Page 8 of Tension

“You holdin’ my hand for this dick swab. Come on,” I said, dead serious. I was only here because of her.

She rolled her eyes, but came anyway; the weight of her hand in mine felt natural. It felt like she belonged to me. But I knew that was unrealistic. She had a lot to figure out, and I didn’t know if I was the right man to help her with that.

The test was quick. In and out. They’d call later with the results.

“That nurse was too much, and as a nurse myself she was very unprofessional," she muttered. “Flirting with you like I wasn’t sitting there. I'm sitting there in your clothes, smelling like your body wash, but she actin’ like I’m invisible.” She side-eyed me. “She was probably thinking, ‘This hoe done burned this fine man and his big dick. I could treat him better.’”

“She was flirting a little, as you said. I am fine with a big dick. But that judgment? That’s just your guilty conscience talking ‘cause you're hot down below,” I said, grinning at her.

“Don’t be jealous, Honeydew. I'm here with you, ain't I?”

I gave her my best smile, hoping it let her know she was exactly where I wanted her to be.

She pushed my shoulder, finally relaxing a little.

Her phone connected to the speakers; music filled the car, but not before I heard her stomach growl.

I didn’t say anything. Just pulled into her favorite drive-thru.

“You don’t have to be scared to eat around me,” I said, noticing she only ordered a large fry, a small Coke, and a bottle of water.

“I’m not scared. Just not that hungry.”

“Your stomach said you were hungry as hell. Don’t try to play me now.”

“That doesn’t mean I want to eat a lot. You, of all people, should know that, Mr. Fitness Instructor.”

“Wrong. I’m a competitor. I haven’t started training clients yet.”

“Yet?” she asked, suddenly interested.

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about slowing down on competitions and working more hands-on at my gyms. Just gotta get the licensing.”

Her head snapped toward me. “Wait… gyms? As in plural? Like… actual locations?”

“Yeah. Three so far. Thinking about opening one in your city, actually. Saint Cloud is on the come up. It’d be the first one I fully run on my own. The others I invested in early. That way, I always have a place to work out or a job if I want one.” I shrugged after revealing more than I expected.

“Oh, that’s impressive. If you're serious, there's this nice hotel called Escapes. I stayed there when I first moved to Saint Cloud for my traveling nurse job. I know Bloomfield is a good drive away, so you may want to find somewhere to stay while you get your business up and running. It was great for temporary living. But now I definitely need to look up your videos.” She grabbed her phone, eyes widening the more she scrolled.

I pretended not to watch, but I could tell she was impressed. I didn’t mind bragging, but I liked the way she looked at me too much. It felt too good.

I acted nonchalant as she watched my competition videos in awe.

We kept driving, and she was surprised I knew a lot of the music she played. Female rappers, country, pop, R&B, old school. I sang or rapped along with her. Neither of us sounded good, but we didn’t care.

Just before we reached her place, my phone rang.

It was the clinic.

“All negative,” the nurse said.

Chris exhaled.

“Listen, I know this is unprofessional⁠—”

Chris pushed the end-call button on my car’s screen before the nurse could finish.

I laughed, and she rolled her eyes.