Page 15 of Sunflower Persona
Bleach mixed with sweat stings at my nostrils. The unpleasant odor does wonders to settle my head. It’s a Pavlovian response. Nearly two decades of training will do that.
The calm doesn’t last—not when my dream woman is standing in the tiny lobby, chatting away with my most sane friend.Whatever she and Morgan are talking about has her fully animated, swinging her arms around in erratic patterns as she speaks. It’s so similar to the way Karis gets sometimes that a smile pulls at my lips. That is the only similarity between the women. My friend is a night alone in the frozen wilds, while Kori is a stroll through a garden on a mild summer’s day.
As Karis joins them at the front desk, Kori’s movements falter. The infectious smile fades from her face, and her spine stiffens. Karis either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care as she closes in like a shark circling its prey.
What the hell is that about?
My pace quickens while Kori shrinks in on herself. Best friend or not, I know exactly how much of an asshole Karis can be when she wants to be, and she has that gleam in her eye that means trouble.
“Hey, Kori. What are you doing here?”
Her panicked eyes snap to mine when I call out, and her whole body relaxes. The relieved smile that overtakes her features stirssomethingin my chest—an uncomfortable, pulsing ache. No one but the kids in my classes has ever looked so goddamned happy to see me.
“You remembered.”
“Of course. But that doesn’t answer my question.”
A rosy tint darkens her cheeks as she drops her eyes to the floor. “I-I’m, ah—”
“She’s your appointment,” Karis supplies.
She’s my appointment? There is no fucking way. Running into her a few times downtown is one thing, but for her to end up here without prompting is another altogether. I know I mentioned the gym, but not by name. This is either some cosmic intervention bullshit, or she’s stalking me. And she’s far too innocent for the second…I think.
“I didn’t know you had any interest in martial arts.”
More stunted ramblings fall from her plush lips as her gaze darts between my friends. Right. She freaked out the last time they were around too. Thank God Nathan isn’t in yet, or she might have run for the hills the second she got inside.
“Come on. Let me give you the tour.”
I wrap an arm around her waist and shepherd her away from the others. This close, a whiff of sweet perfume dances in my nose. Citrus—exactly the same as the flowers from my dream.
How the fuck did my sleep-deprived brain summon that one? If you had asked me this morning what she smelled like, I couldn’t have told you. I don’t exactly go around sniffing pretty women and committing their scents to memory. But that knowledge was there, buried deep down. Like a goddamn creep.
As we walk, the tease of her cleavage glows under the fluorescents, catching light with each shallow breath. Fucking hell, that is the last place I should be looking. I avert my gaze and focus my attention on showing her around. She is silent as I point out each of the mats, show her the tiny locker rooms, and lead her to the weight room in the back. It isn’t much, but I never said the tour was grand. In the room by ourselves, her breathing finally slows. Normally, this is when I would dive into my pitch to get her to join, but getting the sale is the last thing on my mind.
“What do you think?” I ask as I sit on the spare mat in the corner and motion for her to join me.
“It’s…um…very padded.” She plops down without grace and gestures to the foam around us.
A snort of laughter catches in my throat.
This girl has never stepped foot inside a martial arts gym. Hell, she probably doesn’t know what we do here. I betKarate Kidis the most exposure she’s ever had to something resembling the sport. She doesn’t strike me as the type who’s into UFC.
“Why are you here? How did you even find this place?”Why can’t I escape you?
The pitch of her voice rises as she lies, “I’ve always wanted to learn judo.”
“Jiu-jitsu.”
“Bless you.”
It’s a struggle to keep a straight face.
“No. Jiu-jitsu is what we teach, along with Muay Thai. Judo is a different sport altogether.”
“Oh.” She buries her face in her hands with a heavy sigh.
“Why are you here, Kori?”
