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Bree told me that after her last session, she called her and cried on the phone for an hour. Opening up all the old wounds she’s been trying so hard to paper over is tough, but Teigan is determined to get the help she needs through therapy. Bree only told me about how she reacted because she wanted me to look out for her, to help her if her mood worsened.

I didn’t see her at all that day, as she remained in her room. I couldn’t exactly knock on the door to check on her, as then she’d know that Bree had told me she was upset, and I didn’t want to risk their developing relationship. She needs to have someone she can confide in.

But as each minute passed, and I knew she was in her room crying, my heart broke a little. I wanted to be the person to take care of her, to make sure she was alright. I wanted to hold her as she cried, to tell her everything will get better. Those thoughts terrified me, and so naturally, like the massive fucking coward I am, I’ve been avoiding her.

I have no idea how she will be after today’s session, and that’s setting me on edge. Working out is the only thing I can think to do that will distract me from my own thoughts. That’s how I find myself on the treadmill, music blasting through the buds in my ears, as I run as fast as I possibly fucking can.

Each time my feet pound on the treadmill and my legs start to burn, my brain shuts off a little more. I focus on the way my calves and thighs burn as I push my body as far as it will go. I concentrate on breathing in and out, letting the oxygen flow through my veins.

I drown out the voices in my head with the loud pounding bass blaring through my earphones. I make sure not to take in any of my surroundings, or to think of anything except taking that next breath, or slamming my feet down one more time, pushing myself just that little bit more.

I’m in a world of my own, just the way I like it, and so it’s not until she’s standing directly in front of me, waving her hands in my face, that I notice Teigan. My foot falters and my breath hitches, and the careful rhythm I’ve been building goes to shit, causing me to stumble. I have to quickly grab hold of the handles of the treadmill to stop myself from falling ass over tit.

Seeing my misstep, her eyes widen, and she quickly slams her hand down on the emergency stop button, bringing it to a halt. I’m grateful, as I can place my feet down without fear of falling.

“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you so much that you nearly fell off the damn thing. I shouted your name a few times,” she splutters loudly, as soon as I remove the headphones.

“Headphones,” I grunt, holding them up to show her as I pant, trying to catch my breath. Normally, I would wind down from a run of that speed, so to just stop in an abrupt way has left me winded.

“I didn’t know. I’m sorry. Are you okay?” she asks, holding my bottle of water out for me.

I pick the towel up off the floor beside the treadmill as I step down, using it to wipe the beads of sweat off my face, while I reach out with the other hand and accept the water she’s offering me. I take several big gulps in between gasps as I try to claw back some semblance of normality. I make a conscious effort to slow my breathing down, and as my heart rate begins to return to normal, the ringing in my ears lessens.

As I’m wiping away the sweat and taking a drink of the water she offered me, I try to discreetly assess Teigan. I’m looking for any signs that would indicate what type of counselling session she may have had. Although her eyes are a little red, her face slightly puffy, like she has cried a bit, there’s nothing else of note. She doesn’t have the unmistakable haunted look in her eyes that she had after the first few sessions. Today, she looks almost determined.

“Is everything okay?” I ask.

She nods her head, but she doesn’t smile the way I’m used to. If anything, she almost seems a little fidgety. “Yeah, I’m okay. I was just wondering if now would be a good time to start our selfdefence lessons? I mean, only if you’re not too busy,” she adds quickly, her voice sounding full of hope.

“Sure, if that’s what you want.” I want to push her, to ask directly how her appointment went, but I know I can’t—or I shouldn’t. I’m not a shoulder for her to cry on, and allowing her to open up to me will put us even more into this grey zone that I don’t know how to be in.

“It is,” she says confidently, jutting her chin out.

The movement is enough for me to finally take all of her in. I was concentrating so much on her face, trying to work out how she’s feeling, I completely missed everything else.

She’s wearing a pair of black booty shorts that stop so high up her thighs, I’m sure if she turns around I will be able to see the swell of her ass. Her long creamy legs are on display, and my mouth almost drops open as I take her in.

I drag my gaze upwards, trying not to focus on how the shorts make the curves of her hips and ass look fucking delicious. At the top of her shorts, there’s a band of exposed skin around her stomach as her top doesn’t sit low enough. In fact, when my eyes do find her top, I have to bite my fucking lip to stop a groan from slipping out when I see she’s wearing a crop top. It’s tight against her tits, showing off her cleavage and the peaks of her nipples.

She’s not wearing anything I haven’t seen a hundred different women wear in the gym, but on Teigan, it’s not the same. She looks sinfully delicious, and my whole body heats up as I take in how fucking perfect she looks.

Her long hair is pulled up into a ponytail on the top of her head, exposing her neck and shoulders in such a way that all I can think about is pressing my lips against her exposed flesh. I imagine what that pretty neck would look like with my hand wrapped around it, the only necklace she ever needs to wear.

My cock responds instantly, hardening as each dirty thought flashes through my brain.Get a grip, Evan, I yell at myself.

Teigan clears her throat, grabbing my attention as a shy smile spreads across her lips as her cheeks tinge red. She obviously caught me checking her out, and that innocent act is doing nothing to help me get control of my raging hormones.

How the hell am I supposed to teach her self defence when all I can think about is throwing her around for a different reason?

Her bright grey eyes assess me, looking at me like I’m a complex puzzle she’s trying to solve, but can’t. Welcome to my fucking world.

That’s exactly how I feel about her. I can’t work her out, but even worse than that, I don’t know who the fuck I am when I’m around her.

“Why don’t we start by doing a little warm up? Do you want to jog on the treadmill for a few minutes while I set things up?” I say, pointing to the other side of the large room.

Her eyes follow the direction I’m pointing, and they widen as she takes in the large open space. This room used to be two guest bedrooms, but I knocked the wall through to make a bigger space. There’s cardio equipment when you first walk in, and I’m sure that’s all she was able to see from the doorway. I don’t think she’s ever been all the way in to see the rest of the space.

As she takes it in now, I can see the surprise growing on her face. As well as a full weights area along the back wall, there’s also a large open plan space along the far wall. Right next to the door, taking up the full length of the wall, is a floor-to-ceiling mirror.