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It was the weirdest thing. It’s like even if his head could momentarily put it aside, something inside him was still feeling it. His heart? Nah, that’d be ridiculous. And he wasn’t about to spend another entire day dwelling on it either. But it gave him an idea.
“Tell you what.” He looked up as he put his shoes on. “Why don’t you come back tonight? We’ll continue where we left off—minus the booze.”
As expected, she smiled big and nodded immediately. “I can do that. I didn’t have any plans for tonight. Since I knew I’d be out late last night I didn’t think I’d feel up to it two nights in a row. But this is different. I can make you something. I’m an excellent cook, you know.”
That stopped Byron in his tracks and he almost let out a groan. He already knew no matter what she made him it wouldn’t even be close to Vannah’s cooking.
“What’s wrong?”
Glancing back at her after realizing he literally froze in place, he started up again. “I was uh, just trying to remember something.”
She smiled with a nod. “So, what should I make you?”
“Actually, I’ve been craving pizza. I’ll just order from Purgatory up the street. Haven’t had them in a while.”
Thankfully, she agreed without argument. Thelastthing he wanted was to spend the evening talking culinary shit. It was already exasperating as hell that he couldn’t get his mind offher.
Once Irma left, Byron went downstairs and got started on his day, determined to immerse himself in his work and keep his mind off of Vannah. He succeeded to for the most part. But he’d purposely asked Nine to schedule extra help that afternoon a few days ago, so he’d be free if Vannah was able to get the afternoon and evening off today.
When those guys came in for their shifts that would’ve relieved him had he made those plans, it was yet another reminder of what he was trying so hard not to think about. Even though he knew neither Beast, Nine, nor Orlando would’ve minded him staying on the clock when they were fully staffed for the afternoon, he called it a day.
Byron was in no mood to entertain Irma that early. They’d agreed on her stopping by any time after eight, so he still had plenty of time to sit around and dwell. He wasn’t having it, so he grabbed his gym bag and keys and headed out to 5thStreet. If anything, he’d work off some of the pent-up tension that way, then get back and work it off some more with Irma.
Rolling the kink he’d been feeling in his neck ever since seeing Vannah at the restaurant yesterday, Byron walked into the gym with a purpose. As much as his head kept telling him to move the fuck on and stop dwelling on this shit, a part of him was holding out and it was making him crazy. So, she clearly hadn’t felt as besotted with him as he’d been with her. But the fact remained she still hadn’t responded to his last text. If this really was her thing to be dating multiple people at once then wouldn’t her MO have been to respond with at least an,okay, maybe another day? They’d been glued to their phones going back and forth all dayeveryday for the past week. Now he makes one comment about spending time with another female, and she disappears? Something wasn’t adding up. Not that he was hoping she’d reach out. He still didn’t trust himself not to snap, and he didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of confirming just how much more she’d already begun to mean to him than he did to her.
Nine did a double take when he saw him and started toward him. “Hey man, you talked to your brother today?”
“No, not today.” Byron glanced down at his phone just in case he’d missed a call or text from him. “Why? What’s going on?”
“Nothing I just tried calling him earlier to ask about the part for that Cadillac. He said he knew a guy last week, but it’s been one thing after another and I’m having a hell of a time trying to land just the right piece. I had to come down to talk to Abel about a job I’m working on for him so I was hoping I might run into Beast.”
They stood there in the middle of the gym discussing the car Nine was talking about. They’d been at it for a few minutes when he heard it. That unmistakable giggle, then an all-out laugh. It’d only been a day since he’d been witness to the nauseating sight of her kissing another guy, and already his reaction to hearing the laughter had changed. It didn’t do what it normally did to him. Instead, he went instantly taut with utter irritation. Turning around to the direction it was coming from, his eyes zeroed in on her as she latched both arms around the guy she was walking with and continued to laugh.
“Iamnot!” she laughed leaning into him.
This guy was a new one. Not the meathead he’d seen her here with before. Though he hadn’t actually gotten a good look at the one she’d been kissing yesterday, he wouldn’t be surprised if that was a different guy too. He watched as the dude she was with now rolled his eyes but laughed shaking his head.
Byron’s feet were already moving before he could even think on it. With every heavy step he took, Byron reminded himself to keep his cool. He just needed to get what’d been on his mind all fucking day yesterday and today off his chest, but it’d be done without cussing or making a scene. Hecoulddo this.
Within seconds, he was in front of them blocking them from continuing to walk. Her reaction to his blocking her from walking was as expected, a bit startled. But also, andinfuriatinglysomewhat confused. As if she hadn’t acluewhy he might be standing there looking ready to spit. “I know you said you had friends but just how many of them? I was last week, there was King Taco dude yesterday, and now this?”
Byron glared at the guy whose brows had begun to furrow in question now too. He looked as young as her—maybe younger. But of course, given her stature he towered over her at nearly Byron’s height. As if sensing how ugly this could get, she placed her hand on the guy’s shoulder. Instead of diffusing the situation, it only heightened the tension because the dude looked ready to get in Byron’s face now. Clenching his fists, Byron stared him down with even more conviction, silently imploring the stupid fuck to make a move.
“Do I know you?”
Feeling his entire body flinch, Byron jerked his face away from the guy and in Vannah’s direction. She peered at him looking genuinely befuddled. As if his insides weren’t already onfire, Mrs. casual-dater-with-no-strings-attached was going to play this card to cover her ass?
He peered into those eyes. Despite what they did to him—this wasbullshit—he couldn’t believe how fast he’d gotten sucked in. “You’re fucking kidding me with this shit, right?”
