9
Cole
“Okay, I give up! Can we say whatever it is that needs said so it’s not so fucking weird between us, and I don’t have to keep avoiding you, who’s avoiding me?” Lyla asks me with her arms up in the air in surrender, and I can’t help but laugh. She’s right. I’ve been avoiding her for the last two days like a fucking pussy. If I’m being honest with myself which I’m not, I don’t want to avoid her. I want her.
I want her so bad I can almost taste her, but that scares the shit out of me. The last thing I want is to find myself in a relationship again. Lyla is cool as fuck, but here I am already fucking it up. She’s way too good for me.
“I’m sorry, Lyla. You’re right. I have. I freaked out.”
She gives me a weird look with her eyebrows up and exhales a heavy sigh. “I’m not even mad anymore, Cole. You don’t owe me anything; you never did. I want that to be very clear. We tried our best not to hook up, but we did. It happened and now we still live with each other and we live with Marcus who will still kill us if he finds out. Now he’s coming back tomorrow and shit around here can’t be weird.”
“You’re right. I hear you. I’ll stop being weird. I promise.”
“Cool. That would be great.”
We stand there between the kitchen and living room, just staring at each other a minute. “That was actually a lot easier than I thought,” she says with a growing smile. Mine can’t help but match hers and soon I’m smiling too. Her hair is down and straight again, and I already miss the curls.
“Are you hitting the gym?” I ask, noticing her tight sexy outfit, which gives me an excuse to be roaming her amazing curves. She’s in tight black yoga pants and a lavender top that has her tits pushed together and peeking out the top.
“Yeah, I heard about a new yoga studio opening up down the block and thought I would check it out. They have a help wanted sign up.” She shrugs her small shoulder.
“You want to change careers from a chef to a yogi? Is that what you call them? I’ll be honest I know nothing about yoga.”
She laughs. “I will be honest too; I don’t either.” She winces and laughs again. Light pink dusts her cheeks. “I just read somewhere online that some studios don’t do a background check which is the only way for me to get a job right now, and that’s really embarrassing.” She looks down at her shoes and sweeps some of her fallen hair behind her ear.
“You want a job? I thought you were just waiting for all the drama to calm down. I figured you would go back to the food industry,” I say in total shock.
“No, you see the thing about public humiliation is that it survives long past the original scandal,” she says, saddling up on the stool at the kitchen island and I join her. “Even when the drama calms down, which will only happen if my former business partner Howard is ever found, my name, my brand, my talent is all tainted, and no restaurant will ever hire me again. My dream of being a top chef was lived and it’s over. Right now, I have to pull up my big girl pants and figure out my future.”
“It’s probably not yoga though.” I elbow her ribs, shaking her out of the seriousness of her thoughts. That gets me a giggle.
“You’re probably right, but I need a job. I can’t live off Marcus; it’s driving me nuts.”
“Why don’t you come work for me?” Did I just say that? Not second-guessing myself, I go on. “I just got in three new jobs that are going to have me underwater if I don’t hire someone to help me. I heard about your illegal activities, but I’ll be willing to look the other way since we’re such good friends now.”
I get up and round the table, putting my water glass in the sink. I turn around and lean against it. Seeing her in this kitchen again has me tasting honey. I swallow hard, my mouth suddenly so dry. Maybe I should have thought the offer through before throwing it out there. I’m not sure I can be just friends with her.
“Were such good friends now, huh?” she says, her voice skeptical. I know she needs this, so I have to make it work.
“Yeah. It’s perfect. Good pay. I’ll teach you everything you need to know. Plus, I know you can bring a lot to the big warehouse project I have over on 8th and Market since you’ve already converted one warehouse into a five-star restaurant before.”
She still doesn’t look convinced, but she’s smiling. I’ve got a chance.
“I promise to be on my best behavior, to never make you feel uncomfortable or avoid you and be a friend to you whenever you need me.” I give her my best smile and puppy dog eyes and wait.
“Okay. Okay.” She laughs. “I feel like you just tricked me into accepting your help, but I appreciate it. Thank you.”
“You bet. We could start tomorrow morning if you want. I don’t have an office except the one here, but I’ll take you around and show you the different sites and different crews I have running right now. I have tons of meeting this week, mostly with existing clients so we’ll take them to lunch and let you meet everyone and start building relationships.”
“That all sounds great, but, Cole, do you really want my name associated with your business? It’s one thing for me to help with paperwork; it’s another for me to be meeting your clients. I really want to help in any way, but I don’t want me helping you to actually hurt your business.”
She looks at me with so much sadness it threatens to crush me. I don’t understand how this amazing woman could be more worried about me right now.
“It’s not going to hurt me, Lyla. That’s really nice of you to say all that, but I have work lined up for the next five years. It’s going to be fine. Great in fact because I know everyone will love you and you will be an asset to me. What do you say?”
I stare at her waiting for several beats.
“I say thank you and I’ll be ready in morning.” Scooting off the bar stool, she continues. “Although I will see you before then so remember…no weird.” She winks.
I can’t help but laugh. “Promise.”
She grabs her bag, throwing it over her shoulder, and takes off out the door. I stare at it like she’ll walk right back in. What is wrong with me? I chastise myself, pushing off the island and heading for a shower.