“You gave her a black eye?” Mav hoots with laughter as he and Adam walk in front of me.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. Carrie again. Just what I need. Another girl to yell at me today. Though, to be fair, at least two of them had good reasons.
“Sienna!” Mav calls, snapping my attention to the girl sitting on the trainer’s table. He envelops her in a hug. “Rhett didn’t say it was you, or I would have kicked his ass already.”
“I’m fine. A little banged up.” Her gaze finds mine. She’s holding an ice pack up to her eye, and another rests on her left thigh.
“You know each other?” I ask. Duh, obviously they do.
“Yeah, of course.” Mav takes a seat next to her on the table. “Sienna is my favorite yoga teacher.”
“You do yoga?” Adam asks him.
He scoffs like he’s offended. “You should see my plow pose.”
“No thanks,” Adam says.
Maverick nudges Sienna. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just a little sore.”
“I could still kick his ass for you, if you want.”
I glance between them trying to read the situation. Maverick is the friendliest guy I know. He’s never met a stranger and chats up anyone. He also hits on everyone, making it hard to tell when he’s really into a girl or just being his usual friendly self. For some reason, I’m hoping it’s the second in Sienna’s case.
My phone rings again. Damn, Carrie is getting persistent.
“That Carrie?” Adam asks as I silence it and put it back in my pocket.
“Yeah.”
“Another one of the girls you’ve tortured today or one you plan to torture later?” Sienna smiles sweetly.
I balk. The guys laugh.
“I like her,” Adam says.
“All right, closing up for the day. Get out of here so I can sleep easy knowing you knuckleheads aren’t injuring yourselves or anyone else.” Jeff turns off the lights on one side of the room.
Maverick stands and helps Sienna to her feet. She protests a lot less with him helping her, I notice.
“Did you drive or do you need a ride?” he asks her.
“I am fine. Honestly.”
She hobbles, favoring her left side.
“We’ll drop you at your dorm,” Mav says.
And that’s that. The four of us walk out to Adam’s Jeep. I climb into the back with her, and Mav sits up front.
“I’m really sorry.” I can’t think of anything else to say. Her left eye is starting to turn colors, and I feel like a damn asshole.
“You mentioned that.” She smiles ever so slightly. “I’ll live.”
I fall quiet. Mav peppers her with questions and fills us in on what a great yoga teacher she is and how she’s his favorite. I mostly tune him out and scope her out for the first time since we met.
I must have still been drunk earlier because I hardly afforded her a second glance, and she’s worthy of a second and third glance. Even the yellow and blue starting to streak her face doesn’t take away from the bright green of her eyes. Her lashes are long and strikingly black against her skin. Her dark brown hair is pulled back into one of those messy buns girls wear and I can’t tell if it’s short or long.
“I’m Rhett,” I say finally.
“Sienna.”
“Nice to meet you.”
She hums, and the smallest of smiles tips up the corners of her mouth. “Nice is not the word I would have used.”
When Adam pulls up in front of her dorm, she opens the door.
“Thanks for the ride.”
“See you tomorrow in class,” Mav says out his window.
I bolt across the back seat as the door closes on me.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell the guys.
I hustle after her, reaching her just inside of the main lobby of the dormitory.
“Hey, wait up.” I fall into step beside her.
"Following me?" She continues walking toward the stairway.
“I feel terrible. Let me make it up to you somehow. Dinner? Coffee?”
Her brows lift. “Are you asking me out?”
"No," I say quickly. Not the worst idea, but it’s clear she isn’t on board. “Just an apology meal.”
“I’m good.”
“Then, yes, a date.”
Abruptly, she stops walking, and I catch myself two steps ahead of her.
“A date?” Those green eyes pin me to my spot.
I shrug. “Or just coffee.”
“With you? The guy who was hooking up with someone earlier today and made her cry?” She says it like it’s a question.
“How do you...”
“Your buddies were talking pretty loudly. I didn’t get the whole story, but I think I heard enough.”
I open and close my mouth. What the hell do I say to that?
My phone rings. I ignore it, but Sienna glances to my pocket and laughs. “I think you’ve already got your hands full. See ya around, lady-killer.”
She pushes past me, and I let her go. I take out my phone and power off the stupid thing as I walk back outside.
When I’m in the back seat, Mav turns around and regards me seriously. “She okay?”
“Seems fine.” I bang my head against the window. What a fucking day.
“Leave it to you to hurt Sienna of all people.” Mav’s facing forward, so I can’t see his face, but the back of his head shakes from side to side.
“I was chasing a loose puck. I was trying to keep it from hitting her.”
“In this case, I think the puck would have done less damage.
“No fucking kidding.” I sigh. “And what do you mean Sienna of all people? I was feeling pretty fortunate I took down a tough chick with no heart. She didn’t even cry. I cannot take another girl crying on me today.”
Mav swivels around, and his jaw hangs open.
“What?” I look from him to Adam. The latter shrugs.
“You don’t know?”
“Know what?”
“I don’t know how anyone can put their foot in their mouth so well without even knowing what he’s doing.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“First of all, she has a heart. She’s one of the nicest, most down-to-earth girls I’ve ever met.”
“And secondly?”
“Sienna has a rare heart condition. I don’t know all the details, but I think it’s pretty serious.”
An uneasy feeling washes over me. “How do you know all this?”
“We chat during yoga. Her heart stops, or she faints, or both, maybe. It happened at one of her competitions last year.”
“Ooooh.” Adam shakes a finger at him. “I heard about that. She has long QT.” He whips around to stare at me with wide eyes. “You took out a girl with a bad heart?”
“You could have killed her,” Mav says. “No heart.” He huffs.
My stomach drops. Holy shit. I don’t know what long QT is but it doesn’t sound good. “How the hell was I supposed to know? And it isn’t like I did it on purpose. It was an accident.”
We pull up to the apartment and Mav jumps out. “I was just giving you shit on that last thing. I don’t think you would have killed her, but it does seem very appropriate, considering your track record today.”