Chapter 8
“You’re joking.”
“Nope,” Stacey smiled around the straw she’d just put in her mouth. The strawberry-banana protein smoothie she’d picked up at the gym before work tasted amazing. And the quick glimpse she’d gotten of Rob? Totally made the extra trip worth it.
“You flirted, everyone left, the lights went out, and you sixty-nined in the locker room?!” Hannah’s squeal was much too loud, and Stacey shushed her.
“Do you mind? I don’t want everyone and their uncle to know!” Stacey hissed, then sat back in her office chair with a contented smile. “And it wasn’t sixty-nine. We took turns.”
“I’ve never done anything that sexy in my life,” Hannah moaned, leaning against Stacey’s desk and grabbing her stapler to toy with it. “Hottest thing I’ve ever done was make out in the back of Allen’s mom’s station wagon when we were fourteen.”
Stacey put her empty cup aside and wiggled her mouse to wake her computer. “I’ll give you all the gory details you want, but you’ve got to let me get back to work. I’ve got cost projections to finish, a report to type up, e-mails to send—”
“I get it,” Hannah said, closing the stapler with a snap. Her short brown hair bounced around her ears as she whirled to face Stacey. “But you’ve got to tell me one thing first. Are you guys seeing one another? Was this a onetime thing?”
Stacey frowned, a little of her morning glow fading at the question. “I wish I could say, but I don’t know. It wasn’t planned at all. We’re still seeing one another at the gym, because he’s my trainer, but as far as anything else?” Stacey shrugged, and one strawberry-blond curl fell in front of her shoulder with the motion. She tossed it back with a quick flick of her wrist.
“How was he this morning?”
The memory popped into her mind’s eye, and she smiled. He’d looked amazing, dressed in a form-fitting white HEALTHY LIVING TRAINING tee and black track pants. His arms were definitely shown to advantage in the form-fitting shirt, his sandy hair perfectly tousled. He’d winked at her, those steely gray eyes looking bright and interested.
“Good. He didn’t say anything out of the ordinary.”
“And you’re meeting him tonight. What if it happens again?”
“Then I’ll have another incredible orgasm?” Stacey laughed at Hannah’s delighted shock. “Seriously, it probably won’t. It had to be a fluke, a onetime deal. I mean, it’s not like we planned it.”
“Planned what?” Vance stuck his head through Stacey’s office door, causing both her and Hannah to jump.
“Nothing, why do you ask?” Her cheeks were burning, damn it. Why hadn’t she asked Hannah to lock the door behind them?
“You were being loud in here.” Vance’s beady eyes scanned them both.
“We’ll quiet down, sorry to disturb you,” Hannah said before turning her back on him. “Anyway, Stacey, at the holiday party, I’ll be happy to help with the decorations. Now, you were saying gold and black for the colors, yes?”
Stacey nodded, keeping up the conversation until a disappointed-looking Vance disappeared. Hannah shut and locked the door, and they breathed a collective sigh of relief.
“That was much too close,” Stacey groaned, placing a hand on her midsection to steady her breath. “The last thing I need is Vance sticking his nose into my love life.”
“It’s not your love life he’s after,” Hannah said, her freckles bunching up as she wrinkled her nose in obvious distaste. “He’s been trying to find out the details on your solar panel project.”
“What?” The floor beneath Stacey seemed to wobble, and she clutched the arms of her chair as she leaned forward.
“I caught him reading some pages on the fax machine yesterday.”
“The fax machine? But hardly anyone he deals with faxes anything anymore. I thought the utility services had all gone digital.”
“They have,” Hannah said. “When I asked him what was up, he blustered and stuttered, but he dropped the pages and left. Know what they were?”
Stacey’s stomach sank. “They were the budget reports from the housing project, weren’t they?”
Hannah’s solemn nod was enough confirmation.
Shit. This was the last thing she needed. Her last project had been scuttled by competition from her own department, and it looked like this one would face the same fate if she wasn’t careful. The constant battle of an underfunded department was competition for the dollars. But Stacey wouldn’t lose, not this time. This project would save the city money, and it would also provide some much-needed updates to the government housing projects. But only if she could make her presentation shine and win the city council’s approval.
“I’m sorry,” Hannah said. “If I’d known they were coming, I would have waited for them.”
“It’s not your fault. I’ll just have to be more careful. I’ve only got a day left to polish up this presentation, so until then, I’ll just have to keep everything under lock and key.” Stacey forced a smile and took another sip of her smoothie. There was nothing left but warm foam and no flavor. Just like her morning. Brilliant at the start, and then full of disappointment.
Hannah frowned as she smoothed her knee-length black pencil skirt. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring you down. I just thought you should know.”
Stacey smiled at her friend as she tossed her cup into the trash. “No, I’m glad you did. And thanks for covering for me. You’re the best.”
Hannah grinned. “I still want to know every little detail. Want to grab lunch later?”
“It’s got to be healthy.”
“Oooh, trying to impress our trainer?” Hannah’s wink was just this side of ridiculous, and Stacey laughed.
“Think it’ll get me a gold star?”
“It might get you that sixty-nine,” Hannah cracked as she left the office.
A bit of her good mood restored, Stacey hummed to herself as she opened her project file. Vance wasn’t a big enough threat to her project on his own. Yes, it would take a bit of the department’s budget to pull off, but it was a good thing. She’d show the council exactly what they needed to do, and then everything would work out.
And as for her and Rob? Well, a little more flirting practice sure wouldn’t hurt. And she’d just have a salad for lunch. Maybe Hannah was right. Stacey smiled down at her keyboard. It was certainly worth a shot.
* * *
Rob had to hand it to her. She was more focused and driven than he’d ever seen her tonight. She’d come in with bright eyes and a will to work, and he’d really put her through her paces. Heck, he’d just given her a break, and she was already champing at the bit to get back to it.
“Sure you’ve got your breath?”
Stacey nodded as she settled back down on the weight bench. “If you’re going to take me out for a drink, I’ve got to get this done.”
A delicious hunger curled in his belly. “What makes you think I’ll be satisfied with just a drink?”
She ignored that. “Or dinner, your choice.” She grunted as Rob helped her lift the bar into position. ”Nothing too fancy, since you’re making me sweat like a racehorse and I won’t have the chance to get pretty.”
Rob’s laugh echoed in the otherwise empty gym. “Bar food all right?”
“As long as you’re not counting my—oomph—calories. I’m in desperate need of a greasy cheeseburger. I had a small salad for lunch, so I’m starving now.”
“We’ll talk nutrition tomorrow.” Rob stood by as Stacey continued her set of reps.
That little line between her eyebrows only appeared when she was focused and centered. He’d started watching out for it early on in her workout tonight.
She seemed different. The flirting, for one thing. She’d had an air of affected confidence before, but it seemed that tonight she was much more comfortable around him.
Of course, that probably had everything to do with the fact that they’d been together last night. She was as into him as he was her, and it felt damn good. It was fun, actually. He hadn’t done any flirting at all since Rebecca. With his business and his dad’s health, finding a new relationship had taken a back burner. Just that day, he’d gotten another worrying text from his mom. Dr. Liston never rested during the daytime, and he’d had his second nap of the day after lunch.
Rob shook his head. Focus. Stacey. Maybe he should consider taking things further with her. Of course, there was the inherent problem of their trainer/trainee relationship, but a barrier like that could be overcome somehow. For the moment, the delicious distraction was good enough for him, and, he hoped, for her.
“Eight, up, good. Nine, breathe through it.” Rob stood by her side, ready to jump in if her arms buckled. Even though her muscles trembled and her cheeks were on fire, that little line between her brows was furrowed and her eyes were calm and focused.
“Last one, ready, ten!” Rob helped her rack the bar, and she instantly bounced off the bench as if she’d just heard her name called on The Price Is Right.
“I did it,” she said, eyes sparkling and voice breathy. “I really, really did it!”
She threw her arms around him, and without thinking, Rob hugged her back. She laughed and squeezed him hard.
And when she pulled back, grinning widely, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss on her smiling mouth.
Her eyes slid closed and she leaned into him, twining her arms around his neck. His tongue darted out to taste her, tracing her full lower lip for the barest of seconds before reality doused him like a bucket of ice water.
He pulled away.
What the hell was he doing? The gym was still open. There were only a couple of clients left, and they were getting ready to leave, but still, completely unprofessional. He wasn’t even really sure why he’d done it. Was it because he was proud of her? Was it to share in the incredible joy she was showing in her accomplishment? Or was it because he hadn’t gotten near enough of her last night?
He looked into her eyes. They were wide, a bit dazed-looking, but hot, hungry. She leaned in again.
Shit. Not again. He really shouldn’t have done that. He stepped back, breaking their contact, and shoved his fingers through his hair.
“Yeah, great job. We’ll stop there tonight.”
She stared at him for a long moment, as if unsure what had just happened. Awkwardness flooded the space between them as Stacey wiped her face with the small gym towel. Rob kicked himself mentally. Shit. Why had he done that? Mixed signals. He would have to stop the flirting during training times with her. Obviously neither of them could keep it simple.
“I’ll let you get ready to go while I shut down the front counter. Meet me at the front door when you’re done.”
She blinked. “You still want to go out to eat?”
“I told you I would. Why would I have changed my mind? If you still want to, we’ll go.”
“Sure,” Stacey said with a hesitant smile. “No problem.”
As Rob walked away, he squared his shoulders. She had done incredibly well today. She could really accomplish great things here if she stuck with it. He just had to keep their association out of the gym during opening hours.
A few moments of meditation in his office helped him clear his head. It had only been excitement. He was proud of her, that was all. And the touch had just sparked memories of the previous night. No more, no less. He sat down in front of his laptop to shut it down, then stilled for a moment.
She was in the locker room now, grabbing a shower. The smell of her soap was still fresh in his memory, the taste of her, the sound of her cries as the darkness surrounded them both.
He winced and adjusted his pants, which had grown uncomfortably tight in the crotch.
He had to stay away. Keeping this—whatever it was—away from the gym was crucial. Last night had worked out fine, but what if someone came back next time?
Shaking off the thoughts, he finished packing up his things and shrugged into his coat. The office door clicked shut behind him, and as he began shutting down the computer at the front desk, the sound of footsteps drew his gaze upward.
She’d taken her hair down and brushed it out. Her cheeks were still a bit pink from the heat of her shower, but that just made her blue eyes seem brighter. The corners of his lips curled upward despite himself.
“I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.” Stacey wrapped her scarf around her neck. “Sorry I didn’t bring any nicer clothes. I didn’t really know what to plan for.”
“Want to take a rain check?”
“You’re not getting out of this that easily. Come on. I could use a beer.” Stacey’s grin was a touch too broad to be totally honest, but he let it go. He was just glad he hadn’t scared her off.
“Beer it is, then. Where would you like to go?”
“Know where Mitch’s Tavern is?”
“That’s a couple streets over on Peachtree, right?”
Stacey nodded as Rob shouldered the strap of his laptop bag and rounded the corner. “Yeah. It’s a tiny, dark little hole-in-the-wall. But they have great sandwiches and cold beer. I love that place.”
“Mitch’s it is, then. You can ride with me, if you’d like to.”
Stacey shook her head and passed him as he held open the door for her. “No, it’s actually closer to my apartment, so I’ll take my car home and just walk over. See you there,” she said with a wave as Rob tested the locked door.
Rob waited for a minute on the cold sidewalk, watching as she hurried away. Damn. She was cute.
He’d really have to watch himself around her.