Chapter Nine

 

 

 

 

 

Kelly

 

 

 

 

 

I couldn’t explain why, but I took my wedding band off before walking into work that day. I knew my co-workers, and even some clients, would ask questions and I didn’t know how to answer. I felt insanely guilty, though, and I didn’t even know why. I was sure that Nick would understand if I’d told him what I was doing and why, but I didn’t. I just dropped my wedding band into the side pocket of my purse and went inside.

During my lunch break, I sat at a table in the cafeteria eating the sandwich I’d had bought and filled out some of my charts from that morning. One of my co-workers, Adina, was sitting next to me as she ate and told me about everything I’d missed by not going out Saturday night. She also tried like hell to get me to commit to going out the upcoming weekend.

“So, are you in?”

I shook my head as I looked up from my chart. “You don’t understand. The only other time I have been blackout drunk in my life was my twenty-first birthday. After last Friday night, I’m not drinking again for a while.”

“Kelly,” Adina said with a groan. “You need to get back on the horse sometime.”

“Nope.” I folded up the other half of my sandwich so I could eat it the next day and gave her a small smile. “You guys will have to go without me.”

“Whatever. You suck. What time is it?” She pressed the button on my phone to activate the screen and the picture of Nick and I kissing came up. “That doesn’t look like Devin.”

I grabbed my phone and shoved it into my pocket as I shook my head. “Devin and I broke up.”

“Oh. So, who’s the stud you’re sucking face with there?”

“That’s Nick. I’ve told you about him.” I stood and gathered my sandwich and files into my arms. “I think we’ve gone out with him, actually.”

Adina pursed her lips before nodding quickly. “That’s right. I think that’s the guy that Chrissy did in the alley at that eighties club we went to in March.”

Of course. Of course Nick had slept with my co-workers. Why not? Who hadn’t slept with Nick at that point?

“Thanks for the reminder,” I muttered under my breath as I headed back to our suite. After a night of cuddling together and an intimate morning, I had been feeling better about the farce between the two of us. Nothing quite mimicked a bucket of ice water over your head like talking about your husband’s sexcapades.

I stuck my sandwich in the fridge we had in our breakroom, dropped my files on my desk, and went to the front reception desk to meet my next client. Zander smiled the second he saw me come around the corner and I couldn’t help but smile back.

“Ready to hate me?” I asked as I moved to the back of his wheelchair. He twisted his head so he could see me as I moved him.

“‘Hate’ is a strong word, Kelly. I’m ready to temporarily dislike you.”

I laughed as I locked the chair into place and pushed the walker in front of him. I helped him stand and he took the three steps to the low table that I’d parked him by. Once he sat down on the edge, he maneuvered his body so he was lying on his back with his legs relaxed. I ran my hands over one of his calves and dug my fingers into his muscle.

“How did you feel after last week’s session?”

His eyes met mine as he shrugged his shoulders. “Would you believe me if I said I wasn’t sore at all?”

“Not even a little bit,” I replied with a smile as I moved my hands up to his thigh to repeat the movements I’d done on his calf. “The muscle gain is really great, Z. You’ve come a long way from the scrawny-legged man you were when we met.”

He chuckled slightly as I moved to other leg and I didn’t miss how his body tensed. Or the way he became aroused. It wasn’t uncommon with clients, especially when we were dealing with anything in the thigh, so I tried to make light conversation to draw attention elsewhere.

“How was your weekend?” I asked as I looked up to meet his gaze. He stared at me for a moment before nodding.

“Same as the weekend before. How was yours?”

I shrugged and moved to the calf I hadn’t touched yet. “I spent all of Sunday with my sister, so I can’t complain.”

I grabbed his file to make some notes and to give him a minute before helping him up and starting his exercises. By the time he was taking steps with the bar support, I noticed a huge improvement in his pace and stamina versus even the week before. He also didn’t look like he wanted to slowly murder me when we were done. I think we’d graduated to a swift, merciful killing instead.

“How long before I’m taking steps on my own, Kelly?”

I shook my head and helped him into his chair. “We can’t rush this. I don’t have an answer for you.”

His only response was a frustrated sigh as he accepted the water I handed him. I offered a sympathetic smile before rechecking the blood flow in his legs.

“Now you hate me, right?”

“Who could hate you?” Zander’s voice was soft and his eyes watched me intently. My hands stilled while I held his gaze, my breathing picking up slightly as I did, and we were both quiet as something passed between us. I snapped out of it when Laura appeared with a smile on her face.

“Hey, guys. How was the session?”

I shook my head, as if to clear my foggy brain, and smiled at her. “Even better than the last.” I pushed to my feet and put my hands on my hips. “You’re seriously making great improvements. I don’t have an exact answer for you but I would guess before the summer is over.”

“I accept your guesstimate,” Zander replied with a smile. “Thank you, Kelly.”

“You’re welcome, Zander. Ice, rest, and I’ll see you next week, okay?”

I watched as Laura pushed him away and mentally berated myself. First and foremost, I couldn’t get involved with a client and even being attracted to him was really unprofessional. Second of all, I was fucking married. Married. Even if I wanted to date Zander, even if it wasn’t completely improper, I wasn’t going to be dating anyone for a while.

I pushed everything out of my mind as I finished the rest of my appointments. As soon as I was free, I drove myself to the gym and parked in the busy lot. I grabbed my bag and purse before heading inside. Florian greeted me and I just waved as I went to the locker room to change.

Once I was in my workout clothes, I went to shut the locker before pausing and grabbing my purse. I dug the wedding band out of the small pocket and slipped it on my finger. If Nick decided to show, I didn’t want to hurt his feelings by not having it on. Besides, I wondered if wearing a ring would help repel the guys who hung around just to hit on women.

I spent the first hour on the spin bike before going downstairs to do some circuits. I was doing lunges when I saw someone approach out of the corner of my eye. It was the same guy who had approached me a few days before. He didn’t say anything as he grabbed some of the hand weights off the rack and started doing his own circuits opposite of me on the mat.

“You have really good form,” he remarked quietly as he lifted the weights above his head. “It’s great to watch.”

I shook my head as I continued breathing through my squats. “Thanks, but I’m really not interested.”

“You have a hard time taking a compliment, don’t you?”

I turned to look at the man and raised my brows. He was older than me, probably by around ten years, and his body proved that he spent a lot of time in the gym. His head was shaved smooth and he had tattoos peeking out from below the wife beater he was wearing. His eyes ran down my body and I folded my arms across my chest.

“You really don’t understand what a quality compliment is.”

He looked like he wanted to say something else but before he could, the palm of a hand hit my ass and someone spoke behind me.

“Hey, beautiful.”

I turned to look at Nick and the grin that spread across my face couldn’t be helped. “Who let you in here?”

He shrugged and leaned down to press a kiss to my lips. “I went ahead and joined. Might as well so I don’t have to always piggy back off of my wife.”

“That makes sense.” I stared up at him for a minute before glancing over my shoulder. The guy was gone and the weights he’d been using had been left on the mat.

“Are you just finishing up?” Nick asked and I turned back around to give him my attention.

“For the most part, but I’ll spot you for a bit if you want.”

He gave me another kiss and nodded. “That’d be amazing.

Nick and I stayed at the gym for another hour as he lifted weights. We chatted about little, non-important things for the most part until he brought up dinner with his parents on Sunday.

“You’re kidding, right?” I asked as I helped guide the bar back in the cradle. Nick sat up and shook his head.

“I wasn’t really given the opportunity to decline either, Kel.” He tugged me down so I was sitting on the bench next to him. “I’m sorry.”

I shook my head and dropped my cheek to his bare, sweaty shoulder. “It’s fine. That just means we’ve committed to encountering both sets of parents for dinner on Sunday. I can call my mom and I’m sure she’ll move it to lunch.”

“Fuck,” he muttered as he pulled my water out of my hands. “We’re such overachievers.”

“Something like that.”

We sat in silence for a moment before Nick pressed a kiss to my sweaty hair. “Ready to go? Let’s skip the sauna, grab some take-out, and shower at your place.”

“Another shower, huh?” I smiled when he immediately nodded.

“Oh, yeah. I’m really dirty, Kel.”

I groaned and shook my head as I stood up. “I wonder if anyone besides you thinks you’re funny?”

Nick draped his arm around my shoulder and just chuckled as we went to the locker rooms. I grabbed my purse and bag before meeting him at the exit. He said he’d pick up some food and meet me back at my place.

It was shortly after eight when I pushed through the front door and both Megan and Simon were sitting on couch. She offered me a small smile as I closed the door behind me.

“Hey.”

I dropped my keys on the sofa table and forced my own smile to my face. “Hey, guys.”

Simba greeted me with his tail wagging and I pet him once before heading into my room. I dropped my bags near my dresser and was kicking off my shoes when Megan appeared in the doorway.

“Can we talk?”

“Sure,” I replied quietly as I sat on the edge of my bed. Megan immediately took a seat next to me and grabbed my hand in her own.

“You know how much I love you, right?”

I nodded and dropped my head to hers. “I know. I love you, too.”

“I just worry about you,” she said softly. “You’ve been hurt so much and it’s not okay. The worst part is how each time chips away at you. I mean, I have this beautiful, funny, amazing, sister who has terrible self-esteem and self-worth.”

“I don’t have terrible self-esteem or self-worth,” I whispered as I shook my head.

“Oh, Kelly.” Megan shifted her body so we were looking at each other. “You do. You don’t feel like you deserve better. You take the blame for everything bad that happens. You end up with losers because you feel that’s all you’ll ever get.”

I dropped my gaze to the floor and swallowed as she spoke. “We can’t all find Simons on the first try, Gan.”

“You shouldn’t settle for less than that, though. I love Nick, Kel. I absolutely adore him but is he ready to be a husband? To be committed and devoted to you? To treat you the way Simon treats me? Because if not, he’s not good enough for you.”

Nope. Not even a little bit. I was pretty sure that being monogamous would be the death of Nick by the time our marriage was over. Nick had never treated me poorly, though, and I knew he never would.

“I hear and understand your concerns.” I locked my gaze with hers as I said it. “Nick’s going to be a great husband, though. Regardless of everything, I’m going to be okay, Megan. I promise. I just need you on my side.”

My sister gripped my hand even tighter. “I am always on your side, Kelly. Always.”

I wrapped my arms around her and we held each other in a tight embrace. I wanted to cry in relief. There was a lot I could handle in life but being at odds with Megan was not one of them.

“Is our fight over?” she asked as we pulled back. “I don’t want to fight with you.”

I grinned and nodded my head. “I think it’s over.” Someone knocked on the front door and Simon’s voice could be heard as he said he’d get it. “Are you okay with Nick staying here?”

“Of course. This is your place, too. He doesn’t need to knock.”

Nick appeared in the doorway, still in his workout clothes, and he smiled at the two of us. “Hey, ladies. I brought food. It’s all meatless and probably tasteless, but it’s food.”

Megan smiled and shook her head. “I already ate but thanks, Nick.” She squeezed my hand again before moving to my feet. “You and me, dinner and a movie while the guys work tomorrow night?”

“That sounds perfect. Thanks for the talk, Gan.”

My sister nodded and pat Nick’s shoulder as she walked back out to the living room. Nick stared at me for a moment, assessing how I was, and when I smiled, he did, too.

“Come eat.”

We sat out in the living room with my sister and her boyfriend while we ate delicious pita sandwiches filled with falafel. Nick even admitted that they were good. Simon tried one, too, and nodded his head approvingly.

“You know, you’re married now and you don’t need to try to impress her, right?” Megan asked Nick with a smile on her face. “You can eat meat around her.”

Nick shrugged and wiped his face with a napkin. “I can put up with it as long as the food is good. I’m also planning on eating as many animals as possible while on shift tomorrow.”

“Gross.” I wrinkled my nose and used my foot to kick him lightly. “Don’t say it like that.”

Everyone laughed and Megan stood before holding a hand out to Simon. “I think it’s time for us to walk the dog and go to bed.”

“I agree.” Simon bent down to where I was sitting on the floor at the coffee table and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Night, guys.”      

Nick and I cleaned up our dinner mess and went back into my room. The door was barely shut before his mouth was on mine and our clothes were coming off. The second we were in the shower, Nick was on his knees with his skillful mouth between my legs. He held me in his strong arms while I tried to catch my breath and when I started to sink to my knees, he just shook his head and guided my hand to his length instead.

“Not yet. I’ll get my test results by the end of the week and then I won’t stop you.” He gave me a crooked smile and something in my chest warmed. I kissed him hard and enjoyed watching my hand slide along him until his face morphed with pleasure.

We stayed under the spray with our arms wrapped around one another for several long moments before pulling apart and actually washing.

“I brought a bag with clothes and some of my stuff,” Nick said as he rinsed my shampoo out of his hair. “You know, a toothbrush, shampoo that doesn’t smell like berries, and my trimmer.”

I stared at his naked body for a moment. The top part of his muscled chest was covered in deep red and burnt orange flames that stopped at the tops of his shoulders. He had a smattering of dark hair all over his chest that became darker near his trim waist. His muscled arms flexed as he ran his hands through his wet hair and made me want to lick my lips.

Shaking out of my stupor, I nodded and took my turn under the spray when he moved. “Make yourself at home. Just, do me a favor… put the cap back on the toothpaste.”

“I promise,” he replied with a laugh as I turned off the water. “I want to help with the rent, too.”

“That’s not necessary, Nick. Megan and I have had it worked out the same for years. I don’t think Simon even pays rent.”

He walked up behind me as I dried my legs and I stifled the moan that threatened to escape when his naked body pressed to mine.

“I want to help.”

I nodded and looked at his reflection in the mirror. “I’ll talk to Megan.”

“Perfect.” His hand slapped my ass and I let out a yelp before rubbing my stinging skin.

I dried my hair and dressed in my sleep shorts and tank top as Nick put on a pair of tight, boxer briefs that looked amazing on him. We both brushed our teeth and I glanced at the clock as I settled into bed.

“It’s barely after ten. No way am I going to be able to sleep already.”

Nick laughed and tugged on me until my head was on his shoulder. “How about we lay here and see if you can sleep? If not, we can turn on the TV or play scrabble or something that married people do.”

“Okay,” I replied with a smile. “Deal.”

We didn’t say anything else as we cuddled together on the bed. Nick’s hand ran down my arm over and over until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore.