Page 11 of Passionate Hearts

Her mind was elsewhere. She wanted to know what River was thinking. Was River having a similar experience to her own? Brianna chastised herself. River was in a serious relationship, she wouldn’t be thinking anything about Brianna. Brianna lay down on the mat and enjoyed the soreness of her muscles. If nothing else the class had worn her out.

“On second thought I think I do want to sign up,” Brianna beamed.

“There would never be a better time for her to sign up.”

An hour later she was a new member. Here she went on a brand-new adventure. This would be one for the books.

Chapter 5

River had spent a considerable amount of time imagining Brianna in her workout gear, hot and sweaty as she lifted weights. She heard the familiar sounds of banging and clanging when Brianna finally arrived back home. With a tedious amount of care River got out of bed. She managed to navigate her trip into the kitchen carefully.

Brianna was cooking meat and eggs over the stove. She wore her sports bra and Adidas workout pants. River wanted to faint on the spot. Was there anything more sexy than a scantily clad woman cooking? There was if that woman was covered in muscles the way Brianna was.

“Oh hey. You want some?” Brianna asked with a wide smile.

That smile might be the death of River. There was something about it that made River want to smother it with her own lips.

“Please,” River managed to get the singular word out. She sat in a chair in the living room. It allowed her to keep Brianna in her line of sight. A guilty pleasure at this point.

Brianna’s muscles flexed as she flipped two strips of bacon over in the pan. River felt her core tighten. A bead of sweat rolled down Brianna’s neck and between her breasts. River wanted to moan. What was going on with her? Not once had the sight of Brianna in her sports bra had this effect on her before. Today, it made her weak in the knees.

Brianna brought a plate over with silverware and set it in front of River.

“Thanks,” River smiled.

“Of course. Anything for you,” Brianna smiled back. River felt a sudden flutter in her heart. This was ridiculous.

Brianna plated her own food and brought it to the living room. She sat in the chair adjacent to River’s.

“Have you heard any more from Tiff? Is she coming back over tonight?”

Brianna’s words shattered whatever spell had been holding River captive. That was right, she had a girlfriend. A serious girlfriend who had talked about rings and weddings last month.

“Not tonight,” River frowned.

She had texted back and forth with Tiffany trying to convince her to come over tonight. It shouldn’t be this hard toconvince her girlfriend to come over after a major accident. But Tiffany had been unyielding. Brianna frowned too.

“I’m sorry. I guess I expected her to want to stay with you more.”

River knew that Brianna didn’t mean the statement in a judgmental way. Still, she couldn’t help measuring Tiff’s actions to Brianna’s words. Any way she sliced it, Tiff had come up lacking since her accident. Meanwhile she had a gorgeous, half-dressed roommate with amazing muscles cooking her breakfast. It was hard not to make comparisons.

“It’s okay. I’m sure that Tiff’s busy with work. Plus, she knows that I have someone here to help me.”

Brianna nodded.

“Of course, you do. River, you have lots of friends that love and care for you. Any one of us would be here in a second to help you.”

Why did hearing Brianna use the wordfriendssuddenly so hurtful? That was the truth, she and Brianna were friends. Weren’t they?

“You’re right. I’m lucky to be surrounded by so many good people.”

“Oh hey, speaking of friends. I have to go into the office today. Willow is going to come over and work from my office area.”

River breathed a small sigh of relief. Willow was coming over. Which meant she’d have someone who she could open up to about her current predicament.

“You didn’t have to go through the trouble of finding a stand-in for me,” River laughed.

Brianna waved her off with a chuckle.

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