Page 31 of My Trainer Neighbor
And now here was Nicole.Driven, ambitious, with her whole life mapped out in careful detail.The same type as Sarah.The type who needed a man who could promise her forever.
The type I'd sworn off after Sarah nearly destroyed me.
So I'd kept it professional during our session, even though every accidental touch made me hard.Even though watching her bend and stretch in those tight leggings brought back vivid memories of how she'd looked spread out beneath me.
Even though I wanted to throw her down on the mat and remind her exactly who she belonged to.
But I was patient.I could wait for her to stop running from what we both knew was inevitable.
What I hadn't expected was for her to start avoiding me entirely.
It was Thursday now, and I'd barely seen her since Monday's workout.She'd canceled Wednesday's session with some excuse about a work emergency.When I'd knocked on her door Tuesday night with dinner, she'd claimed through the closed door that she wasn't feeling well.
She was hiding.From me.From what we'd shared.
And it was driving me out of my fucking mind because I knew exactly what she was doing.She was protecting herself.Building walls.Preparing for me to leave.
Because that's what I did.I left.
Sarah had been right about that too.
I was bench pressing more weight than I should have been, using the burn in my muscles to distract from the ache in my chest, when I heard her door slam.The sharp sound echoed through the thin walls, followed by what sounded like her throwing something.
I sat up, listening.Nicole didn't lose control.Ever.In all the weeks I'd known her, I'd never heard her so much as raise her voice.
Another crash, followed by what might have been a sob.
Fuck waiting for her to come to me.
I was at her door in thirty seconds, still in my workout clothes and dripping sweat.I knocked, then knocked again when she didn't answer.
"Nicole.Open the door."
"Go away, Shawn."
I could hear the tears in it.The woman who'd told me she never cried was crying, and every protective instinct I had roared to life.
"Not happening.Either you open this door or I'm using the spare key Mrs.Kowalski gave me for emergencies."
There was silence, then the sound of the deadbolt turning.The door opened just enough for me to see her face, and what I saw made my hands clench into fists.
Her eyes were red and swollen from crying.Her hair was a mess, like she'd been running her hands through it.She was still in her work clothes, but her blouse was wrinkled and her skirt was twisted.
She looked destroyed.
"What happened?"I pushed past her into the apartment before she could stop me.
Her usually immaculate living room looked like a tornado had hit it.Papers scattered across the floor.A broken picture frame by the wall.Her laptop bag overturned by the door.
"Nicole."I turned to face her, and she was hugging herself like she was trying to hold herself together."Talk to me."
"I don't want to talk."She moved toward her bedroom."I just want to be alone."
"Too bad."I caught her arm gently, stopping her retreat."You're upset, and I'm not leaving until you tell me why."
"You don't get to do that."She jerked away from me, and for the first time since I'd known her, there was real fire in her voice."You don't get to play concerned boyfriend when you're not my boyfriend."
The words stung more than they should have."Then what am I?"
