I turned back to my locker to grab my undershirt and slip it over my head. I needed to get control of the situation and put us squarely back on professional terms. Neither of us was there to make friends.
“August?” he asked.
“I don’t remember telling you to use my first name,” I said over my shoulder as I slid on my dress shirt. It was in a crumpled ball from when Saint had tossed it into the locker earlier. My heart hammered as I did up the buttons. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Saint startle and glance at me before looking away.
Fuck. What did I just do? I knew that look on his face because I was usually the one sporting it. It was the look of embarrassment at being called out. I owed him an apology.
“I—”
Before I could continue, Saint interrupted me with a clearing of the throat. “Why self-defense? Did something happen to make you feel threatened, Mr. Stiel?”
I turned back to face my locker and closed my eyes. I was screwing everything up as usual. This was a question I’d known I was going to get, and I really didn’t want to have to admit what a fucking scaredy-cat I was.
I shrugged. “Everyone should be able to defend themselves,” I said. I wondered if he recognized it as the nonanswer it was. My fingers finished fumbling over the final buttons of my shirt.
“True. But—”
“Good night, Mr. Wilde. See you next time,” I said with a nod before grabbing my wallet, car keys, and phone and exiting the locker room.
As I made my way out to the parking lot behind the building, I remembered his words about keeping my back straight and my eyes up. The autumn evening was brisk and gloomy, and it reminded me Halloween was coming.
I clicked the fob and saw lights blink on my SUV. As I slid into the clean leather seat, I breathed out a sigh of relief.
I’d done it. I’d taken a step toward eradicating this ridiculous weakness I’d been feeling since the break-in. Hopefully the self-defense classes would help me establish some form of self-confidence. And now for the next step. I would drive my car around to park behind my shop so I wouldn’t have so far to walk in the dark later.
After shifting the car into gear and pulling out of the parking space, I dialed Rory, but Katrina answered.
“Hey, sweetie,” she said with a smile in her voice. “Your sister’s out grabbing us dinner. How’d your first lesson go?”
I saw Saint walking out of the building next to another man about his same size. The guy with him was also good-looking. Did they only hire models at that fucking place?
My chest tightened as I saw Saint reach out to wrap his beefy arm around the other guy’s shoulder. They were both laughing, and I noticed Saint’s wide open smile and the crinkles in the corner of his eyes. It was such a far cry from the chastened version of him I’d ditched in the locker room. What must it feel like to be that free and happy, hanging out with another person you felt that comfortable with? I wanted to be the guy sharing the joke with him—and for some reason, I didn’t want the other guy anywhere near Saint. I wondered if they were more than friends.
“Augie?” I heard through the car’s Bluetooth speakers.
“Shit, sorry. Hi, Kat. It was good.”
“Tell me everything.” Her familiar voice was reassuring, and I slid down into my seat to enjoy the temporary company.
“The guy is cute as hell. Like… I wanted to climb him and touch him all over,” I admitted. She and my sister were the only people on earth I’d have the guts to admit that to.
Kat’s laughter filled the car. “Describe. Surely the guy is built if he teaches self-defense.”
I sighed. “He’s a million feet tall with thick blond hair. Maybe in his late twenties or early thirties. Total baby face but the most beautiful light blue eyes. And yeah, totally built. But not overly veiny or anything like a bodybuilder dude.”
“Sounds like a blond version of Marco,” she said, referring to her younger brother. “Hopefully, your guy has better manners though.”
Marco had been the one who’d brought my sister and Kat together five years before. He’d been Rory’s lab partner in a college science class, and when Rory’d discovered his sister was the gorgeous anchor on television she’d always lusted after, Marco had offered to introduce them. It had been love at first sight between my sister and Katrina. They were perfect for each other despite the ten-year age difference. Besides my homophobic family, the only problem was Kat’s career. She worked for a network that would drop her like a hot potato if a whiff of her sexuality became public.