“Nope,” she told him as she put her phone away. “We came in Judge’s car. I don’t need a ride, and we’re done talking.” Crossing to me, she linked our fingers. “Let’s get out of here, babe.”
“Brax, walk Mia to Lyla’s car,” Beast instructed as he walked toward the showers.
“I don’t need a bodyguard,” I told him, putting my hand on my hip and glaring after him.
“Braxton,” Beast barked.
Without arguing, Braxton stood and opened the locker room door for us. “Ladies,” he said with an easy grin.
Unable to help myself, I glanced over my shoulder as I walked out. Beast stood at the shower room entrance, his eyes hungrily watching me go. As I walked away, I ached to give in and stay, go with him to the party. It wasn’t smart, but just looking at him made me want to do stupid things.
Chapter 4
Mia
“Good job today, Mia,” Rita, my physical therapist, praised as I strapped my brace into place. I wanted to flip her off after the excruciating workout she’d just given my leg, but she was only doing her job.
“Yeah,” I muttered instead. “Thanks.”
“See you again Friday,” she said with a grin and walked away to deal with her next patient.
When I stood, it took me a minute to make sure my brace was exactly where it needed to be and to test out my mobility before I trusted my ability to walk. When I had faith in myself, I grabbed my bag and the econ book I would need for my class that started in an hour.
Tucking my cap down low, I walked out of the PT area and through the door that took me into the lobby. As I did, I nearly collided with a solid wall of male.
“Easy,” a voice I recognized said at the same time I muttered, “Sorry.”
Looking up, I felt a smile lift my lips when I saw Braxton. “We gotta stop meeting like this,” I told him, causing him to laugh.
“I don’t know. I kind of like keeping you on your feet.” Once he was confident I was steady, he released me and took a step back. Glancing at the door behind me, he lifted his brows. “Who’s your therapist?”
“Rita.”
He nodded. “She’s pretty good. I’ve seen her in action a few times. Mine is Randy. Now, he’s an asshole and a half.”
“The drill sergeant guy?”
“That would be him. But he’s gotten me further than my doctors thought would be possible at this time, so I can’t complain too much, right?” He patted his leg, and that was when I looked down, finally noticing he was wearing basketball shorts that showed off his legs.
I was expecting to see a brace on his leg like my own, but that wasn’t the case. Braxton was an amputee. His right leg was gone from above the knee, a prosthetic in its place.
“Right,” I agreed with him, pretending like the sight of his prosthetic didn’t break my heart.
Even after the pain of my second ACL tear, I still didn’t think that would come close to what he must have gone through losing half his leg. But I also knew it would probably make him uncomfortable if I let him see how upset I was. I liked Braxton a lot and wanted us to be friends.
“Where are you off to now?” he asked, changing the subject.
I grimaced and showed him my textbook. “More torture. Economics. Fun, fun, fun. But mandatory with my business major.”
“I’m a criminal justice major, so I wouldn’t know. But have fun with that.”
“Yeah,” I laughed. “See you tomorrow, Brax.”
“Be careful out there, Mia,” he called after me, and I waved.
I got to class with a good fifteen minutes to spare. There were plenty of seats left, but I was tired after my long walk and the morning therapy session. Choosing a seat three rows up, I sat in the middle, leaving several seats open between me and the group of girls at the end of the aisle.
My head felt sweaty, so I took off my hat and finger-combed my hair before throwing it into a ponytail. I was thirsty, and I was debating getting a bottle of water from the vending machine outside the classroom when someone dropped into the seat beside me.