“Because you women always have so many questions and want to know why for everything,” he said, as he came around the corner.
“You’re really outnumbered here, son,” Lina said.
“So… I’ll be taking my car, and you can use my truck,” Quinn said.
“Figures,” Callie said. “Gonna take Zay on a little speed trip, I bet.”
Chapter 21
A week had gone by since Callie arrived. We went to Lina’s several times, and Callie had come over here a couple of times. Lucy was getting bigger by the day and opened her eyes a couple of days ago. I’d gotten better at running—running longer and longer each day without being winded. We did most of our wrestling inside, as January brought colder days than last month.
We went for a long run this morning and then came inside. We pushed the chairs next to the kitchen counter, and I put Lucy in her little rolled blanket on the chair. He unrolled the mat onto the living room floor.
I kicked off my shoes, walked to the mat, and started bouncing on my feet. He was finishing his coffee, standing against the counter, staring intently at me. He walked onto the mat, kicking his shoes off and pulling his shirt over his head. I dropped my eyes. I enjoyed the view way too much—I couldn’t deny that he was attractive.
“Hold your shoulders back,” he said.
“I am…” I said as I rolled my shoulders back.
He curled his fingers toward me, beckoning me. I stepped forward, throwing a punch at his chest, and he shifted to the side, dodging me.
“You lean before you throw your punch. Anyone can see it coming,” he said.
“I don’t know how to fix that,” I said.
He walked behind me. “You need to rotate your hip, not lean your shoulder forward.”
He placed one hand on my right hip. “Throw a punch forward,” he said.
I threw a punch forward, and he squeezed my hip. “Rotate here.”
He stepped around in front of me, his hand still on my hip.
“Now, throw a punch, rotate where my hand is,” he said.
I threw a punch forward, and he leaned back, my fist only grazing him. He put his other hand on my shoulder.
“Again,” he said.
I punched forward as he pushed my shoulder back. The force pushing back made me stumble forward a little. We were inches away from each other. His light brown eyes stared at my dark brown eyes. He leaned forward another inch, and our lips were nearly touching. My heart started racing, I held my breath. I moved forward to kiss—No. We couldn’t do this. I stepped back quickly. My eyes widened at him, his eyes wide at me.
“We shouldn’t do that,” I whispered.
“Yeah…” he said.
I walked off the mat and went into the bathroom. I stood in front of the mirror and stared at myself. I turned on the cold water, cupped it into my hands, and splashed it on my face. I wanted to kiss him. So badly. No. I couldn’t like him like that.
He was a friend. He needed to stay a friend. Letting myself lose control was what got me into this situation. Letting my heart and stomach lead me. What did I want? It couldn’t be the guy who held me captive. I wasonlya friend to him, or at least that’s what I was telling myself. He leaned into me, too.Damn it,Zalayuh.
I splashed another handful of water onto my face. I walked out of the bathroom, and he wasn’t on the mat or inside anymore. I walked over to the mat and bounced around more, throwing out fake punches. I focused on rotating my hip and not my shoulder. It felt awkward, but after focusing on my hips and shoulders, it started to feel natural.
I stayed there for a good while, moving around and practicing my punches. Everything started to ache, so I called it quits. I checked on Lucy, and she was still sound asleep in the chair. I grabbed my things and went to the bathroom for a shower. Callie convinced Quinn to do a small bonfire that evening with some of their cousins. He hesitated, but Callie gave him a little pouty lip and said how he hadn’t gotten to really do much in six months with her. He didn’t give her an immediate answer, waiting until he asked me. I didn’t object because it didn’t feel like it was my place to do. This was his cabin, and she made a compelling argument.
After a few hours, Quinn came back inside. I wasn’t sure where he went, but his car was still in the driveway. I fed Lucy twice while he was gone. He didn’t say anything, going straight to the bathroom and taking a shower. I wasn’t sure what to say, or if I should say anything at all. He came out of the bathroom, and my breath hitched, staring at him.
“Do you still want to go to the city with me?” he asked.
“What about Lucy?” I asked.
