Her life will never be the same after this. She’ll have a hard time getting rid of me.
Chapter 8
Dakota
Apparently,nursingakillerhangover was the least of my problems this morning; my late-night ride turned out to be completely…unexpected.
Never had a man lingered in the back of my mind for as long as that stud of a cowboy; our single fuck playing on loop in my head like a broken record since leaving the bar.
Tiffany wore a shit-eating grin on her face the entire drive home, not even hesitating to note how I wasglowing with a sexual effervescenceand that I should definitely see him again.
I wasn’t one to deviate from the rules of a one-night stand, but… if we did cross paths, I could see myself taking him for another ride.
“Breakfast has arrived!” My bright and bubbly sister sang at the highest fucking pitch imaginable as she barged into the studio holding two smoothies in the air; my head now ringing in timewith the doorbell. “How’s that hangover treating you, D?” She innocently chuckled.
“Shut up, Tiff… You did this.” I groaned while aggressively rubbing my temples to stop the throbbing pain. I’d taken an ibuprofen before leaving the house, but it wasn’t kicking in fast enough, and her loud voice wasn’t helping.
“Well, good thing I come with a peace offering.” Tiffany held out one of the drinks, and I took her apology without further question, sucking down as much as I could in one long-held breath.
As the delicious mixture of coconut, pineapple, and strawberry mingled on my tongue, something else caught my attention, and I glanced down at my olive branch, assessing the branding on the cup before lifting my gaze to my sister, who was sipping on hers while glossing over a postcard.
“Where’d you get these?” I quizzed, realizing these weren’t her typical morning fruit smoothies from the juice bar down the street. “You hate protein shakes…” The strong aftertaste of whey alerted me to one of the two things she wasn’t telling me. Hopefully, she’d come clean with the other, or her‘sorry’will cost more than a shake.
“Across the street. The owner of a new dance studio was handing them out for their grand opening promotion, and I figured, why not?” A nonchalant shrug accompanied her words, and it set me off like a loaded shotgun.
“A new—”What the fuck?“Tiff!” I furiously pushed myself off the front desk, ignoring the sudden hit of vertigo as I stepped around the counter to confront her ignorant ass.
“What? Free is free?—Hey!”
“You dirty little traitor.A new dance studio?” I snatched the flyer from my sister’s hand, carefully enunciated each word, repeating what she’d said to confirm she was getting the whole fucking picture.
“I—uhh…” Tiffany curled in on herself like a turtle retracting into its shell for shelter.
“Un-fucking-believable…” I threw my hands in the air while blind rage consumed the remnants of my headache.
“It’s not that big of a deal, D. I’m sure you’re not—”
Unable to listen to Tiffany justify her reasoning, I took the information card along with my offensive shake and stormed off to find out just what kind of asshole had the nerve to open a studio directly across the street from mine.
This wasmygoddamn turf, and I’ll make sure this owner knows exactly whose toes they’re treading on.
Theirstudiowassonew that the sign above the main entrance hadn't even been installed yet; however, the obnoxiously large grand-opening banner and vinyl window decal were more than enough to tell me I had the right suite.
Vortex. What a dumb fucking name.
They were located directly across the street from mine; hard to fucking miss. I would’ve noticed this aggravating intruder beforeTiffany brought them to my attention, had I not shut all the blinds this morning to block the sunlight for my hangover.
To my surprise and fortunate luck, the studio just so happened to be empty, along with the doors left unlocked—not a soul in sight. So, being the nosy bitch I am, I entered and gave myself a grand tour of the enemy.
The space was newly renovated and immaculate. The smell of freshly polished hardwood floors and paint assaulted my senses upon entry. Every room was equipped with long ballet bars, pristine mirrored walls, and a state-of-the-art sound system.
Whoever established this place had money... Where my initial setup was slowly improving as I cycled my profits throughout the years, they were kicking things off like they were fucking Juilliard. This owner had everything—
“Ahem.” A rough throat cleared from behind me, and I rolled my eyes, knowing full well that I’d been caught by the owner; most likely ready to kick my ass out for trespassing—or whatever fucking excuse they could use to make me look bad, even though they brought this upon themselves.
With all the confidence in the universe, I pivoted on the spot, my arms crossed in a dominating stance that stalled the moment my eyes met those of my new rival.
“You?” My gasp morphed into a vicious snarl as my hot-as-fuck,shirtless, one-night stand’s lips curled into a playful smirk. I didn’t know whether to be turned on or furious to find that I’d fucked my own damnation last night.
