“Yeah. She’s doing well, actually.”
“Clay said you seemed eager to help her yesterday …”
The next time I see Clay he’d better walk the other way.
“I help all of the girls, Andre. It’s my job.”
“Well, then he said once you were done helping her, you walked off.” He’s smirking through his chewing and I’d love nothing more than to punch that look off his face right now.
“I … I had to go to the bathroom.”
Selena snorts and Andre starts to laugh. “I bet you did.”
“You know what? Fuck you both.” I shake my head and take another bite of chicken.
“Javi … do you have a thing for Sydney Matthews?” My sister chimes in, pulling my eyes over to her.
“No …”
“You know she’s the last person you should be getting tangled up with.”
“You think I don’t know that? That girl is nuisance. She’s different than I thought she was back in high school, but that’s beside the point. There’s nothing going on, so drop it. Both of you.” I point my fork in Andre’s direction.
“Just be careful, Javi. Getting mixed up with a girl like her is just asking for trouble.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
“Isn’t she a lawyer now too?” Andre finds his voice.
“Yeah.”
“And her dad’s a judge, Javi. With your record, I wouldn’t exactly be rushing to meet her parents.”
I scoot my chair away from the table and clear my plate. “There’s nothing going on, so fucking drop it, alright?” I place my plate in the sink and then move for the back door.
“Okay. I just don’t want to see you make another mistake,” Selena says as she stands and comes near me. She doesn’t say it in a chastising way though, as if she’s reprimanding me for what I’ve done in my life. My last mistake was for her benefit, so she can’t very well judge me for that.
No, she’s got that sisterly tone in her voice that tells me she just wants me to be careful and think about my decisions.
But there are no decisions to be considered. Nothing will ever happen between Sydney and me. There’s no way.
“I won’t. Thanks for dinner.” I kiss her on the cheek and then exit the house, making the short trek back to my own sanctuary where I shut the door behind me and lean up against it.
My mind veers back to yesterday when I walked out of the class after helping Sydney practice her movements. The way her skin felt in my hands, the way her body pressed up against me and made me rock hard—that was why I walked away, because I had a fucking hard-on in the middle of class and there was no way it was going to go away quickly. I locked myself in the bathroom to calm myself down, contemplating whether to rub one out at the gym, but ultimately deciding against it. By the time I got myself under control and came back out, Clay had dismissed the class.
I don’t know why I tortured myself with demonstrating the movement with her first, but I was itching touch her. And that fucking outfit she had on was like a miniature version of the red leather suit Britney Spears rocked in that music video. I think most teenage boys remember that.
I couldn’t decide if Sydney wore it intentionally, or not. But whatever the reason, the girl was torturing me slowly as I watched her move around the gym. Every encounter with her makes me more curious about who she is now, but I’m not stupid. I fucking know that nothing could ever happen between us. And after hearing my sister’s warning tonight, my mind is getting clearer. The less interaction between Sydney and I, the better.
Chapter 13
Sydney
“You couldn’t be bothered to change at the office before coming here?” my mother whispers in my ear before I even get to take a sip of my wine.
“I didn’t know my outfit mattered.” I get out the words and then take the largest drink I can fit in my mouth.
“You should know by now that it does, Sydney. At least you don’t have pants on.” Her eyes veer down to my skirt and my bare legs sticking out of the bottom of it.
“Heaven forbid a woman would wear pants,” I mock.
“What has gotten into you this evening?” Her face portrays a creepy smile as she berates me through her teeth, waving casually to people that pass by us.
“Forgive me for not wanting to be chastised the second I arrived. I need to use the bathroom,” I say before turning on my heel and walking in the other direction.
As if today wasn’t hectic enough, the impending events of the evening only added to the stress tightening my chest. The case that Byron convinced me to take on is another custody battle that’s even nastier than the last one. I clenched my teeth all day after that first meeting, cursing him and myself for agreeing to take it on.
So now I have a splitting headache and my feet are aching from my heels, but I have to smile and slip into perfect, supportive daughter mode for the Chamber of Commerce mixer at the country club this evening.
As my eyes scour the room, all I see is a group of people more concerned about outward appearances and the balances of their bank accounts than what they can actually contribute to the community of Newberry, Texas. If they truly did, they’d be working toward bridging the gap between the two sides of our town, one which is way more affluent than the other.
Which brings Javier back to my mind. Last night at the self-defense class, he barely looked at me. He avoided working with me and right when the class ended he stormed off again. I’m not sure what happened over the course of two days, but apparently broody and silent Javier is back, which frustrates me
