Page 132 of Things We Hide from the Light
“That’s not the point.”
Stef looked at Nash again, then back to me. He smirked. “Like it or not, there’s something volcanic between you two. And I can’t wait to see which one of you explodes first.”
“You went on one date. You don’t get to pull the smug committed relationship thing on me.”
“Two dates. We had lunch yesterday. I’d love to stay here while you pretend you aren’t dying to get in Nash Morgan’s pants, but I’m meeting Jer for coffee. Don’t fight it too long. You might miss out on something pretty great.”
“Bite me, heart eyes.”
He headed off to the locker room and left me brooding by myself.
“Yo, BFFF!” Mrs. Tweedy sauntered up to me, a sweat towel slung around her neck. “Your face looks better.”
“Thanks,” I said dryly. My black eye was slowly fading to a sickly yellow green. In a few more days, I wouldn’t have to cover it with makeup anymore.
“You’re takin’ me grocery shopping today,” Mrs. Tweedy announced.
“I am?”
“Yep! Be ready in ten.” She slid the towel off her neck and snapped me in the butt with it.
Rubbing my abused ass cheek, I gathered my things. It was a good thing bad guys didn’t bother getting out of bed before noon, I supposed.
“Lina.” Nolan gave a head jerk, signaling for me to swing by.
I gave Nash a wide berth and joined Nolan in front of the mirror.
“What’s up?”
Nash walked past me to rerack his dumbbells, and I felt the disturbance of his proximity.
Our eyes met in the mirror and I deliberately looked away, not wanting to see what those troubled blue eyes held.
“Wanna go for a drink tonight after I put the kid to bed?” He hooked his thumb in Nash’s direction.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“Whether a drink is just a drink, seeing as how you just took my friend on a date.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’m not trying to get in your pants, Solavita.”
A drink with a friend who was a guy sounded like the only kind of social interaction I was up for. That meant no talkingabout feelings. No dealing with sexual tension. And no drunken gal pals to babysit.
“Then I’ll see you tonight.”
“It’s a date,” he said, then smirked.
“You’re such an ass,” I said with affection.
The temperature in the gym suddenly dropped twenty degrees. I realized that it wasn’t a problem with the HVAC. It was Nash standing next to me. We didn’t look at each other, didn’t touch, but my brain was sending out danger warnings like I’d just stumbled into the gorilla enclosure at the zoo.
“You gonna work something besides that mouth today?” he asked Nolan.
“Look, pal. You don’t need to get all pissy because I kicked your ass in the shoulder press,” Nolan said.
I had better things to do with my time than watch a bromance bloom. Like take an elderly bodybuilder to the grocery store.
