Friends & Lovers Trilogy (33 page)

Terribly awesome.

When she was finished stretching, she
pressed play on her iPod and positioned herself in the center of
the room. As Christina Perri’s voice filled the room, Roni began to
move.

Rich couldn’t have uttered a sound if he
wanted to. He was completely, and utterly mesmerized.

Her body seemed to be made for this. The
movement was so natural, so sensual, Rich had to focus on keeping
himself in the chair… his entire body seemed to scream at him to
get up and go to her.

As the music stopped, Roni turned to him,
her chest heaving as she fought to catch her breath.

“
That’s the contemporary.
It’ll be for the advanced classes. I can show you the basic ballet
and tap steps for the younger classes if you’d like.”

Rich tried to speak, but squeaked
instead.

He felt his face grow warm as he cleared his
throat and tried again, “Um, no. That won’t be necessary.”

Roni stretched a bit as she walked towards
him, a puzzled smile on her face.

“
You okay?”

Rich stood, willing his legs to hold him as
he tried to look cool and unaffected. “Yeah, I’m great.”

Roni stopped in front of him, looked shyly
at her foot, then back into his eyes. “Did you like it? Can I rent
the space and work here?”

A stray piece of hair fell from her bun,
down the side of her face. Without thinking, Rich reached over and
tucked it behind her ear, his hand stopping as it touched the side
of her face. He watched as Roni’s pupils dilated and her tongue
darted out to moisten her lips.

Shit, he thought, this was going to be
harder than he’d anticipated if the state of the throbbing in his
pants was any indication.

“
I loved it. You’re an
amazing dancer,” Rich said, his hand gently caressing her cheek.
“You can rent the space.”

She surprised him by launching into his arms
and throwing hers around his neck. She hugged him hard, then pulled
back with a laugh. “Sorry, I’m all sweaty.”

He may have whimpered at that, but he’d sure
as hell never admit it. Instead he smiled back at her and nodded,
then pulled away from her until he could no longer feel the
glorious slippery heat of her skin.

Roni gathered up her stuff and bounded out
of the studio with a shout of joy. She said she’d see him later as
she walked out the door, leaving him hot and hard, as he turned and
headed towards the men’s locker room.

He was going to need a cold shower. Glacier
cold.

Chapter Eight

Roni still felt the adrenaline pumping when
she walked into the Bar & Grill to meet her friends. She’d felt
great during the audition, although the thought of Rich watching
her did make her self-conscience, it had also been
invigorating.

She walked up to the table where Nicole,
Briana, and Kara were already sitting, and was greeted by a chorus
of “Hello’s”.

Nicole was showing off her engagement ring
when Roni scooted in next to Briana. She gave the other woman a hug
and said, “It’s good to see you again Bree.”

“
You too,” Briana said as
she brushed her dark hair out of her face. “I’m so happy we could
come home for the holidays.”

Briana looked up and smiled when the door
opened again, she waved at Rich as he walked in. Roni watched as he
walked over to where Pete was tending bar. As he said something to
Pete, the new bartender, Claire sauntered over to him.

She was a beautiful, bawdy redhead that had
been on the job for about two weeks. She seemed intent on showing
Rich all of her assets. Roni could hear the deep tenor of Rich’s
voice as he said, “Howdy, darlin’.”

Roni rolled her eyes and turned her focus
back to the girls.

Rich was nothing but a flirt.

Briana, Nicole, and Kara were all watching
her, then looked pointedly at Rich.

“
Whatchya lookin’ at?” Kara
said with a saucy grin.

“
Just Rich, doin’ what Rich
does best,” Roni replied dryly.

“
Oh… He’s pretty good at
that, but I wouldn’t say that’s what he does best,” Kara said with
a big laugh as she nudged Briana.

Roni narrowed her eyes at the two of them.
“What do you mean?” She asked.

“
Let’s just say, there is a
very good reason that the ladies love Rich,” Kara replied. “He
knows how to treat women.”

“
You’ve slept with him?”
Roni asked in a whisper as she leaned over the table towards
Kara.

“
Sure,” Kara shrugged.
“Before Pete, of course. You can always count on Rich for a good
time.”

“
Kara,” Briana warned in a
low voice, “You know that’s not all Rich is… A ladies man.” She
looked over at Roni and smiled. “I mean, it’s the truth, he does
know his way around the female form, but he’s so much more than
that.”

Roni choked on the water she’d just sipped,
“Wait a minute… You too?” She looked around at her friends. “Is
there anyone he hasn’t slept with?”

Nicole raised her hand, causing them all to
laugh.

“
Roni,
Rich has been single for as long as I’ve known him. He makes sure
that the girls he’s with know that he isn’t looking for anything
serious. He’s not a heartbreaker or a
dog
, he’s just a man that loves being
with women,” Briana explained.

“
Hey, whatever he wants to
do is his business, not mine,” Roni said, all of her suspicions
about Rich had just been confirmed by her friends.

“
He’s a great guy, Roni,”
Kara said.

“
The best,” Nicole
agreed.

“
Don’t hold his past
against him,” Briana added.

“
Guys, there’s nothing
going on between Rich and I,” Roni said.

Just then, Rich turned to see them all
staring at him. He grinned broadly and Briana waved her fingers at
him. He gave them a wink, said something to Pete and Claire, then
walked over to their table.

“
This must be my lucky
day,” Rich drawled as he got closer. “Such a beautiful group of
women.”

“
Hi, Rich,” Nicole, Kara,
and Briana said in unison, causing them to giggle and Rich to raise
an eyebrow.

He looked over at Roni, “Hello again.”

Roni just said, “Hi.”

“
You coming to the party at
Kent’s on Christmas?” Nicole asked him.

“
Absolutely, what time are
ya’ll lookin’at?”“Around four. That will give everyone time with
their families, then we can have some drinks and apps before
dinner.”

“
Sounds perfect,” Rich
said. “Do you need me to bring anything?”

“
Well, we figured we’d pull
names for gifts, so I’ll text you with the details. Other than
that, just bring yourself,” Nicole replied.

“
Great,” Rich said. “Well,
I gotta get back, so I’ll leave you ladies to your meal. Oh, and
Roni, thanks again for the dance earlier. You were
magnificent.”

That said he gave them each a smile, then
walked back out the door. Once he was gone, they all turned to look
at Roni.

“
The dance?” Nicole asked
with a big grin.

“
I had my interview and
audition today,” Roni replied. “I’m going to rent space at the Rec
Center and open a Dance Studio.”

“
That’s wonderful,” Briana
said. “This Rec Center is really turning into something great. I’m
so happy for Rich, and for you. I can’t wait to see what they’ve
done so far. Especially in the kitchen.”

“
What I saw today looked
amazing,” Roni admitted. “What’s this about Christmas?”

“
That’s what we were
talking about when you walked in, before we were all distracted by
Rich’s hotness,” Kara said with a laugh.

“
I just talked Kent into it
last night,” Nicole said. “I thought it would be fun for us to all
get together and spend Christmas with each other. Have a nice meal
and exchange gifts. You in?”

“
Of course,” Roni said. She
loved Christmas.

They all started talking about the holidays
and the Rec Center. Roni couldn’t help but think about what
everyone had said about Rich. Lord knew he was hot. There was no
denying that. Nor could she deny the attraction she’d been having
to him lately. With everything she knew about him though, she
didn’t think she could ever act on it.

She just wasn’t interested in a guy that was
so obviously opposed to commitment, and who’d been with so many
women.

He was he exact opposite of what she needed,
wasn’t he?

Chapter Nine

Rich broke down the last box, grabbed the
bag of trash and the rest of the boxes, and headed out back to the
dumpster. He’d finally finished unpacking his room. There wasn’t a
lot to it, but it felt great knowing that it was all his.

The small space held his bed, his speed bag,
and had a flat screen mounted on the wall. With the small bathroom
attached, the amazing kitchen a few feet away, and his office in
the front of the warehouse, he figured he had everything he needed.
Add to that the access to his own fitness center and boxing ring,
and one might say he was living the dream.

After unloading his trash, he entered the
warehouse through the back by the boxing ring; he stopped in when
he noticed Jason using the equipment.

“
Hey, man,” Rich said to
his new friend and manager of the boxing/fitness portion of the Rec
Center. “How’s the equipment?”

Jason kicked the heavy bag one more time,
then turned to Rich, “It’s great, Rich. I used the weights, tried
out the cardio equipment yesterday and today, and have been in here
for the past hour. Everyone’s gonna love it. I know I do.”

Rich went over to the mini fridge and pulled
out a water for himself and Jason. He held onto the water as Jason
ran a small towel over his face, and his short jet black hair, then
handed him the bottle.

“
I’m
getting really pumped for the grand opening,” Rich said.
“Everything is coming together and we are on track for the opening
on January 2
^nd
. I can’t believe it’s only a
couple weeks away. I have some friends coming in for a tour in a
bit, then a couple more interviews this afternoon. If you wouldn’t
mind taking a look at the web page I’ve been working on, I’d
appreciate it.”

“
Sure thing,” Jason
replied. He paused then asked, “Hey, I was just wondering, did you
hire that tiny brunette?”

“
Who, Alex?” Rich asked.
“Yeah, I did.”

“
What’s she gonna teach?
Art or something?”

Rich chuckled, “No, Karate.”

Jason looked surprised, then smiled, “No,
shit?”

“
Why you askin’?
Interested?”

Jason looked at Rich, then down at his own
arms, which were covered in tattoos. “Yeah, right. I’ve seen her
around town; she works for the Mayor’s office. I don’t think she’d
be interested in a guy like me.”

“
What, you mean a smart,
good-looking boxer, with the pre-requisite “bad boy” tattoos and
motorcycle? Yeah, doubt she’d find that attractive,” Rich said
dryly with a smirk. Then he looked at his friend seriously, “Don’t
sell yourself short.”

Jason nodded at him and slapped him on the
back, then turned back towards the bag and started kicking.

Rich headed out towards the office and was
almost there when the door open and his friends came piling in. He
smiled at their ooohs and aaahs.

“
It looks beautiful,”
Briana said as she gave him a hug.

“
I can’t believe how great
it looks,” Nicole said as she waited her turn for a hug. He
obliged, then turned to give the hand-clasp, half-hug to his
friends.

“
I’m glad ya’ll could come
by,” Rich said. “There are still a few spots that are under
construction, but you’ll get the idea.”

Briana jumped up and down, “Can we see the
kitchen first?”

“
Hold your horses, shorty,”
Rich said with a chuckle. “We’ll start here, then make our way
around the Center.”

“
O-kay,” Briana said with a
mock pout.

They started with the office. It held two
large dark oak desks with leather chairs. There was a sofa along
one wall and a large white board along the other. It was simple and
uncluttered now, but would surely be the hub of the Rec Center.

“
Hey, my dad said he talked
to you the other day. Said you called to set it up,” Colin said as
he looked around the room. “How’d that go?”

“
Great. I figured who
better to get advice about opening a business in this town, than
your father. He’s been running the store for years. He gave a lot
of insight,” Rich answered his friend.

“
That’s good. He's very
smart and one helluva business man,” Colin said. “It was smart of
you to contact him.”

“
I have my moments,” Rich
said with a chuckle as he led them out of the office and towards
the kitchen.

Briana started to squeal when she caught her
first glimpse of steel, and took off running for the kitchen.

Colin laughed at his girlfriends’ excited
shouts. He turned to Rich, “She’s going to want to cook in there
every day until we go back to Austin.”

“
You won’t get any
complaints from me,” Rich said with a smile. “I’ve been living on
frozen meals and bar food.”

They walked in to find Briana running her
hands along the stainless steel countertops and gazing lovingly at
the appliances.