Page 16 of Love In The Air

Ha! See, she wasn’t a stalker. “Then why are you teaching here?”

“The owner is an old friend. One of the teachers called out sick and since she knew I was in town, she asked me to sub. Trying to save up as much as I can before the tour, you know?”

She did.

“I have a yoga app set up so I can still teach clients remotely on tour, but it won’t be like full time or anything so I’m taking any sub gig I can get before we leave.”

Made sense.

“Wanna grab some lunch?”

Wait, what? Chance wanted to go to lunch with her? Why? Was he going to poison her or something?

“I’m not trying to poison you,” he said with a heavy sigh.

She narrowed her gaze at him. “How did you know I was thinking that?”

“It’s you, Iz. You always think the worst of me.”

No she didn’t. She simply thought he was an arrogant ass who constantly told her what to do and stole everything she worked hard for.

Oh…crap maybe she did. A pinch of guilt wormed its way into her gut. Maybe it was time to give Chance a break.

“I don’t want to interrupt any class time.” Truthfully, she was still trying to work out if spending time with Chance outside the studio was a good idea. Lately her emotions around this man were all muddled and…strange.

“No worries, I have an hour and a half break until the next class.” He grinned down at her. “Think of it as another chance to practice our budding friendship.”

Budding fake friendship, but he had a point. The more time they spent trying to get along, the more they actually would, she supposed, and that was good for the show. And for her chances of staying in the show.

“Okay.” She pointed to him. “But you better put a shirt and shoes on or nowhere is going to serve us.”

They might be in Denver, hipster central, but health code standards still applied.

“Give me one minute.”

Chance disappeared into the studio, emerging exactly one minute later with a light grey, V-neck T-shirt on and a pair of flip-flops covering his feet. He locked the studio door, dropping the keys into the pocket of his pants and motioning to the sidewalk.

“Where are we eating?”

She shrugged. “I’m not picky.”

“I’ve been smelling this amazing bar-b-que all day. What do you say we check it out?”

She nodded, not sure if her earlier desire for the same place as him irritated her or helped in their friendship goals.

Fake friendship.

Yeah, they were supposed to be fake friends. Which begged the question; why did Chance seem like he wanted to make it a real friendship? Wariness rose within. What was his game?

Shit, Tori was right. She was too suspicious. Chance had zero reason for messing with her. They weren’t competing like they used to. They were both in the show. Both performing on the tour. He had no reason to sabotage her. Unless he was trying to get her kicked out, but that would make him look bad too, working against a fellow performer.

So why the hell was Chance trying to be so chummy with her?

Maybe he really wants to be my friend?

She choked down a laugh at the very thought. Chance O’Brien might want many things from Iz—her humiliation and pride being top among them—but she knew it would be a cold day in hell before he ever truly wanted to be her friend.

“I think I see it, just up there,” Chance said, pointing down the street.

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