Between Us 2 Read online

  “Come on baby, stay on your toes,” she shouted to Bash before turning her attention back to me. “Tell me what happened and don’t leave anything out.”

  I was definitely going to leave some stuff out. Namely, Lo in the bathroom, and her mouth on mine--

  “Holy crap!” she squealed again, eyes wide. She slapped me with her open palm in the chest. “Shut. Up. You hooked up with her?” she asked in a stage whisper. “You’re on a date with another girl, Lo shows up and you hook up with her?”

  Either she was a frigging wizard or I clearly had to work on my poker face. I held up a hand. “Whoa, nobody said anything about hooking up with anyone. I just said she came--”

  “And then came again, am I right?” she asked with a guffaw. She held up her hand for a high five but lowered it with a shrug when I didn’t oblige her. Undeterred, she leaned in and tucked her feet under her bottom, settling in. “You should see the look on your face. It’s so obvious. You look like a kid caught with your hand in a cookie jar. This is hilarious.”

  “Har har,” I muttered. At least someone was getting some entertainment value from this soap opera. I looked back up just in time to see Bash unleash a lethal combination that had Olivia and I both leaping to our feet.

  “That’s it, bro! That’s the ticket,” I hollered, clapping my hands together in approval.

  “He looks good, doesn’t he?” she asked, her face going soft with love and hope as she watched my brother dip and move.

  “He looks great,” I agreed.

  “I think he’s got a great shot to win.”

  She sounded so confident, but the way she wrung her hands told a different story. I imagined she felt like I did. We had all the confidence in the world in Bash’s abilities, but there was no accounting for that one day where an opponent surprised you. Someone showed up with an axe to grind or more to lose, someone hungrier than you, just for the instant it took to tag you once, hard on the chin, and everything changed on a dime.

  “He’s going to win. We have to believe that, Liv. So he can believe that.”

  She nodded and blew out a shaky breath before facing me again. “You’re right. I’m just being a nervous Nelly.” A grin tugged at her lips and she tossed her dark hair over one shoulder. “Now back to you. You were telling me about how you saw Lola after your date with Dee.”

  “Funny enough, I saw Lola on my date with Dee,” I corrected. I’d never been the kind of guy to kiss and tell but she already knew and there was no point in denying it. Maybe she could make more sense of this than I could because I was flying blind here.

  “You bounder! You…cheeky rogue,” she said with an exaggerated gasp. “Sorry, I’ve been reading a lot of historical romances lately. But seriously, Reid. How did that happen?”

  “Well, I was with Dee at the restaurant and Lo showed up. She was dressed in disguise. A really bad disguise.”

  After spending countless hours, waking and sleeping, picturing her in my mind, the fact that she thought I wouldn’t recognize her was beyond ludicrous. The second I turned my head and caught sight of her mouth as she spoke to her waiter, I knew right down to my guts it was her, and I told Olivia as much.

  “After I said goodnight to Dee and walked her out, I went back into the restaurant and sat down across from Lola.”

  “She must’ve died,” Olivia said with a chuckle.

  “She was pretty stunned, yeah. Anyway, she ran off to the bathroom, embarrassed I guess. And I followed her. And then I kissed her. That was it, before someone came in.”

  “So…afterwards? What happened? When you told her you and Dee were just friends?”

  I rolled up the rest of my sandwich in the paper and lobbed it into a nearby garbage can. “I didn’t tell her that.”

  “What do you mean? Why not?”

  “Because she already told me she didn’t want to be with me and when I pressed, she basically shoved me off on another girl. Then, last night, she ran out of there like Cinderella after the ball. I think I’m going to give her some more time.”

  It had already worked once. Sort of. She did follow me to the restaurant to spy. She obviously cared.

  “That’s a stupid idea,” Olivia said flatly.

  “Why?”

  “Because she’s a runner. She’s afraid of a relationship and the more space you give her, the more room she has to run. Most times, when a person is afraid of commitment it’s because they’re scared of getting hurt. Something happened in their past that they don’t want to repeat. If she thinks you’re giving up on her, and moving on already, you might be doing exactly what the person who hurt her did.”

  She bent to tie her sneaker before straightening and meeting my gaze to continue.

  “I’m not saying to crowd her or anything, but don’t let her forget how good it is between you. You have to be in front of her. A constant reminder. At least every couple days, make sure she knows you haven’t changed your mind about her. And, for god’s sakes, tell her the truth about you and her friend. Letting her think you and Dee might go out again is only going to muck things up worse.”

  I let those words sink in for a few seconds and wondered if maybe she was right. As torn up as I was over this whole thing, was Lo at work right now just as torn up, wondering what was going on between me and Dee?

  “Are you in love, Reid?” Olivia’s expression grew serious as she studied me, like a bug under a microscope.

  The question made my stomach clench and I really didn’t want to answer it. I looked at my watch and swallowed a sigh of relief. “Ah, sorry. Lunchtime is over. Gotta get back. I have a class at two o’clock.”

  She rolled her eyes at me, but didn’t try to stop me when I stood. “I’ll let you off the hook for now, but don’t think I’m not going to get it out of you sooner or later.”

  I thanked her and called a quick goodbye to my brother, who paused long enough to wave a gloved hand before getting back to business.

  All in all, a productive lunch. I had a busy afternoon ahead of me and a lot to think about.

  Namely, how the hell to handle a girl who I was crazy about and who I was pretty sure was crazy about me, but was too scared to show it.

  The next two classes crawled by and I found myself glancing at the wall clock more often than I should’ve been. One more after this, and I’d be done for the day. Until then, my students deserved some focus.

  I threw myself into the remaining ten minutes of the class, and by the end of if, we were all sweating bullets.

  “You guys make sure you focus on your strikes for next week. I’m hoping to see some real improvement, okay?”

  The class nodded as a whole and dispersed, heading for the locker room as I swiped a towel over my damp face.

  “Hey,” a low voice called from the opposite side of the room.

  I looked up to see Lola standing there, looking gorgeous in a pair of worn jeans and a camisole top. Her hair was up in the loose bun she typically wore for work and her face was bare of make-up. She’d never looked better to me than she did at that moment.

  I tossed the towel aside and approached her as the last of the students trailed out the door.

  “Hey.”

  The need to keep walking until we were toe to toe and I could pull her into my arms was almost overwhelming but I managed to keep my hands at my side as I stopped a few feet in front of her.

  I swore to myself I wasn’t going to go too far the other way and push. All I was going to do was let her know that I was there. No matter how many times she tried to push me away, I was still going to be there. Until or unless she really meant it.

  Maybe that made me a straight up sucker, but something told me the waters ran deeper with Lola than even I knew, and Olivia was right. She was housing some deep-seated pain. I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t at least try to give her a chance to work through some of it knowing I would be there for her.

  Because what we had? Was good. She knew it. I knew it. Now we just had to cut through
the bullshit and focus on that.

  The fact that she was here was a great start.

  “I’m glad you stopped by. I wanted to talk to you.”

  She cocked her head and eyed me curiously before nodding. “Okay. But can I go first, though?”

  I’d gotten myself all geared up to lay it out there. Tell her the truth. That the cocky jerk who’d had sex with her in her dressing room and then walked away? And that guy who’d been playing games? That wasn’t me. Not really. Not with her.

  But her soft request threw me for a loop and I stared at her, my muscles tensed.

  “Yeah, sure,” I said finally.

  She flicked a glance at my face before looking away. “I wanted to apologize for last night. I don’t know what came over me.” She shook her head and let out a derisive chuckle. “It was like something took over my body. I couldn’t stand the thought of you out with her, and the next thing I knew I was dressed like some starlet in an old time private detective movie.”

  I was about to tell her it was okay, and that I wasn’t mad, but she pressed on without missing a beat.

  “But as wrong as it was, I wouldn’t change it.” She met my gaze boldly this time and took a step toward me, her face an open book now, telling a tale of heartache and need. “Because at the very least, it got me to see.”

  I straightened to stand tall as her words hit home.

  “Look, I’ve spent my life on the move because my whole childhood was spent watching my mother fade away until there was nothing left. She gave up everything, her dreams of traveling the world, of being a journalist, all of it, just to stay by my father’s side and be a mother.” She wet her lips and glanced away, lost in memories I couldn’t see. “He loved her, in his way, but it wasn’t enough. So every year, he’d promise that the next one they’d do it. He would let her get a part time job, or take her on a trip to Europe, or even just out of Kansas. And every year, it wasn’t the right time for her to work, and they never left Kansas.”

  She wrapped her arms around herself and continued with a sad smile.

  “I remember when I was ten, on her thirtieth birthday, he made another promise. I can’t even recall what it was anymore, but I’ll never forget her face. The light that came into her eyes all the times before just wasn’t there. And the worst part? She wasn’t even sad anymore. There was just…nothing.”

  She eyed me for a long moment before shaking her head.

  “It was like, even the hope was gone. This was her life. Stuck in an existence where her identity became nothing but him. She died two years ago, never having stepped one foot out of Masonville, Kansas. I love my dad, but fuck that. I swore I would never be like that. Not for anyone. All I ever wanted was to be free. To have a life of my own, with no attachments and the ability to do what I wanted when I wanted, unencumbered.” She let out a low laugh and shrugged. “And I had it. Left home at seventeen and made for the big city life, never staying in one place long enough to lose a piece of myself. I was happy. Until you came along and suddenly I was very aware of just how alone I felt.”

  Her voice warbled and she bit her trembling lip before continuing.

  “How had I not realized how sad climbing into a cold bed at night could be? How had I gone so long without feeling like I had someone I could count on?”

  She reached out a hand and laid it over my thrumming heart.

  “I don’t want you to go out with anybody else, Reid. I want you to go out with me. And I’m sorry I’ve been such an asshole and it took me so long to realize that. I can’t promise you forever. I have commitments in the fall in New York, so I can’t even promise you more than three months right now. But if you give me a chance, I promise I’ll do my best not to blow it.”

  The words I’d been working on all afternoon locked in my throat and I couldn’t squeeze them out. So I did the next best thing. I closed the gap between us and dragged her into my arms. She felt so fucking right. Soft and sweet and perfect. I slanted my mouth over hers and kissed her with every ounce of feeling I had roiling around inside me.

  Who knew how it would all turn out? New York wasn’t in my plans. And someone saying they wanted to work through their baggage and actually doing it were two different animals.

  But the fact that she was willing to try, for me?

  Meant everything right now.

  Her tongue stroked mine and all the emotions that were clouding my brain suddenly took a backseat to stone-cold lust.

  My hands had a mind of their own as they slid from her waist downward, to cup her ass.

  “Reid? Someone’s coming.”

  I thought back to Olivia’s joke and chuckled. “Not yet, but give me like three more minutes and--”

  She choked on a laugh and slapped my arm playfully. “I’m serious. I just heard the door open.”

  I laid my forehead against hers and groaned as reality laid down the cock block.

  “Shit. I have a five o’clock class,” I muttered and smacked one more kiss on her soft lips before stepping back until she was out of arm’s reach. “Look, I’m in. Me and you. I’m in and I want to talk more. What are you doing tonight?”

  “I’m working the late shift at the club.” She looked as miserable about that as I felt and I vowed then and there that, if she wanted out of that job, we would find a way to make it happen sooner than later.

  Until then, I was going to be as supportive as I could be about it. But damn, it wasn’t easy. Sit home and worry about how she was doing up there, or go and watch other guys drool over her?

  There was no contest. I was a big boy and I’d deal with my own petty jealousies. Being there for Lola was the priority.

  “I’ll come by. I can watch the show and then I’ll take you home.”

  The sounds of children’s voices echoed in the foyer, cutting the conversation short, but I could see the relief on her face.

  “I’d really like that. Maybe you can come to my place after for a movie and…”

  Her cheeks went that sexy rose color that made the blood rush to my cock. “Definitely. Absolutely.”

  She grinned and backed toward the door.

  “See you later.”

  I watched her go and, for once, didn’t feel my stomach clench with uncertainty. There was no question of never seeing her again, or calling and finding out she’d moved or any of the things that had been in the back of my mind since we’d met. She was in too, wholeheartedly.

  It felt like a ten-ton weight had been lifted off me, and I climbed up the steps to the boxing ring and did a backflip onto the gym floor like a fucking superhero.

  I grinned into the awe-filled faces of my incoming teenage students.

  “Who wants to learn how to kick some butt today?”

  Chapter Four

  Lola

  Work should’ve sucked the big one. Ever since the attack, it had been a point of misery for me. The thing I dreaded every day when I woke up. But when I looked out into the crowd and saw Reid sitting there, his eyes pinned on me like I was the only woman in the world? I had to admit, I didn’t hate it.

  There was an extra shimmy in my shake just for him, which he seemed to appreciate, if the heat in his eyes that scorched me to the core was any indicator. By the time I stepped off stage, I was breathless from the combination of exertion and the dark promises in Reid’s gaze.

  “Give me five minutes to change,” I murmured as I went out of my way to pass him on the way to the dressing room corridor.

  So strange how I’d imagined falling in…whatever this was I was feeling for Reid would make me weaker. I felt so strong. Like I could take on the world. And finally giving voice to my fears and recognizing what was holding me back was liberating. It was one A.M. but I was wide-awake and full of energy. Even my feet weren’t as sore as they usually were at the end of the night.

  I made short work of changing clothes and practically ran back out into the noisy club to find Reid waiting with a smile on his face.

  He took in my outfi
t—just a camisole top and a pair of old jeans—and stepped in to trail his fingers over my collarbone. “Is it wrong that you look just as sexy like this as you did up there to me?”

  Happiness bubbled up inside me and I shook my head. “Nope. It’s perfectly right.” I rolled up onto my tiptoes, and planted a kiss on his mouth, not caring if any of my workmates saw me or if they grilled me about my new boyfriend.

  It was a new day and I was a new Lola. Funny how almost losing someone gave you perspective on things.

  I laced my fingers with his and led him toward the exit and to the parking lot, feeling a little like a kid again.

  “I want to cook for you,” I blurted. The words even surprised me but I didn’t take them back.

  “Okay, but you know I’ve been to your house before, right?” He popped the car into drive and pulled onto the still-bustling Vegas Strip. “You have one pan. And…literally no other cooking utensils. In fact, your whole place is pretty much empty except for those dance posters you have stuck on the walls with tape. You have no family pictures or knickknacks.”

  “I have stuff,” I said, fidgeting with my seatbelt. “It’s in boxes in the spare room.” I just didn’t unpack it because that would mean I was staying.

  The words hung between us, unspoken, and I swallowed hard. That was the old Lola. The Lola who never fully unpacked. Who was afraid to settle in and settle down. If I unpacked a few boxes and invested in some paintings and maybe a houseplant or two, it didn’t mean I was resigning myself to a lifetime in Vegas or giving up on finding a way to bring ballet back into my life. It just meant that I was getting comfortable while Reid and I spent some time together to see if this could be something long term and real.

  I’d unpack a couple boxes for that.

  “We’ll have to make a trip, maybe tomorrow or the next day, and pick up a few things at the store. Tonight, you can help me unpack my kitchen boxes so I can cook for you.” I reached out a hand and squeezed his bicep, which he flexed on the spot. “Put some of this good muscle to work.”

  When he shot me a grin, the low-level sense of panic that had started at the mere mention of unpacking faded to black, leaving behind only excitement.