4
HAWK
I recognisedher the moment she stepped into the room. She'd changed. A lot. But I still knew the face, those blue eyes, her full lips. She was bigger in the breasts and smaller in the hips, but it was still her. You don't sit so close to someone for weeks on end, learning what you need to know to keep your dreams on track, and not know them. I owed her a big chunk of my career. Without her, I would have flunked out of high school. No university team would have touched me. From there, I went pro.
And here she was, in front of me, pretending she had no idea who I was. I played along for a while, but in the end, I couldn't hold back. Curiosity, amongst other things, wouldn’t let me.
"What's going on? I know you remember me, I saw it on your face when you walked in."
I hated it when people played games, but the girl—woman I knew wouldn't have done that without a reason. She was the most honest person I knew. Back then at least. The differences might not only be on the outside.
Her posture changed. She sat back, away from me. Her pouty mouth became a line.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She was quick enough to turn off the voice recording and hold her phone in her lap.
I arched an eyebrow at her. "I know when someone is faking it."
"Happens often?" she quipped. Her eyes snapped with something that wasn't there before; anger. No, maybe it was there already and I hadn't wanted to see it.
I smiled. A real smile. She wasn't the only one putting on an act. Frankly, it felt good to drop it.
"Only out in public," I replied with confidence. "In private, it's always real, andsatisfying."
I expected her to blush, but she didn't. Instead, she gave me an epic eye roll. Yeah, I guess I deserved that.
"Sure," she said sarcastically. She crossed her legs at her knees.
I stared. I admit it, she had longer legs than I remember. Smooth, soft-looking. They'd look perfect over my shoulders. Were her bigger breasts real? I tried to get a good look when she entered the room, but I couldn't tell.
I shook my head to clear it. "You didn't answer my question. Why did you pretend you didn't know me?"
"Why did you?" she shot back. "I had no reason to believe you did. It was a long time ago."
It was. And it wasn't. The fuzzy memories of high school came back in a rush that almost knocked the wind out of me. I lowered my arms and gripped the sides of the chair beside my thighs.
I lowered my face and closed my eyes for a few moments, gathering myself.
"Yeah, it was." I looked back up at her. Her blue eyes watched me intently. Were they always that colour? They weren't contacts, or she wouldn't be wearing glasses too. I guess theywere then. My mother used to have a painting of the ocean; it was almost that exact shade. Where was that painting now? I had no idea. Maybe Dad threw it out after…
Before I could say another word, she spoke.
"Why do you think I did it?" She gave me a challenging look beneath her long lashes.
I hissed in a silent breath through my teeth. "I don't know," I said. "Maybe you thought I would open up more if you acted like a groupie."
She snorted. Now there was the Becca I knew.
I rested an elbow on the arm of the chair and hid a smile by rubbing the stubble on my upper lip.
"If you were actually Hawkeye, it might not be an act," she said.
I couldn't hold back a grin now. "I can't believe you actually pretended not to know who the Hulk was."
She responded with a smirk. "I can't believe you think you have his physique."
Touché. "It sounds like you're the green one," I retorted. I puffed out my chest. It didn't hurt to remind her how fit I was. It took a lot of work to get this cut and I was proud of myself. The fact women seemed to like it was a bonus.
She barked a laugh. "Hardly."
