my only two options?”
“Yeah. Hypothetical. If you had to choose.”
“Okay, then I’d choose the huge guy standing behind you.”
Surf and Douche spun round together just as Avery marched up behind them, chewing gum. He’d worked up a sweat over on the mats, and his eyes were fixed with that bugged-out glower he took a few minutes to shake after an intense bout of training. He looked ready to snap someone in half. “What’s going on here?”
Both boys greeted him with a quick, sheepish “Hey, boss. Nothing,” and slinked back to their treadmills.
“Were they annoying you?” he asked Rose.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” she said.
“But they were hitting on you, right? I saw Tony block you off.”
“Forget it.”
He eyed them threateningly. “I don’t want you getting mixed up with him.”
“Why not?”
He whipped her a stern, reprimanding look, as though he was an older brother who’d just heard his sister admit she wanted to have sex with his worst enemy. “Because you’re too good for him.”
“Okay. What about you?” It was the second time she’d asked him that today, and she wanted to see how long he’d keep deflecting what was so obvious between them.
For Christ’s sake, he just cock-blocked Tony because he wanted to keep me for himself. Could he be any more obvious?
“Just don’t get involved with these guys,” he said. “Keep it professional and they’ll respect you.”
She saluted him again, coldly this time to match his chilly advice. He narrowed his eyes a little, telling her he disapproved of her disapproval, then walked away.
Rose sighed. This was going to be harder than she’d expected, and not at all for the reasons she’d feared. No, the hard part was going to be keeping it professional between her and Avery. Because when a girl liked a boy and knew that he liked her in return, professional was all an act.
A much more difficult act than a girl pretending to be a boy.
It hurt her, deep inside, to know she’d be spending so much time with him, in such close proximity, and would have to somehow suppress feelings like these, feelings she’d never felt before, all because he wouldn’t admit he felt the same way.
She received a text message on her way back to the office. It was from Cate. But it wasn’t like any text message Cate had sent before, and as Rose read, the confusion already swirling around in her heart and in her mind grew to a sickly hurricane.
Rosie, plz don’t contact me or visit me ever again. This was the last time. There’s nothing u can say or do that won’t make things worse, so plz just stay away. I don’t want 2 see u anymore. Get on with ur life. Cate.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Rose had set herself a punishing pace for her morning run; climbing up the stairs to her flat, she felt it. The rubbery legs, the heavy shoulders, the wheezy huffs and puffs as she steadied herself on the banister. There had to be less agonizing ways to spend her day off. Well, half a day—she was due at the gym for the late shift this evening, but she couldn’t see herself staying behind later, even if she’d miss getting hot and sweaty with Avery. She’d overdone the training lately, trying to impress him, and this was the worst she’d felt in she-couldn’t-remember-how-long.
All she wanted to do was switch her rotating fan on, flop onto the bed, and sleep till her shift arrived. If only she didn’t have grocery shopping to do, laundry to wash, and gas and electric bills to pay. The downside of working multiple, long shifts in a row was that personal chores accumulated, busying any free time that one might have been looking forward to. Still, she couldn’t complain too much. On the contrary, she was lucky to have been given this second chance at Wright Hook’s. Things were clicking into place for her to achieve her goal of getting tough, rough,
“Yeah. Hypothetical. If you had to choose.”
“Okay, then I’d choose the huge guy standing behind you.”
Surf and Douche spun round together just as Avery marched up behind them, chewing gum. He’d worked up a sweat over on the mats, and his eyes were fixed with that bugged-out glower he took a few minutes to shake after an intense bout of training. He looked ready to snap someone in half. “What’s going on here?”
Both boys greeted him with a quick, sheepish “Hey, boss. Nothing,” and slinked back to their treadmills.
“Were they annoying you?” he asked Rose.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” she said.
“But they were hitting on you, right? I saw Tony block you off.”
“Forget it.”
He eyed them threateningly. “I don’t want you getting mixed up with him.”
“Why not?”
He whipped her a stern, reprimanding look, as though he was an older brother who’d just heard his sister admit she wanted to have sex with his worst enemy. “Because you’re too good for him.”
“Okay. What about you?” It was the second time she’d asked him that today, and she wanted to see how long he’d keep deflecting what was so obvious between them.
For Christ’s sake, he just cock-blocked Tony because he wanted to keep me for himself. Could he be any more obvious?
“Just don’t get involved with these guys,” he said. “Keep it professional and they’ll respect you.”
She saluted him again, coldly this time to match his chilly advice. He narrowed his eyes a little, telling her he disapproved of her disapproval, then walked away.
Rose sighed. This was going to be harder than she’d expected, and not at all for the reasons she’d feared. No, the hard part was going to be keeping it professional between her and Avery. Because when a girl liked a boy and knew that he liked her in return, professional was all an act.
A much more difficult act than a girl pretending to be a boy.
It hurt her, deep inside, to know she’d be spending so much time with him, in such close proximity, and would have to somehow suppress feelings like these, feelings she’d never felt before, all because he wouldn’t admit he felt the same way.
She received a text message on her way back to the office. It was from Cate. But it wasn’t like any text message Cate had sent before, and as Rose read, the confusion already swirling around in her heart and in her mind grew to a sickly hurricane.
Rosie, plz don’t contact me or visit me ever again. This was the last time. There’s nothing u can say or do that won’t make things worse, so plz just stay away. I don’t want 2 see u anymore. Get on with ur life. Cate.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Rose had set herself a punishing pace for her morning run; climbing up the stairs to her flat, she felt it. The rubbery legs, the heavy shoulders, the wheezy huffs and puffs as she steadied herself on the banister. There had to be less agonizing ways to spend her day off. Well, half a day—she was due at the gym for the late shift this evening, but she couldn’t see herself staying behind later, even if she’d miss getting hot and sweaty with Avery. She’d overdone the training lately, trying to impress him, and this was the worst she’d felt in she-couldn’t-remember-how-long.
All she wanted to do was switch her rotating fan on, flop onto the bed, and sleep till her shift arrived. If only she didn’t have grocery shopping to do, laundry to wash, and gas and electric bills to pay. The downside of working multiple, long shifts in a row was that personal chores accumulated, busying any free time that one might have been looking forward to. Still, she couldn’t complain too much. On the contrary, she was lucky to have been given this second chance at Wright Hook’s. Things were clicking into place for her to achieve her goal of getting tough, rough,
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