Pierce chuckled and made some comments about Gunner not having the goods to compete.
Gia didn’t know what they were talking about as she pulled her keys from her bag then slung it over her shoulder.
* * * *
Gunner felt his heart racing. He had debated about coming into the dojo after the gym, but after seeing Gia’s car out front, he had wanted to see her again. A quick talk with Pierce indicated she trained often. Seeing her now, in her relaxed, black martial arts pants and a black tank top, he could tell she was in great physical condition. She had a fucking body and a half on her, and as Shane flirted, Gunner felt his muscles tense and the twinge of jealousy place a sour taste in his mouth. He decided to let the guy know that Gia was off-limits.
“I’ll walk you out,” he said to Gia as she gathered her things then waved good-bye to Lee.
He opened the door for her, as the warm night air hit them.
“It’s a beautiful night,” he said and she pulled on a light half sweatshirt in black, then moved her ponytail to the side.
“It sure is. So what’s up?” she asked as they approached her car. She sounded kind of nervous, which only made him feel nervous, and that was completely unlike him.
“I saw your car and I haven’t seen Lee and Pierce in a while and thought I’d stop in. You’ve been coming here long?”
She leaned against her car and pulled the sweatshirt tighter. She swallowed hard then looked up toward him. He knew he was a big man and very tall, especially compared to Gia. If she was five feet five inches, he was pushing it. He loved the way her waist dipped in nice and small yet she was curvy in all the right places.
“Teddy introduced me to Lee when I first arrived from New York. It was something I always wanted to do, so Teddy and Lee talked me into taking some classes.”
“How do you like it?” he asked her as he stared at her, absorbing her beauty and how resistant she seemed to be to his tactics of trying to break the ice.
“I like it most nights, but sometimes it’s too hard.”
“Are they pushing you too much? I can talk with Lee.”
“Oh, God no, that’s not what I mean. I’m sorry, Gunner. Ya know what, I’m tired and I kind of had a bad day and night. I just want to head home.”
“Yeah, it’s been a long day.”
She stood straight and opened her car door. He placed his hands on her door as she started the engine. He looked down at her.
“You planning on heading to the game tomorrow?”
“Yes, I’m catching a ride with Teddy. He’s working tonight but should be off in time to leave. The game is like an hour from here, right?”
“Yeah. I’m off tomorrow, so I’m going to go, too. So I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yes. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
He watched her pull out of the parking lot and wondered if she was really this shy or if she was playing hard to get. He and his brothers had met some pretty messed-up women over the last few years. Some were out for a good time and others wanted to make him jealous or use him to get what they wanted. It had hardened him in a lot of ways and he basically gave up on finding a good woman. But now after talking with Garrett and Wes, he wondered if Gia was different. Could they possibly be making something more out of this than there was? They were getting antsy to settle down and Gia was young. Perhaps they should give her space and just see what happened. Fate had a funny way of working things out. He wasn’t the kind of man to go after a woman and beg for her attention. If chemistry was there then it would push things along.
He thought about his brother Garrett. He couldn’t help but notice the small changes in him lately. He had his eyes on Gia and his interest seemed to make Garrett appear different. Calling it happiness would be ridiculous at this point, but Garrett was always so somber and angry. It seemed to Gunner and even his brother Wes that whenever Gia was around Garrett’s attitude changed. Shit, he actually smiled. Perhaps she would be good for his brother
Gunner headed to his truck and got up in the cab. Gia was no longer in sight, yet he couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like if she belonged to him, Wes, and Garrett. Patience was one of his strong points, but with Gia, it seemed he was losing some of it with each time he saw her.
* * * *
Teddy stood in Gia’s kitchen as she grabbed her cell phone from her bedroom. She had done a beautiful job decorating her apartment. It was a nice complex and only fifteen minutes from his own neighborhood. She had three bedrooms and thought it was a bit too much for just herself living there, but he had talked her into it. He figured having the extra space would make her feel less cramped and this apartment had a great view of the gardens.
He looked at a bunch of scattered papers on the island, all hand sketched and then some colored computer versions. The bright colors and the product name intrigued him as he held it up to look at it.
“What do you think?” she asked as she reentered, pulling on a light brown zip-up sweatshirt. She was dressed in the Bulls fan attire and Teddy smiled.
“Dale set you up with all of that?” he asked, smiling. He was wearing the same T-shirt, but it didn’t look as good as it looked on his cousin. She was a knockout and he had been hearing nothing but questions about her fro