Page 40 of What It Means To Be Found

Did she change her mind, and she doesn’t want to hook up with me anymore?

I frowned at that question. I knew she had the right to change her mind, but I couldn’t help but feel like I was punched in the stomach at the thought. Oddly enough, jerking off to risqué pictures of her wasn’t enough for me.

I wanted more.

How much more was yet to be determined.

“Hey,” Courtney snapped her fingers in my face, making me focus back on her again, “Were you even listening?”

I shook my head in the negative.

Sorry, Court, I’m too busy obsessing about Eloise Bane to listen to you talk about your wedding plans again.

“I was talking about Daddy James emailing Pat again,” Courtney repeated, making me frown. Why was he trying so hard to work with Courtney’s clinic? It was odd how excited he was about the discussion that was clearly an utter failure. I was staring at Eloise the entirety of the meeting, feeling the waves of unease come off her, but even I was socially aware enough to know that Courtney’s boss was not interested in partnering with us at all.

Why? I asked.

“I don’t know, I thought you might,” Courtney shrugged. I shook my head in the negative again. “That guy always gave me the ick, but he seemed worse than usual when he showed up.”

I frowned, How?

Courtney frowned, capping her water bottle before she explained, “Call it a woman’s intuition? I don’t know, the way he stared at Eloise made me pretty uncomfortable. And Eloise’s reaction to him didn’t ease my concerns.”

I halted whatever step I was making toward my bag and looked at Courtney pointedly.

Was Connor…into Eloise like that?

She was over a decade younger than him, or close to it.

…Which was just his type, if I remember correctly.

“Eloise was very obviously uncomfortable around him. Anyone could have picked up on that, but he didn’t seem to care at all.” I replayed the visit in my mind after Courtney’s words sank in. Eloise was very noticeably, pointedly uncomfortable the whole time. Courtney had explained that she wasn’t looking forward to Connor coming but didn’t explain why. Now that I thought about it, Eloise stiffened more whenever Connor reached out to shake her hand. He smiled at her and made very direct eye contact even though she avoided looking at him for too long.

What the fuck?

You’re right, I told Courtney, Now that I remember, he seemed happy to see Eloise.

“Ugh,” Courtney sighed, picking up her bag and leading the way to the mats we stretched on, “I hope she’s not the reason he wants to come back to the clinic.”

The thought made me sick to my stomach. Connor was annoying and sometimes acted like a douche, but I never expected him to be predatory. I didn’t think he was dumb enough to be predatory like that, but maybe he was socially unaware enough to not see how he was acting. Who knew?

Want me to talk to him? I asked Courtney. She quickly shook her head.

“No, as long as Pat keeps telling him we’re not interested, he shouldn’t have a reason to come back. Eloise has avoided him for this long, anyway.”

I halted, staring at Courtney until she noticed and looked my way. Why does she need to avoid Connor?

Courtney frowned a little, “…Oh, sometimes I forget that you weren’t there in LA when she told everyone.”

I shook my head, Did he hurt her? Anger was starting to simmer in my veins. I had no idea how Eloise and Connor became acquainted, but it didn’t matter. She was avoiding him, and that was enough of a red flag.

It also provided me with a little bit of relief that she “got the ick” from him just like Courtney did.

Courtney’s lips frowned again as she stared at me. “According to Eloise, no, he didn’t hurt her. They just hooked up a while back.”

That didn’t make me feel better.

Which really proved how much of an asshole I was. Whoever Eloise decided to spend time with was none of my business, but I couldn’t help the sour feeling in my stomach at the thought of Connor having an opportunity to be intimate with her like that. Did he realize how lucky he was? That he should really be kicking himself for blowing such an opportunity to the point where she wanted to avoid him completely?

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