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I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I was there when you fell off the beam, and since then, I’ve seen your workouts. It looked like you hurt yourself. Um, Alexandru used to be my coach, too.”I’m well aware of his training techniques.
She kept her head down as she scrubbed her hands over and over again. “It’s nothing, really. Just strained my groin.” When she finally shut off the water, she reached for a towel and wouldn’t look at me. “It’s fine.”
I touched her shoulder. “If you ever need to talk, I’m here.” She looked at me like I was crazy, but I persisted. “I know how difficult it can be when you’re trying to recover from an injury and still doing a full workout. Sometimes the pain has nothing to do with the injury. Sometimes the ones who are supposed to help you cause the most pain. Believe me, I know.”
Her eyes started to water, and she drew a thumb and forefinger to the corner of her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I will.”
When I passed through the restaurant, guilt ate at me about Nicu’s standoffish behavior, and I stopped at his table. He took a pull from his cup, raising his eyebrow. “You need something?”
“Don’t be like that.”
“Like what?” He spread his arms out in question.
“Like you’re uncomfortable around me.”
“I’m not. I was just taken by surprise the other day.” He shook his head. “I thought about you a lot over the years.”
“I thought about you, too. I missed my best friend.”
“Best friend.” His mouth tightened and he scratched the back of his neck. “I guess when I saw you again, I didn’t consider you would be in a relationship.”
I touched his arm. “I don’t want things to be uncomfortable between us.”
He managed a small smile. “They’re not.”
“Still friends?” I peered at him with uncertainty.
He chuckled. “Still friends.” He pulled me into a hug and I sighed in relief.
When we parted, I bit my lip, contemplating my next words. “Can you watch out for Rebecca?”
“Yeah.” He ticked his chin.
“She needs your support. Just watch over her.” I knew no matter what, I could trust Nicu to be a good person and do the right thing.
“I will.”
Dmitri
I told her not to wear another bikini baring most of her ass. So, what did she do? Wore a fucking bikini baring most of her ass and a top that looked a size too small for her tits. Oh, and it was a nude color, so she basically appeared naked. She was going to pay for this. What did I expect? This girl liked to push my boundaries at every turn.
Sorina, Theo, and Kenzie were sitting on the loungers, taking turns rubbing sunscreen all over each other’s shoulders and backs. If anyone else from the team had been over here, they would’ve lapped this shit up like soft-core porn. By the way, where was Axel? He wasn’t in the living room or kitchen. I sighed in relief. Probably downstairs playing Madden or doing homework. Although Axel wanted everyone to think he didn’t give a shit about anything, he did take his schoolwork seriously.
Anyway, who cared? I went back to watching Sorina, who caught me, and I shook my head at her. “You will pay,” I said softly. The little tease smirked at me and untied the back of her top before dropping down on her stomach in the lounger.
“You wanna leave the girls alone, or are you gonna stand there and stare at them all day, creeper?” Roman passed by me on his way into the kitchen.
I scratched my chin and reluctantly drew my attention away from her. “Where’s Axel?”
“Downstairs with Nick, playing a high-stakes game of Madden.”
Of course, should’ve known.
“Do you find him a threat?”
I didn’t respond, but if I were being honest, I still did. Only because he was the only single fucker living in this house. Hell, I found everyone a threat lately. I hated that feeling. What did that make me? Not very evolved, and yet, that’s where I was at.
“Here.” Roman tossed me a bottle. “Come on. You can leave your ward alone for at least an hour or so. It’s just the girls.”
