Page 12 of Laws of Love
“You couldn’t have just allowed him to have that?”
“He can live in his delusion and spit nonsense to someone else,” Wolfe responded, coming out of the fridge with an armful of fruits.
Ezra had food spread out on the table, but Knox wasn’t surprised that his friend was deciding to bypass it.
“You know, you’re never going to make any friends with that attitude,” Knox teased him.
“I begrudgingly have you and Ezra. I don’t need more friends.”
“And Coen,” Knox added.
“I don’t like Coen. I just tolerate him because he’s Ezra’s little brother.”
Knox rolled his eyes. Because he remembered when Coen was being picked on in junior high, and Wolfe led the charge to scare the shit out of the kids that were doing so. Though now that he thought back on it, at nineteen and twenty, they shouldn’t have been going around frightening a group of thirteen-year-olds.
“Can you at least play nice when we go back in there?”
“No,” Wolfe responded immediately.
“Okay, then. I guess I’m just going to tell Yas, you won’t be coming to her gymnastic meets because you couldn’t be nice.”
Be nicewas what his daughter liked to tell Wolfe, and it was also the only time that his friend was something other than an asshole. That 10 percent. As much as Wolfe was adamant that he didn’t want children of his own, Knox couldn’t tell when he was around Yasmine. He was a good uncle, and Knox knew he was playing dirty. Using his daughter to get Wolfe to at least be civilized was a low blow, but sometimes, you had to do what you had to do.
“You wouldn’t.”
“I would, and she’ll be disappointed,” Knox responded with a smirk, even if there wouldn’t be any competitions for a while.
“I will not be nice, but as long as he doesn’t talk to me, I won’t need to remind him of his stupidity.”
Knox sighed. It was the best he would get, and he knew it. With a nod, he returned to the living room and over to Ezra’s bar, where Coen was standing. The younger man held a glass out to him, and Knox took it appreciatively. This was going to be a long night.
Aiva sat straight up in bed. A mixture of a moan and a gasp left her lips. It took her a moment to clear her mind of the haze from the dream she’d been having. It was her second time having one like it, and they’d both starred a particular client of hers.
Glancing over at the clock, she found it was a little after eight in the morning. She slid out of bed and headed into her en suite, the soaked seat of her panties sticking to her. She needed a cold shower, but her body demanded that things pick up where her dream left off, and Aiva wasn’t opposed to it. However, she knew she couldn’t.
Turning on the shower, Aiva stripped out of her t-shirt and panties before stepping under the cool spray of water. Her skin was heated from her dream, from the things Knox had done to her in those dreams, and Aiva couldn’t help but wonder if he’d be able to do them in real life. If the man lived up to the images and imaginings conjured by her mind.
Aiva shook her head as if it would physically remove the thoughts from it. She didn’t need to think about him in that way. It would only make working with him harder than it already was. While she could stay professional when they were face to face or speaking over the phone, the moment he left, the moment they hung up, Aiva wondered what that deep baritone would sound like in a different setting. How his lips and hands would feel.
It was maddening, and she would have chastised herself if she hadn’t known he was just as attracted to her. Aiva didn’t miss the way his eyes dropped to her lips when she spoke, the way they zeroed in on her waist whenever she stood to greet him. The way he’d lick his lips when she spoke to him. They were all subtle actions, as if he was trying not to allow them to happen and was unconsciously failing.
Once finished with her shower, Aiva stepped out, and wrapped a towel around herself. She didn’t have any plans for the day, which she knew could change later in the evening. After moisturizing, she dressed in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, leaving her bonnet on before going into the kitchen to fix herself some breakfast.
Aiva’s original plan had been to sleep in that Saturday morning. However, her dreams had other plans. So, she’d indulge in making herself a large breakfast and catching up on all of her recorded shows from the week.
Half an hour later, with her plate of French toast, eggs, and bacon; her bowl of mixed fruit, and a glass of orange juice, Aiva situated herself on the couch, queuing up the first episode of many she planned to watch.
Aiva sat on a loveseat in a lounge later that night. Meila had called her an hour and a half before coming to pick her up and telling her to be ready. Now, here she sat with her sister and Finx as the two of them scoped out the crowd of people.
“That woman’s been staring at you since we got here,” Aiva informed her sister, gesturing to a woman seated at the bar.
“I know,” Meila responded with a shrug, taking a sip of her drink. Her indifference let Aiva know she wouldn’t talk to the woman.
Several minutes ticked by, and Aiva was ready to go. She hadn’t really wanted to come out in the first place and would have been happy to finish watching her episodes. Especially, since she wasn’t looking for someone to pass time with or get to know as the other two were. It always seemed that Meila and Finx needed her to be their wing woman. It was simple enough for Finx because he had one type. Her sister, however, always liked to test Aiva’s abilities.
Depending on the person Meila was pursuing when they went out, Aiva had to change her tactics. The way she was when her sister wanted to make a move on a woman differed from Aiva’s approach to a man. Though, her sister being pansexual allowed Aiva to strengthen her own game since she was mastering so many approaches.
Aiva turned her attention to Finx as he stood, and she watched him approach a young woman, moving slowly to the soft music. He sidled up behind her, hands going to her waist as he pulled her back against him, catching her rhythm.
