Chapter 5 Four

The apartment was quiet when I woke up the next morning. I didn't hear Liam making breakfast in the kitchen, usually coffee and something high-protein since he always hit the weight room first thing. He owned the city's premiere training camp, an exclusive gym in Hell's Kitchen known for coaching elite boxers, wrestlers, and Liam's specialty, MMA fighters.

I loved all the guys at the gym, but they were the reason I was never sure of whom my real friends were. I had known my best friend, Aria Pettit, since before Liam came into my life, so there was no doubting her. But all the girls post-Liam were suspect. On many occasions, I had discovered that they were more interested in the muscled men I knew than in my actual friendship.

Jenna Pettit was one of those girls. She was Aria's cousin, and she had never shown interest in me until after meeting and Googling Liam. Since then, she tagged along whenever Aria mentioned she was coming to see me, which was exactly what happened this morning.

Liam had clearly headed to the gym early, so I invited Aria over because I was in desperate need of confessing what I had done with him. I had been faking my sleep, but last night still felt like the most unreal dream. It made me hot, guilty, aroused, and ashamed all at once. I needed to let it all out.

But then Jenna came waltzing into the apartment behind Aria, a skipping blur of light hair and tanned limbs.

"Oh." Her shoulders promptly slumped. "Is Liam not home?"

"No, I think he went to the gym early this morning."

"What, he wasn't up late last night? Fucking some girl against your wall?" Jenna smirked. I shot Aria a look.

"Sorry! I don't tell her most of the things you tell me, but she bugs me about him all the time. I give her little tidbits just to shut her up," Aria explained, setting down her Starbucks tray and handing me a latte. I let out a breath through my nose. I could never stay mad at anyone who supplied me with coffee.

"Now what was it that you were so eager to talk to me about?" she asked, sipping her berry tea.

"Um..." I trailed off, realizing there was no way to say it in front of Jenna, who stared with hawkish eyes at me.

"Is it Liam-related? Oh God, he has a girlfriend, doesn't he?" She clamped a hand over her chest. "Please say no because I'll die. I've been waiting too long for him."

"You? What about Sasha?" Aria argued. They were both well-versed on my lust for Liam at this point, and Aria had long maintained that we'd eventually get together. Jenna, of course, was on the other side of that argument.

"What about Sasha?" she asked, looking to me with a snort. "You know I love you, girl, but you're too vanilla for that man. He's got manly needs, and you're a total goody two shoes."

Aria swung her purse at her cousin. I brushed it off. "It's fine, she can say what she wants. Um, Aria? Can I talk to you in private for a second? About that... thing?"

"What thing?"

"You know. That... thing."

Aria looked at me wide-eyed. Bless my best friend, she was the kindest girl in the world but way too honest to pick up on fake signals like this. She stood there for a few more clueless seconds before we heard several pairs of footsteps in the hall.

"Omigod, Liam!" Jenna squealed.

She flew to the door, but it opened before she could reach it, and she stumbled back, her blue eyes positively gleaming as a few of the guys from the gym walked in first. Amusement curled their lips as Jenna and Aria stood and gaped, having yet to master the art of containing their fangirling.

But who could blame them? One stone-carved fighter was enough to bring the strongest girl to her knees, but here we had three, including Liam, whose harsh eyes immediately locked on mine. I backed up against the wall for support, thanking God that I had experience in keeping my shit relatively together. After so many years around Liam and his friends, I had been effectively trained into looking unfazed by even the most heart-stopping gorgeousness.

"Damn, it's crowded in here," A.J raised his eyebrows. A.J Rutkowski was the boxer of the crew who had turned to coaching after being sidelined by injury. He was also the comic relief, a bit of a bro, drank everyone under the table, and loved to tell me that Liam probably jacked off to me every time he showered, which he reminded me was at least twice a day. "That's a lot of jizz with your name on it," he said, ever the romantic.

Aria had the world's biggest crush on him, so she went almost mute the second he spoke. Meaning it was about to turn into Jenna's show.

"So, what, we having a party up here?" A.J smirked.

"At 10 a.m.? Absolutely," I laughed.

"Well, who says tequila isn't for breakfast?" Jenna purred. A.J pointed at her.

"Boom. I like the way this girl thinks," he said, clapping his hands together. Smirking next to him was Liam's best friend, Max Heath. I considered him a friend too, since he was the only one willing to train my weak ass when I visited the gym. Dark blonde, bearded, and ponytailed, he was basically a Norse god. If it weren't for Liam's existence, I'd be convinced that Max was the hottest man on Earth.

But of course, he wasn't. Not by a long shot.

I took a silent, jagged breath as Liam stepped slowly toward me, his friends busy talking to mine.

"Sasha." His voice was firm when he reached me and grabbed my wrist. "A word," he said, his eyes pinned to me.

Without anyone noticing, he pulled me into his bedroom.

My heart was pounding out of my chest once we got inside. I stood on shaky knees as I watched him shut and lock the door. I could hardly breathe as he turned to me, a heather-grey Henley clinging to his muscles, stretching desperately under his broad shoulders with every deep breath he took in.

I was too nervous to let the silence go on any longer. "Is this about last night?" I asked.

He closed the gap between us. "Yes." His stare burned through me. "You weren't asleep."

I meant to lie, but my lips betrayed me. "No."

"Right." Liam's jaw was tight, and his head tilted just so, in a way that made my heart absolutely hammer. "And what inspired that charming little act of yours?"