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Chapter Ten
Harris
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“So I was thinking.”I prop my shoulder against the door frame of the break room where Blue has her back to me, making herself a cup of coffee.
The sound of my voice causes her to jump. She spins around, her hand pressed flatly against her chest.
“Shit, Harris. You scared the crap out of me.”
“Sorry.” I grin, crossing the room toward her. “As I was saying, I was thinking maybe we could hang out tonight.”
“Hang out.” She plays the words on her lips like she’s speaking a different language.
“Yeah you know, spend some time together, maybe grab a bite to eat. Hang out.”
“Tonight doesn’t work for me,” she says, tearing open a packet of sweetener before emptying the white powdery substance into her coffee.
“Got a hot date or something?” I tease.
“Well,” she starts and my expression immediately falls. “Oh my god, I’m just messing with you.” She shoves my shoulder. “No, I don’t have a hot date. Unless you count the treadmill at the gym. In which case, yes, I have a very hot and sweaty date.”
“You’re blowing me off to work out?” I give her a questioning look.
“I’m not blowing you off. I work out every day after work. Well, as much as I can. Sometimes I have to skip, but I don’t do that unless I have no other choice.”
“Has anyone ever told you that you need to get a life?” I tease.
“I have a life.” She huffs, stirring her coffee before tossing the plastic spoon in the recycling bin. “I like my routines. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Fine. I’ll join you.”
“Huh?” She seems confused.
“At the gym. I’ll come with you.”
“No, that’s okay.”
“I wasn’t really giving you an option, Blue.” I knock my shoulder into hers. “I didn’t make it to the gym this morning. It’ll give me an excuse.”
“I won’t be productive if you’re there staring over my shoulder the entire time.” She lifts her cup to her lips and takes a tentative sip.
“I won’t stare over your shoulder.” I lean in and whisper, “I’ll be too busy staring at other parts of you.” I run my nose up the curl of her ear, feeling her shutter.
Satisfied that I’ve gotten the reaction I want, I straighten and turn, heading toward the door. “I’ll see you tonight,” I tell her without turning around, exiting the room before she has a chance to protest.
——
The day seems to dragon forever. Most of my afternoon is spent in meetings, none of which Blue was a part of, much to my disappointment. And every time I made an excuse to walk by her desk, she wasn’t there.
I have the sneaking suspicion she’s been avoiding me since this morning. That suspicion is only confirmed when I find out she left for the day without telling me.
Deciding I’m not going to let her get away that easy, I make my way to the parking lot and grab my duffle bag out of the car before making the short walk to the gym. When I step inside it’s busier than usual. Then again, other than last Friday, I’ve only been here a couple times and that was really early in the morning. As much as I miss the convenience of the gym where I live, I kind of like having an excuse to watch Blue, half naked and sweaty, as she runs.
I do a quick sweep of the room but don’t see her anywhere. Deciding to get changed, I step into the locker room and quickly swap out my button down and dark jeans for black gym shorts and a sleeveless blue shirt, which will likely come off less than halfway through my workout. I hate the feeling of my clothes sticking to me once I start to sweat.
When I emerge from the locker room, I make my way toward the treadmills, spotting Blue going to town on an elliptical. She has her earbuds in but that doesn’t stop her from hearing me when I step up and take the machine next to her.
