Page 36 of Burnout
“Too advanced?” He doesn’t look convinced.
“She’s right,” Hope says. “It’s harder than it looks.”
“Is that right?” He smiles at her, a real smile and not one that’s laced in indifference or flirty innuendos.
“This is my friend Hope,” I say, tipping my head toward her.
“Hey, Hope. I’m Knox. You’re pretty awesome. I saw you flipping off, spinning…I don’t know. Looked complicated.”
“Thanks. Avery has been helping me.” She is lit up with excitement at his words.
Knox keeps smiling at her. He’s so…polite and complimentary with her. My face must show my surprise because when he glances back at me, his expression shifts. “What?”
“Nothing.” I look away.
Hope watches Knox wrap his fingers around the rings. “You’re kind of old to start training to be a gymnast.”
I laugh, then bite down on my bottom lip to stop. “He’s not a gymnast.”
“Are you trying to get with Avery then?” she asks.
“Hope,” I admonish.
“What? It’s just a question.” She keeps on despite my face turning red. “This guy in my musical theater class joined just so he could get Anna Laurie to date him, and it worked.”
“He’s not here to date me, he’s training like Colter did with me and Quinn.”
She thinks about that for a second. “Colter’s dating Quinn, right? I thought him training with you guys was just an excuse to spend time with her.”
Well, crap. That’s at least partly true. “Yes, but that’s not what’s happening here.”
She addresses Knox. “Too bad. You’re hot, and Avery needs a new boyfriend. Her last one wasn’t as hot as you and he was a lying, cheating?—”
“Okay. That’s enough sharing.” I very deliberately avoid looking at Knox. I love that girl but she has got to learn how not to say every thought that pops into her head. Or I need to stop telling her stuff.
“Oh, there’s my dad. I gotta go.” She jumps down off the beam and waves at me, then Knox. “Hope to see you next time.”
She’s gone in a flash, leaving me to deal with her outburst. I glance over at Knox and find him smiling at me all smug-like.
“You’re not that hot, she’s just thirteen and you’re walking around without your shirt on,” I tell him.
He nods absently. “Is she talking about Tristan? The lying, cheating ex?”
“No. I told you Tristan and I didn’t go out.”
“Just an unsatisfying hookup.” That playful smirk gets bigger.
“A drunken mistake that’s never happening again,” I say more to myself than him.
“He was that bad?”
I sneak a peek at Tristan. Calling him bad seems unfair considering how drunk we both were. “I don’t think so. We were bad together.”
Knox’s stare slowly sweeps down and then back, giving me a very thorough once-over. “Princess, if it sucked, it was all on him.”
“So, same time tomorrow?” I ask on Thursday when our time is up. Four days we’ve trained together, and he’s seemed more frustrated each day. The only time he’s been pleasant is with Hope.
Today he barely said two words. He’s improved in every skill I’ve given him, and Hope has shared more tidbits that made me turn a hideous shade of red, but none of it has seemed to improve his mood.
