“I don’t know.” He pushed himself up to standing and then held out a hand, yanking me to my feet. “But I have complete faith in you. I know that you will find an answer. It’s what you do.”
At least someone had confidence in me even if I didn’t have any in myself.
I grabbed my gear and followed him from the gym, not bothering to throw on a shirt. The cool fall air would feel nice on my skin and would hopefully take some of the heat out of my temper.
We were halfway to our den when he turned to me. “Oh, and it might be helpful if you stopped treating her like something on the bottom of your shoe. Show her that you like her. It may help with her confidence and get you into her good graces.”
Before I could respond, he took off running. “Race you home,” he called over his shoulder with a laugh.
With his head start, Kasim beat me back to the den by a few strides, but the fact I cut the distance off his lead by half pleased me. “You’re getting slow in your advanced age, old man.”
“Who are you calling old? You’re ten days older than me, Bae.”
I walked through the door, laughing. But the sound died the moment I heard her laughter coming from our kitchen.
“Come on, try it, blueberry. It’s de-li-cious.” Arin’s voice held a hint of seduction. I turned to share a look with Kasim, wondering if he heard it as well. From the look of longing combined with jealousy on his face, he’d heard all right. And didn’t like it any more than I did.
Glancing around the doorjamb, I watched as Arin crowded Tabitha—my tabby—against the countertop, holding a glass of his green juice. “I’ll make it worth your while if you try some.”
She giggled again, her skin glowing with a rosy blush. “Fine. You win. I’ll try it.”
I hesitated in the hall, wanting to see what would happen, but Kasim pushed past me and walked into the kitchen. “He’s telling the truth, Tabitha. It doesn’t taste too bad.”
She jumped a little, tensing at Kasim’s voice, but relaxed the moment he slid up beside her against the counter. The smile she wore did strange things to my insides. “Kasim, you’re back.”
“I am. Did you have fun trying on all those outfits and makeup shopping?”
Her skin flushed deeper, and her gaze slid up to Arin, who remained standing in front of her. Almost pressed up against her. Hmmm. I wonder what happened. Arin grinned down at her and then winked. My hands fisted at my sides, yet my cock stirred. The conflicting emotions played havoc with my brain and my body. How could I be turned on and still be angry?
I didn’t know the answer, but I did know that standing around, waiting to hear hers, was not what I wanted to do. “Arin. Tabby.” I watched as her eyes hardened at my nickname for her. It wasn’t something she liked, but I couldn’t stop myself from calling her that. And maybe one day soon I’d be able to explain to her why I used it. “I’m guessing today was a success. Which is good. I received a phone call today, setting your audition for two days from now.”
She bit her bottom lip. Her tell when she was worried and unsure. Taking a page from Kasim’s advice, I set aside my animosity. “You’ll do fabulously. I have every confidence in you.” I motioned to the drink Arin continued to hold in front of her. “Why don’t you make Arin happy and have a sip of his juice. Whatever you don’t finish, I will.”
“That’s a pretty good offer since Bae normally dumps most of the juice Arin makes for him down the sink.”
I punched Kasim in the arm, which drew a giggle from her. And when I motioned to the drink, she took it from Arin and lifted it to her mouth. She wrinkled her nose, taking a small sniff. When the smell didn’t turn her off, she gingerly placed the glass against her lips, dipping the tip of her tongue into it. “Hmmm. It’s not too bad.” And with that, she drank two mouthfuls before shoving the nearly full glass at me. “Now, your turn.” She gave me a sweet smile, but her eyes held the same hint of challenge that I’d used on her many times.
While she tended to waffle on my challenges, I grabbed hers by the horns. I lifted the glass to my mouth, placing my lips on the same spot hers had been. It was like she was kissing me, and the faint echo of her taste filled the tip of my tongue. I wanted to linger, to savour her taste, but she waited, wondering if I would drink it or not.
I tilted the glass and chugged. Mouthful after mouthful flowed down my throat. It might have been my imagination, but I could have sworn that the juice tasted better than it ever had. “Ahh.” I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. “Delicious. And it had the taste of something extra sweet this time.”
Her grin widened as her cheeks flushed.
Maybe Kasim was right. She needed me to get my head out of my ass and to show her how I felt. Now to just figure out how to make this all work so that the three, no, four of us didn’t get hurt.
12
Tabitha
The music stopped, sending the club into silence, while the spotlights trained on the stage shut off. If it hadn’t been for the foot-high smoke that settled on the stage floor, I would have had a clear view of Bae where he sat with Ed, the owner of the Gentlemen’s Den, and Mike, the stage manager. A sight I wasn’t ready to see. At least not until I had some clothes on.
Despite my initial slip-up during the first few moves of the routine—Ed had coughed before I completely immersed
