Page 21 of Your Sharpest Edge
“Yeah. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you, and I would hate if me being an uncalled-for asshole somehow got in the way of what could have been between us.” She paused before quicklyadding, “Not that there’s anything between us... I mean, aside from maybe being friends.”
Is this what friendship looked like? I had a few acquaintances among the guys, like Dirks, but it was never like this, even though he lived next door. With her, it was different. I liked having her around, but it wasn’t just in a casual, “let’s get pizza after practice” kind of way. I wanted to know everything about her—the way her mind worked, her drive to push further in her career, even down to the little things, like whether she preferred her breakfast sweet or savory. It wasn’t just her looks that drew me in, though those were impossible to ignore, it was her determination, the way she’d talk about her dreams, and how easily our conversations flowed. And God, whatever perfume she wore, I wanted to bottle it up and breathe it in forever.
Knowing what she went home to every night, I wanted to keep her safe. She gave me a connection I’d never had before, something real and genuine, beyond the surface-level friendships I’d known. The least I could do was offer her a space where she felt protected, where she knew she wasn’t alone.
We had an unspoken understanding—she’d share her story when she was ready. Despite her awful husband, I respected her marriage. She needed a friend, someone she could lean on without pressure, and I was determined to be that, putting her needs above my urge to fix everything for her.
“Definitely friends.” I shook my head. “I don’t have many?—”
“Same,” she sighed.
“But I think human connection isn’t always simple. Take my parents for example. I love my family.” I narrowed my eyes at her, dispelling her point earlier about my parents. “But that doesn’t mean I love what they do to each other and how that makes me feel.”
“I hear you,” she responded. “But how does that relate to our friendship?” she asked, pointing between us.
“Not sure much yet, but I like to think we aren’t linear either. I can be mad at you for what you said and think it was wrong, but then also spend the entire day at the gym trying to figure out how to see you again.” I shrugged and plucked the lastyout of the container.
“You spent the entire day . . .?” she asked.
“Ahhh, don’t listen to me. It was just a couple of hours.”
Her mouth dropped. “A couple of hours?!” She balked.
I shook my hand side-to-side, waving her off. “One.” I lied.
She stared as I slurped down more of the pineapple. There was another comfortable pause between us.
“What did you do today?” I asked.
She sighed. “I have a confession.”
I narrowed my eyes at her, confused, but she was smiling.
“I’ve been teaching kids how to skate after practice. I told Dimitri I have extra long practices, but instead I teach a couple kids lessons for an hour.” She leaned in and whispered, “They pay me.”
She looked so excited. I reached over and grabbed her thigh out of instinct. “I’m proud of you.”
She looked down at the physical touch, and I pulled away. There was a pregnant pause between us.
“Does it really taste like . . ..”
I looked in her direction, locking my gaze with her bright blue eyes.
“Like what?” I teased her, the corner of my mouth flipping into a smirk.
I knew exactly what she was going to ask, but I wanted to let her use her words first.
She scrunched her nose, and I watched the way the four little wrinkles appeared at the very tip of it. I laughed again because of her expression.
“Tell me, Anastasia,” I drawled out her name for effect, loving every second of making her uncomfortable.
We were even after this. She said something shitty last night, so tonight she got to shift awkwardly next to me as we talked about something as natural as a vagina.
“This is so crude.” Her hands went to hide her flushed cheeks.
“It’s natural.” I shrugged and then added a little moan as I finished eating the pineapple.
“Alex,” she shrieked, and then I grabbed the Tupperware from her lap, getting up and putting it on the counter.
