Page 3 of Waiting to Love You

“Sure thing. Lead the way, darlin’,” I motion toward the glass door separating the waiting area from the main studio. She flashes me a tight smile before spinning on her heels and walking through the glass door.

“What the hell just happened?” Brady’s eyes are focused on her retreating form.

“I don’t know, but the temperature in the room dropped by a thousand degrees the minute Brady said you were his friend,” Riggs retorts, a confused look crossing his face.

“Do you and Bristol have something going on?” I growl, my fists tightening at my side.

“Calm down, Seth. Bristol and I are just friends, nothing more. What did you do to piss her off that quickly? You only said three words to her.”

Riggs and Brady are right. I highly doubt that I could have done anything, but there must be a reason for her sudden change in behavior. I just don’t understand why she would shut down so quickly after hearing Brady and I are friends. Does she have a thing for Brady he doesn’t know about? Is it because I’m in the military? No, that can’t be it, especially with how she reacted to Brady.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Bristol moving around the studio, laying four beige-colored yoga mats on the floor as she gets ready to start our class. “I’m not sure, but she doesn’t seem like she wants to talk about it right now.”

I take a step forward to enter the studio but feel someone tugging on my arm. I turn to find Walker eyeing me skeptically.

“What?”

“You need to tread lightly with her, Seth,” Walker warns as he releases my arm, his eyebrows pulled down in concern as he examines my face. “Bristol is Leia’s best friend from college, but…” he begins, but shakes his head. “Never mind, just be careful, okay?”

Walker strolls past me and into the studio, Riggs right on his heels. Brady gives me a slap on the back. “Don’t think too much about it. Talk to her and ask what her deal is, then we can proceed from there.”

My eyes instantly shift to Bristol again, a soft sigh escaping my lips, which causes Brady to laugh. “You’re hooked, aren’t you?”

I pause for a moment and consider what he just said. Am I hooked on a girl that I’ve never laid eyes on before today? I don’t know, but I do know one thing. If there’s one woman I would trade my little black book in for, it would be her.

I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts before shrugging my shoulders. “There’s just something about her that calls to me.”

“That’s always how it starts.” Brady squeezes my shoulder before shoving me softly toward the door. “Let’s make it through this class, then you can ask her if she wants to come to Crawdaddy’s with all of us.”

“Good plan,” I respond before walking through the door and taking a mat right next to Riggs.

Bristol is all business. She immediately shows us the right way to perform various stretching poses. Soft classical music plays in the background as she shows four grown men the right way to stand and stretch their muscles before finishing the class with a short meditation.

“Thank you for attending my class today. I hope you leave a little more relaxed than when you arrived,” Bristol says cheerfully as my eyes open and flick toward her.

She’s in the front of the room, her legs tucked beneath her, as she smiles brightly at Brady, Walker, and Riggs. The moment her eyes lock with mine, her smile disappears, and she pushes to her feet.

“You can leave the mats where they are. I need to wipe them down before putting them away,” Bristol says over her shoulder before disappearing into a small room tucked into the back corner of the studio.

“Seth can help you. Then you can meet the four of us at Crawdaddy’s to celebrate a successful class,” Brady shouts loud enough for her to hear him.

“That’s okay. I can handle it. Besides, I have plans to meet up with Leia after this, anyway.”

“Leia is meeting us there, too,” Walker pulls out his phone, winking in my direction. “Does an hour sound good?”

“Sure.” Bristol sighs as she comes strolling out of the room, a small spray bottle full of a clear liquid and a roll of paper towels in her hand. “That gives me enough time to shower and head over there.”

Walker says something to Brady before clapping him on the shoulder and striding through the open door.

“Since Seth is staying to help you clean up, I’m gonna catch a ride with Riggs and Walker.” Brady turns on his heels and hurries after Walker, likely afraid of getting left more than anything.

“See you two later.” Riggs winks in our direction before following the other two men out of the room. I hear the small bell above the door chime softly as they exit the building.

“Just spray this liquid on the mats and then wipe it off. I’m going to make sure everything is locked up before turning off the air. Shouldn’t take me too long.”

“No problem, darlin’,” I reply, with a little more twang in my voice than usual. I reach for the bottle, and my fingers brush against hers. Another zing of electricity shoots up my arm as Bristol’s cheeks turn a delicious shade of pink.

“There’s no need for any of this, Seth. I’m not interested in whatever it is you want,” she mutters, taking a step away from me.

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