“Who’ll never like you?” Emma asked, taking a seat in front of me with folded legs.
Fuck, I said that out loud.
Her smile widened. “Yeah, you did.”
Shit. That too.
Her eyebrow quirked and I stopped trying to have internal thoughts. I was clearly too exhausted to be trusted.
“That was a great class,” I told her, a splatter of sweat dripping off my forehead and landing against the already soaking mat.
She pursed her lips together as she smothered a smile. “I can tell you enjoyed it,” she giggled, pulling her legs up, wrapping her arms around them while looking at me.
It was as if she felt the need to protect herself from me. Which was theoppositeof what I wanted from her. I wanted her to feel safe with me. To be able to ask me for what she needed. Damn it. I was fucking everything up.
“Am I making you uncomfortable?” I asked her, broaching the silence between us.
She tilted her head to the side, so cute I wanted to kiss her, but I needed to control my impulses.
“Uncomfortable?” she asked, not judgmental or accusatory, just curious.
“By forcing you to be around me?” I asked, scratching the back of my neck where sweat was still dripping.
Her nose scrunched and she laughed, shaking her head.
“I’m not uncomfortable, per se. Just… confused,” she told me, hugging her legs tighter. I wondered if it was an anxious response.
My stomach churned at the thought that she didn’t feel safe.
“Aren’t you dating my friend Lin?” she asked me, and I stared at her, confused.
“Who?” I asked, and it was my turn to tilt my head at her.
“Lin,” she repeated, as if that would help me recognize who she was talking about. I kept staring at her, and she shook her head.
“You don’t remember your own girlfriend’s name?” she askedme, scrunching her nose and curling her lip. “That’s… ew.”
“I don’t have a girlfriend,” I told her, my muscles suddenly having a miraculous recovery so I could sit straighter. “Unless…” I cleared my throat, ducking my head and avoiding her eyes as I prepared myself for the most bold statement I’d ever made to her. “Unlessyou’dlike to be my girlfriend?”
When I finally gathered the courage to look at her again, her face was a mask of confusion.
“You’re dating Lin,” she said as if it was a statement and not a question. “The harpy that works in the Bureau with me.”
“Oh,her,” I laughed, shaking my head. “No, I’m definitely not dating her. I…” I rubbed the back of my neck before dropping my arm quickly in case I overwhelmed her with my sweaty scent. “I was trying to talk toyou,” I explained, offering her my best smile. “But you left before I got there. She was giving me some tips about how to… meet you.”
Heat swamped my face—which really didn’t help the sweating issue one bit. But my mate just sat there, her jaw dropped and her eyes wide with shock.
“You…youknewthat, right?” I asked, unable to comprehend how she couldn’t see that she was the one I was trying to woo this entire time.
She blinked at me for a few moments before she shook her head. “I… uh… I didn’t. I thought…” she trailed off before swallowing hard. “I guess I was wrong?”
“Was that—” I cut myself off before swallowing hard, keeping my shaking limbs from moving closer to her. “Was that why you didn’t want to talk to me?”
She looked away, her beautiful eyes darting to my right, licking her luscious lips before her gaze flittered back to me. “Yes,” she admitted, tucking her hair behind her ear.
I wanted to touch her. I wanted to hug her close. Two things stopped me. First, I wasn’t sure she was even ready for any ofthat and second, the neighbors could probably smell how gross I was based on how much I sweated during the class, so I couldn’t imagine how bad I would smell toher.
“I… I have to go,” she said, clearing her throat, but when she looked at me, it wasn’t with the same glare that she’d been wearing previously. “I’ll see you later?”
