Page 68 of Finding Us
I bow my head, embarrassed that I just openly ogled him. “I’ve seen better,” I lie.
He gently clasps my chin between his forefinger and thumb, raising my face back to his. “When?” I just shrug because I don’t have an answer for that. “Have you been with other men since me?”
“No.”
“Good, keep it that way,” he says, releasing me. “Come, I’ll walk you out.”
When I was still lying with him in the bed, he invited me to stay over, but I said I couldn’t. I wanted to, but I think a clean break is best. The lines between us are already blurred, and the more we’re together like this, the harder it will be not to catch feelings. I already like this man way more than I should.
We both stop and turn to face each other when we reach the front door. There’s a brief awkward silence as we stand there and stare. “You sure you can’t stay?” he asks, raising his hand to tenderly skim his knuckle down the side of my face.
“Positive,” I answer, even though I’d love nothing more than to spend the night safe and snug wrapped in his arms.
“I guess I’ll see you Wednesday then.”
“You will.”
Neither of us make a move, and I can tell by the way he’s looking down at me that he wants to kiss me, but what we just did won’t be happening again, so one of us need to set some boundaries.
With that thought in mind, I take a step back and reach for the doorknob. “I should get going.”
“Good night, Red,” he says, grasping the edge of the door to hold it open.
“Night,” I reply, ducking under his outstretched arm.
I can feel his eyes on me as I walk down the corridor towards the lift, but I don’t turn around. My gaze remains forward even when I stop to press the button and wait.
When the doors finally open, I hear him call my name, “Hey, Red.” I turn my head in his direction and find him leaning against the doorjamb shirtless and looking all sexy. “Dream of me.”
That’s a given.
I narrow my eyes. “Not a chance in hell,” I say, stepping into the lift. I can still hear him laughing as the doors close behind me.
After pressing the number for my floor, I wrap my arms around myself. My heart feels heavy knowing I’m going to have to go back to pretending I hate him tomorrow.
Chapter19
Jacinta
“The room turned out great, didn’t it?” Brooke asks as we do a walk-through to take in the finished product. “I’m so happy with it.”
“It looks amazing. I can’t wait to get classes underway.” We already have a list of women eager to start.
Brooke ended up turning one of the rooms at the back of the studio into the pole room. It’s a large space behind the stage area that was previously used to store all the chairs and concert props. Logan, had a few large containers craned in and placed in the rear of the building to store all that stuff in.
Although the classes are mainly for fitness, Brooke still thought it was more practical to give us our own private space. She was also concerned that the smaller kids who attend her dance classes might hurt themselves by mucking around on the poles if they were in the main studio.
The room itself is huge, but the expansive cathedral ceilings make it seem much larger. Every inch has been painted a bright white, and the large wooden beams that run from one side of the wall to the other—installed to secure the metal poles—are stained a light oak to match the polished floorboards.
There’s floor-to-ceiling mirrors spanning the length of one wall, and twelve poles in total—two rows of six, each elevated on a small stage.
“When can I start my private lessons?” Brooke asks. “Logan is already talking about installing a pole in our bedroom at home.”
“Okay then,” I reply as my face heats up.
“TMI?”
“Just a little,” I answer, and we both laugh.
