Page 24 of Shattered Rhythm

“Great, since you’re all here, we can go now,” Chris says before grabbing her bag and coming around the desk.

“Where are you guys going?” Chase asks while I watch Jaxon scan my legs, his eyebrows pulling together as questions shine in his eyes. I step to Chris and hook my arm in hers.

“We’re going out to do girly stuff,” I smile. Ryder laughs and looks at Chris.

“Youare going out to do girly stuff? Did she bribe you?” he asks. My head snaps to Chris, and I look at her with concern.

“Did I force you into this?” I let go of her arm, but she just hooks hers with mine again.

“Of course, you didn’t. He’s being a jackass. Just because I don’t enjoy getting my nails done doesn’t mean I’m not down to go shopping and talk about boys with you any time.” She smiles at me, and I smile back, relieved.

“Boys? What boys?” Ryder asks.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Chris retorts, winking at him, then we head out, laughing at the baffled faces we leave behind.

As we approach my car, I notice Chris eyeing it with interest. I had left the top down, and she hands me her bag before getting into the passenger seat.

“Nice ride,” she compliments.

“Thanks,” I say, feeling proud.I do love my car.

“Can I control the music?” Chris asks, and I hand her my phone with the music app open.

“Have at it,” I say with a shrug. I’m not picky about music, so I don’t mind what she chooses.

As I walk back to the trunk of the car to put our bags away, I hear the first beats of “Maneater” by Nelly Furtado boom out of my sound system. I can’t help but make a face at her as I climb into the driver’s seat.

“Really?” I yell over the music, but she just laughs and pumps up the volume even higher for the chorus, belting out“She’s a maaaaaaneater”at the top of her lungs. I can’t keep a straight face any longer and burst out laughing. We’re both singing along to the song as I start the car and pull out of the parking lot.

* * *

Jaxon

As Liv and Chris exit the door, I turn to the guys.

“What happened to her knee?” I ask, but Ryder just shrugs.

“I don’t know, never saw it before,” River says.

“I saw it one time when she was dancing here late at night in just shorts,” Chase tells us, looking sheepish. “I don’t think that she saw me, so I didn’t mention it. I’m surprised she can dance the way she does with such an injury, but I noticed more than once that she’s in pain while doing it.”

“She dances here at night?” I bark at him.

“I don’t know, man. I just saw her twice, but I guess so, yeah,” Chase responds.

I feel a wave of anger and worry wash over me. Of course, we’re always open, but does she have to come here at night, all alone? We don’t have security for the customers.Fuck, I have to look into that.

We hear muffled music and laughter from outside, then the music gets even louder, so now we can clearly make out Nelly Furtado’s “Maneater.” I hear Chris yelling to the music and Liv laughing. Next, we see Liv’s green convertible fly by the glass door of the entrance. Chase chuckles, and I smile to myself. I don’t know how this friendship happened, but I fully support it. Chris could use a friend, and it looks like Liv needs one too.

“They’re going to be trouble,” River says, smiling fondly.

“They sure are,” Ryder agrees.

We all get back to work, so I sit behind the reception desk, scolding myself for not asking Liv about her medical history. I always do before I make a workout plan for a customer. It’s important to know about injuries or weaknesses to make sure not to overdo it in those areas, but with her, I’m unprofessional, and I know it.

Fuck.

Thinking about the way she whispered“Yes, sir”when I scolded her makes my dick hard, so I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I have to stop wanting her, but I can’t. Since I can’t walk around work with a boner, I focus on the scar I saw on her today, which goes from the top of her thigh to the middle of her shin. It looks like there has been more than one surgery to fix the problem, and it seems relatively fresh. It’s definitely not an old scar. For the rest of the day, I busy myself with workout plans that could benefit her and get her knee back into shape.

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