Page 23 of One More Round

“Uh-huh.” She looks over her shoulder at me with a knowing smile and opens the front door to her apartment.

And dang it, my hiding is over because in walks Simon, followed by Link.

Wait. Did she say that Simon asked to come over?

It doesn’t matter though. Because he is here. And when Simon enters a room, he commands attention. He is not the kind of person that wants to be the center of attention, so it’s really strange that when he enters a room, all eyes are on him.

Well … OK, honestly, I wouldn’t know if all eyes are on him because I’ve only ever had eyes for him. And right now, his are on me. And he’s also sporting a knowing grin.

I make myself busy and pick up my phone, pretending to check emails.

Oh, well damn it, there is an email from my mom. Ugh. But I’m distracted when the couch next to me dips and I look up to see Simon sitting there.

“Hey,” he says.

He’s not sitting entirely close to me. But he usually stays as far away from me as possible. Much like the other night at The Bar, he is close enough for me to know that he still wears the same cologne from when I knew him all those years ago.

I will never forget it since I’m the one who bought him that first bottle. I might not have been his girlfriend back then, but one year he said he wanted cologne for Christmas. So, I delivered. The sweet and woodsy scent makes me weak in the knees. It's a good thing I’m sitting down now. I know it was part of my problem the other night. The mixture of his orange, rosemary, and musk blended well with my own favorite orange blossom scent.

But right now, the amused smile on his face catches me off guard.

“Hi,” I say, then look back at my phone.

Must. Remain. Unaffected.

He must take the hint because nothing follows my brush-off.

“So, what are we eating tonight? I thought chips and salsa sounded good.”

“I like the way you think, Lincoln,” Ruby chimes in.

Oh boy, they are on the same wavelength 80% of the time and refuse to acknowledge it.

“What’s funny?” Simon asks, looking over at me.

“Hmm?”

“You snorted.”

My cheeks start to heat with the realization.

“Oh, the two of them.” I nod toward where the two are bickering across the room. “They both said they wanted chips and salsa, but if I point it out, one or both of them will deny it or change their mind.” He chuckles low and deep and I feel tingles down too deep in my belly.

“Yeah, those two can’t decide if they want to rip each other’s heads off or tear each other’s clothes off. It’s quite comical,” he adds.

I just nod in agreement, while I force the unwanted feelings of desire for him away.

“I’m convinced that the clothes-tearing might have already happened, though,” Simon whispers, his focus still on them.

I snap my head to him.

“What?!” I croak.

I'm rewarded with the deep chuckle again, but he lowers his voice a bit more and pulls his gaze from them to me.

“Yeah, I haven’t pinpointed the exact time it happened, but something changed. I saw them trying to avoid each other one time at your apartment and it was noticeably awkward. They didn’t catch on that I witnessed it, but that’s when I started to pay attention. They seem to be back to normal now.”

“Huh,” I cock my head to the side. As I ponder this, I turn to look at the couple in question and realize that they have stopped talking and are gawking at me. Well, at us.

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