D. Just be careful when you switch your feet. You looked off-centre.’
‘What’s off-centre is your head,’ she snapped, blocking his path and crossing her arms. Jack stared at her in shock before looking around. Luckily, most of the boxers had gone home or this would have been a spectacle. Not that she really cared. When wasn’t she putting on a show?
