Jasmine and I walked the first block in silence. Several times, her shoulder bumped my forearm. Each time, she scooted back over to the right side of the sidewalk.
“Oops. Sorry,” she hiccuped. She stopped and turned to me. “So, remember when you and Hunter met Lilah and me? You were so nice, but then you weren’t. I didn’t know why you hated me, but now I feel like you like me. I had fun at the burger place and today, too. You do like me, right?”
Of course, I liked her.
She looked at the cars zooming up and down the street. “I said too much. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m not here to make friends, but, damn, we have to work together. You know? It would make being away from my home a lot easier if we could remain friends. Or friendly. I talk too much. Never mind. I’ll drop it.”
Should I tell her the truth about Nic’s desire to sabotage their findings? I doubted if Jasmine would remember the conversation. Instead, I looked at the ground, hoping that she thought my embarrassment was a consideration of her concerns.
I looked up the street. Hunter and Lilah were at the next block. Lilah’s head rested on Hunter’s forearm.
“Jasmine, we aren’t enemies. Not at all. I think you are an asset to Project Orion. The team loves you. The leadership team respects you. I respect you.”
A shy grin stretched across her face.
And like that, I was all in. I would be an ally, upfront and honest. No more pulling rank or sneak attacks at the behest of Nic. We stood there, staring at each other. I ached to kiss Jasmine’s plump mouth. I felt that she wanted it too. Confusion clouded her expression before she looked around.
“Lilah and Hunter are so far ahead. I guess we should catch up,” she said.
We resumed walking, but in silence, carefully, side-by-side up the three blocks until we reached the entrance of The Langham.
This time, I gathered her in my arms. The hug was incredible, her soft body melted against me. Her arms curled around my chest, and I pressed my nose into her hair, inhaling deeply. It had been a long time since I’d had a woman in my arms, and Jasmine felt like she was made for me. I wanted to kiss her. My fingers burned to grab her ass and draw her even closer. The world faded as the blood raced from my brain down to my cock. In three seconds, I would be hard as fuck. I didn’t care, I had Jasmine in my arms, and my world felt right.
The hug lasted longer than I would have ever imagined, and it only ended after she sniffed my chest and eased away from me.
“Clearly, I’ve had waayyy too much to drink.” She stared into my eyes then shook herself. “I better catch up with Lilah. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She sent me a small wave before she walked through the revolving glass door. I stood in place, staring at her departing back.
What just happened?
The next morning, Jasmine arrived over an hour later than her usual time. She bit her lip, stifling a smile, and plopped her bag on the conference table. She slid into her chair and rested her head in her hand.
I picked up my phone and turned my back to the window. Fingers flying across the screen, I typed out a message.
How are you?
Seconds later, her phone buzzed. She picked it up and walked over to the kitchenette.
I’ve seen better days.
Speaking of better days, Lilah walked into the room. Oversized black sunglasses framed her face. Hunter trailed in a few seconds later.
Not obvious. Not obvious at all.
“I am going to my office for coffee. Does anyone need Advil?” My voice boomed in the nearly silent room. Several people, Jasmine included, nodded.
I returned with a bottle of painkillers. I handed the Advil to Jasmine first. Our fingers accidentally brushed, blazing sparks.
“I hope you feel better.” I smiled down at her.
She poured two tablets from the bottle and passed it to Lilah.
I returned to my seat and texted again, my heart thumping loudly in my head.
Would you like to go out for dinner tonight?
She looked over at me, her eyes expressing confusion. Her fingers tapped against the screen of her phone.
I’d love to, but I have plans.
Questions sprinted through my head. What were her plans? Who was she meeting? A pang of regret filled my chest, I should have asked her out when we were at the HeidelBurger. Before diving deeper into the reasons for the decline, I left and ran to the neighboring gourmet grocer.
I returned to my office with a ribbon tied tower of imported chocolate bars and sent Lilah an instant message inviting her to stop by my office to chat.
Lilah arrived with a notepad and a copy of the project schedule. She wore what Hunter called “business on top and vixen on the bottom.” Lilah liked to wear stilettos and form-fitting skirts. Hunter had tried to act unaffected by the tiny temptress, but anyone with a pair of eyes could see that she’d wrapped him around her little finger.
“This isn’t work-related. Have a seat. Let’s talk.” I gestured to one of the empty chairs in front of my desk.
Her professional armor fell away. “What’s going on, Garrett?”
“I wanted to have a friend-to-friend conversation. I have chocolate,” I offered, thrusting the tower to her. “Have one.”
“Chocolate? Polite conversation? What do you want?”
“What do you and Jasmine have going on this evening?”
“I don’t have any plans with her.”
“Oh.”
“I’ll give you a hint, because I like you. Jasmine goes to one of the SpinCycle boutiques on Wednesday. I don’t understand why she would ever want to do that. I attended a class. I thought that I would die. In fact, I welcomed death.”
As Lilah continued her rant about exercise and group fitness, I leaned into my laptop and googled SpinCycle. Several locations popped up in downtown Chicago.
“Which center?”
“It depends on the playlist.”
Lilah opened a chocolate bar and took a bite, moaning appreciatively. “Mmm. This is delicious.”
“Don’t hold back. Take as many as you’d like.”
“You don’t look like you eat this crap.” She leaned in and whispered, “Garrett, Jasmine is my best friend, and I feel like I know her better than most people. She respects strength.”
She prattled on and on about Jasmine’s needs as I continued to search through tonight’s classes. I had to choose between a Hip Hop themed class at the River North studio and a Beyoncé versus Rihanna mashup in the Loop. Both classes began at 6:30 p.m. There was no way that I could stop by the two studios to check if she was there. If I were Jasmine, what would I do? I took my chance with the Beyoncé playlist. I made an appointment at the center and returned my attention to Lilah.
Jasmine
“Garrett! What are you doing here?”
My shock made the question come out louder and more enthusiastic than I liked. I’d attended classes at this studio for the last month, and I’d never run into him.
With a clenched jaw, Garrett walked over to where I stood, his eyes on me the entire time. I could see the rapid rise and fall of his chest. He was quiet and tense.
Troy and I were friendly workout rivals, each class we fought to the top of the leaderboard. He was a good-looking guy, and he had great teeth. We’d met for coffee three weeks ago, and I’d hoped for the same heat and intensity that we shared in the studio. The meetup ended without either of us mentioning another date. Yet, we always chatted when we ran into each other at the studio.