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Griffin

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“I’m a dick.” I scrub my hand over my jaw, trying to relieve the tension I’ve been feeling for days.

Piper’s shoulders stiffen before she turns on her heel to face me.

Her eyes lock on mine. “I’m in full agreement with that. Why are you here?”

She’s pissed. How the hell can I blame her for that? We fucked and then I fled. It wasn’t intentional. My family’s world fractured, again, and I went to pick up the pieces.

“I’m sorry,” I offer. It’s so fucking weak. It can’t undo what she must be feeling.

I’ve ghosted on women. Hell, it’s been years since I’ve done it but I remember the guilt that came with it. I saw the impact of my actions in the face of a woman I fucked. She wanted more, but I gave her nothing but silence. I ran into her one night at a club a month after we’d spent a weekend together.

She gave me a piece of her mind along with a stinging slap across the face. It woke me up.

I’ve tried my best to respect women since then but that went to hell when I took off last week.

“You should go.” Her hand shakes as she points at the door of the gallery.

She didn’t notice me when I first walked in because she was too engrossed in a conversation with a woman about one of her sketches. When the woman nodded, I saw Piper’s face light up.

That expression didn’t waver as she rang up the purchase. It shifted the second her gaze caught mine.

I want to be the person who brings that joy to her life. I want to make her feel that valuable with every breath, but I stole her trust. I see it in her body language. I hear it in her voice.

“Let me explain.” I close my eyes. “I should have called to tell you I couldn’t make our coffee date. It was wrong of me to leave you sitting there.”

She bows her head. “There’s nothing to explain, Griffin. We had fun. It’s over now. End of story.”

This is not the end of our story.

“I skipped class last Wednesday because of work,” I start with a heavy exhale. “I was stuck in a meeting with a client that ran for hours. It didn’t wrap up until midnight.”

She shakes her head slightly. “Sure.”

“The next day you sent me that message about drawing you nude.” I close my eyes, picturing her body in my mind. “Jesus, Piper. That set me off. I had to jack off in the bathroom at the courthouse. The clerk came looking for me since we were already back in session.”

Her blank expression doesn’t waver. She doesn’t want these crumbs. She wants to know why I dropped off the face of the fucking earth for four days.

I suck in a deep breath. “My family needed me, my brother...”

“You have a brother?”

That question is always a punch in the gut. It’s easy to answer yet I can never form the right words, so I respond the only way I know how. “Draven. I spent the weekend with him.”

Her expression softens. I can see a million questions in her eyes, but she asks the obvious one. “Is he alright?”

Draven is fine. As fine as a man can be who has to raise a daughter on his own while working long hours. “He’ll be alright.”

I know she wants to know more, but she doesn’t push. “What did you want to talk about at the coffee shop? You said it was important in your text.”

It felt important at the time. I wanted to tell her about a conversation I had with Sem about her work. He’s impressed.

That can wait now. Repairing the damage I’ve done to our connection can’t.

“Can we talk after class tonight?” I want her alone, and in my arms when we talk. I can’t do it here when a customer can walk in at any moment.

“Are you coming to class?” A small smile tugs on the corners of her lips. “I thought you might have given up on that.”

“I don’t give up when I want something this badly.” I want to lean in and kiss her, but I can’t be sure she won’t gift me with a turned cheek.

She reads between the lines. She knows I’m not about to give up on her, on us. I want this. Fuck, do I want this.

“I’ll see you in class.” She moves a step away from me.

“And after class?” I ask hopefully.

“One step at a time, Griffin.” She pauses for a second. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

It’s too late for that. I’m falling for this woman. My heart is taking the lead and now, I’m just along for the ride.

***

Great.

Just great.

Rufus’s replacement is a bigger dick than he is... has a bigger dick.

Brenda is thrilled. Me, not so much.

I got here on time for once, and was surprised to see Piper at the front of the class talking to man who at first, glance looked a hell of a lot like Rufus. That was with his clothes on.

Now, that’s he stripped and he’s standing on the stage at the front of the studio facing everyone, it’s obvious that this guy received a gift in life that Rufus never had.

“Holy hell, that thing is enormous.” Brenda leans forward on her stool. “It’s not even hard. It would rip me in two, but what a way to go.”

I glance down at the floor.

I know Piper has to be up there talking to him, but for fuck’s sake, why do I have to witness this? “Good evening, everyone.” Piper claps her hands together. “I want to introduce you all to our new model. Rufus was called away to London. Lucky for us, we now get to work with Cameron.”

“Cameron,” Brenda echoes his name in a soft tone. “I’ve always loved that name.”

I glance over at her. She’s staring at the man who is now rocking a full-on erection.

Jesus. I thought I was impressive.

“As you can see, for the most part, Rufus and Cameron have the same body type.” Piper’s eyes flit down to his groin. “For tonight, let’s focus on Cameron’s upper body.”

Cameron gives her a nod before he leans down to whisper something in her ear.

She looks up at him and laughs before she whispers something back.

What the fuck is that?

“Why do all the models want the teacher?” Brenda turns on her stool to look at me. “She’s pretty but what has she got that I don’t have?”

My heart. She’s got my fucking heart.

“Let’s get started,” Piper says excitedly. “I can’t wait to see what you all come up with tonight.”

I can’t wait until this class is over and I can have Piper all to myself.