If I didn’t know better, I would’ve sworn my heart was broken.
“Stupid,” I admonished as I stripped out of my clothes and pulled on my pajamas.
I had some studying to do for my early class tomorrow and though I would’ve preferred to hide under my covers and cry, I decided it was the distraction I needed.
And when my phone chirped with a text message, I didn’t bother to look. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I needed some time for my own pity party. Thursday night I would return to the training class and I would follow Master Chaos’s instructions. And I would do the same with whoever was assigned to me for the next four weeks.
After all, I was the one who’d agreed to this class. Edge and Cav owed me nothing.
Too bad my expectations had been so high before tonight.
Had they not been, perhaps I wouldn’t be wiping away a stray tear right now.
CAV
“DID YOU SEE JAMIE LEAVE?” I ASKED Edge as he was closing down the club.
I’d stayed back, chatting with the others, discussing the outline for the training class and the submissives who were participating while Edge and Cambria had talked to the submissives who had questions and followed up to ensure they had all the necessary paperwork.
“Did you not talk to her?” he asked as he flipped through a notebook on his desk.
“No. I saw her head to the locker room but never saw her after that.”
“I saw her head downstairs,” he said, his tone clipped. “She looked determined to leave, so I let her go.”
I frowned. “Without saying anything?”
“Yeah.”
Well, fuck.
I had been hoping to talk to her before she left, explain what she could expect for the training class, and reassure her that we were in no way brushing her off, merely ensuring she had the same opportunity as the other submissives. Considering she hadn’t looked at me once during the training class, she had needed that reassurance.
Only she had disappeared.
Edge turned to look at me. “You ready?”
“I guess.”
I followed him as he wandered through the club, peering into every room before clicking off the lights as he went. Rather than go down to the dungeon, I had waited on the main floor while he took care of shutting it down. When he returned, I was skimming through my phone, hoping to find a message from Jamie.
Nothing.
“You ever figure out what you’re going to do about living arrangements?” he asked, drawing my attention away from my text messages.
I shook my head, shoved my phone in my pocket. “Not sure yet. Called a Realtor yesterday.”
“Buying a house?”
“I’m considering it.”
“Ben told me you turned him down for the apartment across the hall,” Edge said as we stepped out of the club, into the dark, cold night. The wind had picked up and I hadn’t bothered with a coat.
I hefted my toy bag on my shoulder, then waited while Edge closed and locked the main door.
“Haven’t marked it off completely,” I admitted. “I told him I’d consider it. Not my first choice, though.”
Edge glanced my way, lifting the collar of his coat as we walked to the parking garage. “Why not?”
“Seemed like an invasion of your privacy. You don’t need me lingering next door.”
“What if I wanted you to?”
“Do you?”
Edge stopped, then turned to face me. “To be honest, I’d prefer to have you in my bed, but I figured that would be inappropriate to request.”
“Why?”
“I’m not a presumptuous man, Cav. You of all people know that.”
No, he wasn’t.
“It’s an option,” he said softly. “Always an option.”
I nodded, started walking again.
While the idea of sleeping in his bed wasn’t a bad one, I wasn’t up for living with him. Spending the night on occasion was all good and fine. But I preferred my independence, and until I got a grasp on where my life was headed, I didn’t want to take a leap like that. But I did need to find somewhere other than the hotel. It was a little too stiff and formal for my taste.
Edge grinned. “If I’m the only reason you’re thinking about passing on the apartment, I suggest you take it.”
“I’ll think about it.” I feigned indifference. “But I’m not gonna pass up the chance to check out the real estate.”
“Can’t blame you there,” Edge said, his eyes assessing as they passed over me. “Everything all right?”
No, it wasn’t. Jamie had disappeared tonight without speaking to me and it didn’t sit well. But I wasn’t in the mood to hash it out with Edge. The man was not in the habit of being honest and forthcoming about his feelings, so I expected him to shrug it off.
“All good,” I lied.
He glanced over at his truck. “I gotta head out. I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”
I nodded in response, then stood there, surprised when Edge walked away without looking back.
