Chapter 15

Felix

The text came in the middle of his meeting with Rene and the promoters. Carmen had asked Ella to trade hours with her, so Ella would now be working until closing at the gym. She asked him to just meet her there instead of her place. Not sure if he’d be there in time, he texted her back, asking for her address just in case.

She never responded.

He’d almost forgotten about it until he wrapped up his last meeting of the day with Adelina.

“Are you doing anything tonight to celebrate the contract being final?”

Not since Ella had begun to consume his every thought and he’d begun spending every night on the phone with her had he been with Adelina again. Her lashes draped over her eyes in slow motion as she smiled at him sinfully. They both stood up at the same time. In his other life—the one before Ella—he might’ve made the most of that conference room table. She’d since mentioned that they were the last two in the office. She’d even asked him if he minded waiting for her when they were done so they could walk out together.

The only things he could think of now were what time it was and if he’d make it to 5th Street before Ella’s last class was over.

“I’m free if you wanna go celebrate with a few drinks,” she said, licking her lips then added. “Or any other way.”

“Actually, I’m not,” he said, looking down at his phone to check the time and see if Ella had responded with her address. “I’m meeting someone but thanks.”

Deciding to keep it to himself for now, he didn’t elaborate further. Adelina would find out soon enough about Ella. Everyone would.

After walking her out, he thought about calling Ella, but he had plenty of time to get to 5th Street, and she was probably busy with her class. So he hurried to get there instead. Felix had some major ass-kissing to do because he didn’t care what she said. He’d been in the wrong, and he couldn’t wait to show her how sorry he was and make up for it.

He walked in just as Gio and Hector walked out.

“Why are you here so late?” Gio asked.

Hector laughed, answering Gio before Felix could. “Why do you think?”

“That’s right.” Gio said, his eyes going wide. “Abel and Noah said formal training starts soon.”

“Real soon,” Felix said. “Like next week and Noah is saying he wants to start the boot camp part of it in Big Bear, not here. I’m a little out of shape, man. And that guy’s gonna kick my ass up there, but I gotta do it.”

“I gotta start clearing my schedule then, brother.” Gio smiled. “Noah wants me up there too. We’ll both be kicking your ass in Big Bear.”

Felix groaned but laughed. “I already told him I want to do most of the training down here. I just got done talking to my publicist and told her to keep all the promoting on the west coast during my training. Since that means Hollywood, there’s no sense in going up and down that mountain, interrupting days of training, when it’s right around the corner from 5th Street.”

“And Ella,” Hector said, giving him a knowing look.

“That too.” Felix admitted with a shrug. “Speaking of, she’s still here, right?”

“I saw her out here earlier talking to some cop,” Gio said. “But I don’t know if she left.”

Felix’s attention was immediately piqued. “A cop?”

“Yeah, the same guy who always comes and talks to her,” Hector said, raising a brow. “But she’s up there now. I saw her earlier.” He jingled his keys at them. “I gotta go. Charlee’s craving corn on the cob.”

Felix smirked, waving him off, and then turned to Gio. “Was she out here long?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Gio said, pulling his own keys out of his pocket. “It’s just the only time I saw her today. But it was only for a couple of minutes when I stepped outside to take a call.”

Gio had to go too, and Felix made his way into the gym, getting stopped several times by trainers and starry-eyed gym members on his way to the back where Ella’s class was. He took a deep breath before walking in quietly to the class. A few heads turned, but they were in the middle of the yelling and fighting off the guys in padded suits. His eyes met with Ella’s and she smiled.

All the irritation he’d begun to feel about her having been out there talking to Grayson again disappeared instantly. How he ever thought this girl anything less than exquisite was beyond him. She was the same girl he met that first night with the same ponytail, wearing the same kind of simple cotton T-shirt and yoga pants like the ones she’d worn that first day he’d laid eyes on her. Yet she was a breathtaking sight now. She walked over to him, and the moment she reached him he reached out for her, pulling her by her delicate waist with one hand, and kissed her deeply.

For a moment, he forgot where he was. No one else existed but the two of them. He kissed her long, unable to get enough until she pulled away wide-eyed but smiling.

“Felix,” she whispered, licking her lips, then looked around casually—nervously.

All right, so there were a lot more eyes on them now. He didn’t give a shit, but he didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable. So he settled for a hug instead of kissing her again like he wanted to, squeezing her tightly. “You have no idea what you do to me,” he whispered in her ear.

Again she pulled away gently but slipped her hand in his then started toward the door, very obviously avoiding looking back at anyone in the room. When they were out in the hall, she turned to him with a twinkle in her eye but still very surprised. “What was that?”