Down and Out(31)

His smirk has me glaring at him. “I’m . . . observing.” My mouth snaps shut as I realize how stupid that sounds.
“Observing, stalking. . . Same thing, bro.” He folds his hands behind his head and props his nasty-ass feet on my desk. “At this point I almost think you should bag her just to get it out of your system. Then maybe you can get rid of that dopey look on your face.”
Yeah, I don’t think that would help. I’ve already been inside her. All it’s done is stoke the fire, not put it out.
I glance back down at the papers spread out before me when Marcus opens his big, fat mouth. “Wait—have you already hit that? Is that why you’ve had this stupid look on your face all day?”
“Would you keep your voice down?” Scowling at him, I get up and close the door, trying to keep it from drifting out into the gym.
“You did, didn’t you?” He shakes his head. “I don’t get you, man. I don’t know why you even hired her in the first place. Seeing a pretty thing like that every day and not being able to touch her. . .” Biting his lip, he shakes his head again. “It’s just asking for trouble.”
Well, I’m a masochist, obviously. “I didn’t sleep with her,” I say, sinking back into my chair as I look out the window at Savannah again. “We had dinner and things . . . kinda got outta hand.”
His eyes widen. “What the hell are you doing having dinner with her? She’s your employee, Declan. You shouldn’t see her outside of work at all.”
It’s not like I asked her out on a date or anything, but I can’t really tell him that. Because then I’d have to explain that it’s not a date when the girl is essentially your roommate, and I haven’t told Marcus that Savannah’s staying with me. I’m not going to either, because he’d want to know why. That’s Savannah’s business and I’m not about to spread it around without her permission.
Continuing with his tirade, he says, “Don’t you know you’re not supposed to shit where you eat? Because that’s exactly what you’re doing. I mean, Jesus, man, how well do you think this is gonna end?”
End? The thought never crossed my mind until now.
My eyes wander back to Savannah and linger on her mouth. I can still feel her lips on my cheek and her breath in my ear, wordlessly asking for more of what I’d willingly give again and again if she’d let me.
Frowning, I force my eyes away from the only face that filled my dreams last night and back to Marcus. “Who says it has to end?”
He looks at me like I’ve lost my mind. Maybe I have.
Scoffing, he says, “What, are you gonna marry this girl and live happily ever after?” His face hardens with bitterness. “That’s not how shit works, Declan.”
Damn. Stacy really messed him up.
I shrug, feeling my mouth turn down in contemplation. “Sometimes that’s how it works. They say half of all marriages end in divorce, but what about the other half?” Somebody’s gotta be doing it right or the divorce rate would be higher.
“The other half ends in death, dumbass. That’s not any better in my book.”
“Yeah, but maybe they died happy.” I know my grandparents did.
Marcus stands and motions for me to follow him. “Let’s get in the ring for a bit before you start your workout. I clearly need to knock some sense into you.”
I push myself up from my chair, thinking that might not be such a bad idea.

Running the towel through my damp hair one last time, I toss it into the laundry bin on my way out of the locker room and hang a right to the utility room. Savannah’s pulling a fresh load of towels from the dryer and dumping them on the adjacent folding table.
“Hey.” She glances at me when I walk in, but quickly averts her eyes. “You heading up?”
It’s the end of the day, and we’re the only people left. I tried to wait for her by stalling and taking my post-workout shower here, but she still hasn’t finished.
“Yeah, I think so,” I say, leaning against the still-warm machine. “Unless you want me to wait?”
“Nah, it’s okay.” She nods her head toward the giant pile of clean towels. “This is gonna take me another twenty minutes, so. . .”
I shake my head and cross my arms, giving her a mock frown. “That boss of yours must be a real * to make you stay late, huh?”
She laughs and bends forward, her ass curving in a truly beautiful way as the top half of her disappears into the large barrel of the dryer. Her voice echoes in the metal drum as she says, “Yeah, he’s riding me really hard.”
Holy mother of—
My eyes squeeze shut as I bite my knuckle, thankful that she can’t see me. Is she trying to kill me?
I quickly compose myself as she pops her head around the door with a lopsided grin on her face. “What, no witty retort? That was a perfect setup and you give me nothing?”
“Damn it.” I laugh and say, “I was this close,” while holding my thumb and forefinger up.
She shakes her head, smiling ruefully. “You’re not gettin’ soft on me, are you?”
“There’s only one way to find out.” My teeth bite my lip as I grin. I’ve missed her sass today.
Rolling her eyes, she shuts the dryer door. “I’ll be up in a bit.”
“Hey. . .” My smile fades as I wonder how to broach the subject of last night. She seems okay with what happened, but she could be faking it for all I know.
I really hope she’s not, though, because I definitely want to do that again. Like tonight, and every other night after it.