Bad Things (Tristan & Danika, #1)(24)

“Yes,” I said, mostly meaning it. I did feel more relaxed than I had.

“We working out?”

“Sure. Let me just tie my hair back, and grab my shoes. I’ll meet you there in a minute.”

He startled me by tipping my chin up with his finger.

I blinked at him.

“You look different.”

“What do you mean?”

He hummed low in his throat, and I about lost it. It was the sexiest noise I’d ever heard. “Fuck, Danika, I know that look. Were you taking your own version of a ‘shower’ in there?”

It took me a while to catch his meaning. My cheeks flushed red, but I was too stubborn not to meet his gaze squarely. I firmed my jaw, leaning away from his hand. “And what if I was? You think you’re the only one that needs a ‘shower’ every once in a while?”

He seemed taken aback by that. “No. I didn’t—I don’t think that. I’m sorry, you just caught me off guard. That’s…way too f*cking hot. Excuse me.” He turned around and started walking back down the hall.

“We still on for a workout?” I called to his back.

“Hell yes,” he called back.

I grinned.

I was jogging on the treadmill for a good forty-five minutes before he said another word.

He dropped down from doing a long round of pull-ups that I pretended I wasn’t counting.

He approached the front of my machine, studying my face.

“So, um,” he finally spoke, clearing his throat, “how often do you need to, uh, take a ‘shower’?”

I sent him an arch look, but my heart was pounding harder at his question. “Is this a friendly conversation?” I asked, breathing hard, from the workout, and the question.

He smiled his most troublesome smile. “We’re friends, aren’t we? Of course it’s friendly.”

“No funny business?”

“None at all. Just pretend I’m one of the girls.”

Unbidden, my gaze ran down his body. By sheer force of will, I returned my eyes to his face. One of the girls, my ass…

“I don’t need to do it often,” I admitted. “Nothing like what you need to do. I go weeks without needing to. Hell, sometimes I go months.”

He grimaced. “That can’t be healthy.”

I hitched my shoulder up in a shrug, keeping up my steady pace.

“Anything in particular that made you need a ‘shower’ today?” he asked, watching me closely.

I glared. “That is not a friendly question.”

He sighed heavily, turning away. “My bad,” he muttered, heading to the free weights.

We hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before, and I found myself laying down for a nap by early afternoon, since Jerry and the kids were still out and about.

I was just burrowing into the covers when there was a soft knock at my door.

“Yeah?” I called.

Tristan poked his head in. “Hey. I was going to take a short nap, too, before I go out. Mind if I stay in here with you, since the living room will be overrun by the kids pretty soon…”

I watched him. “No funny business?”

“No funny business,” he agreed. “I’ll stay on my side of the bed.”

I snuggled into my pillow, almost at peace with the fact that I could never seem to tell him no. “Okay. Night, Tristan.”

The bed moved as he climbed on the other side. I shivered as I felt him getting under the covers with me.

“Sweet dreams, boo,” he said quietly.

I smiled, my eyes drifting closed.

I woke up as my bathroom door opened. I blinked up at Tristan, who was fully dressed for his night out. He wore a crisp navy dress shirt with dark-washed jeans.

The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up; the collar unbuttoned enough to show a distracting amount of his throat.

“Aren’t you going to be hot?” I asked.

He grinned, approaching the bed. “Aren’t I, though?”

I rolled my eyes.

He startled me by bending over and placing a soft kiss on my forehead.

I gave him wide eyes as he straightened. “What was that?”

“That was a ‘have a nice night, friend’ kiss.”

I pursed my lips, sitting up. “Do you kiss Cory or Kenny on the forehead?”

He just smiled. “I would, if they were as gorgeous as you. I’ll see you later, boo. Have a nice night.”

“You too,” I told him as he walked out.





CHAPTER TEN





I started making snacks early for the girls’ night. Those bitches could eat. Everyone would show up, say they weren’t hungry, have two cocktails, and promptly pig out. I loved it, and I made sure we were prepared.

I prepared a mix of healthy and unhealthy comfort food. I made guacamole, but also put out some processed cheese dip that one of the girls loved. I put out plain tortilla chips, whole wheat pita chips, and plain old potato chips. I made pigs in a blanket, and baked some tater tots, but made sure I cut plenty of fresh vegetables. It was a diverse crowd of women that attended our girls’ night every week, and we tried to accommodate them all. One thing they all indulged in equally, though, was Bev’s cocktail of the week.