Chapter Four
Four
Atlas
From the moment I saw her scraping cake off the sidewalk, my tail had wagged nonstop.
She was adorable, all soft curves and smooth skin.
Her emerald green eyes were rimmed red as tears tracked over the smattering of light brown freckles on her cheeks.
There was no way I could walk by and leave her to handle that mess alone. I just couldn’t.
As I walked back to the gym with a box of cupcakes in my hands and a stupid smile plastered to my muzzle, I realized I’d made a mistake. I hadn’t even gotten her name. I should have gotten her number.
Right?
When I was washing my hands, I could have sworn she was checking out my ass. It made me feel better about the fact that when she was washing her hands, I was checking out her ass, too.
It looked so full and soft. Perfect for resting my head on.
Fuck.
This was the first time since I’d ended things with Jade that I felt even the tiniest inkling of attraction to someone, and boy, was I feeling it in a big way. I needed to calm down or everyone at the gym would see the boner I was sporting underneath my shorts.
I took a deep breath in through my nose and tried to send my thoughts drifting back to something else before I passed through the gym doors.
Fallon made that one easy for me.
“Hey, A-man! How goes it, bro?” Fallon’s beak clicked with each word, his beady bird eyes blinking at me assessingly.
“Hey, my guy. Uh, just getting back from that bakery down the street.” I raised the box of cupcakes and headed for my office, with him following close behind.
“The bakery?” he asked. “What were you doing there?”
“I helped the owner out.” I set the box of cupcakes on my desk and opened the lid. The tantalizing aroma of vanilla, lemon, and raspberry wafted out of the box and I licked my lips. “Help yourself,” I said to Fallon. “Goddess knows I don’t need all of them.”
“Psh, you’re bulking, man. It would take more than a box of cupcakes to throw off your gains. You look great.”
I flexed in the mirror behind my desk, admiring the progress I’d made since my breakup six months ago. Yeah, it had fucking hurt, but damn did it help to push me at the gym.
“See?” Fallon mumbled through a beak full of icing. “You’re fucking ripped.”
I sighed and sat down in my desk chair, hitting the power button on my computer to boot it up for the day.
When I opened the gym, I thought I’d spend the majority of my time working with clients and training, but in reality, I spent most of my time doing clerical shit and writing checks.
I desperately needed to hire someone for this.
“Do you need something?” I asked, typing in the password for my computer.
“I know you’re busy with the wedding this weekend, but I was wondering if you wanted to hit the club with me next weekend. We can—”
“Dude, I told you. Clubs just aren’t for me. I don’t drink. I don’t do random hookups, and besides, I just met someone—” I snapped my muzzle shut before I spilled the last part. The last thing I needed was this giant chicken trying to play matchmaker.
Fallon stared at me, the wheels in his bird brain turning until it finally clicked. “There’s someone you’re interested in.”
Shit. I’d really done it now.
I groaned and dragged my claws through my fur. “I mean, I guess so?”
“Who?” he asked.
“The woman who owns the bakery down the street was loading up a cake and she dropped it. She was kneeling on the sidewalk crying so I stopped to help her.”
“Okay. And? That sounds like your typical nice-guy shit, if you ask me.”
“I just—I don’t know. She made me feel things.”
“Like what sort of things?” he asked. He was so invested in our conversation that he was on the edge of his seat, nearly leaning over my desk.
“I haven’t been attracted to someone like that in a long time,” I admitted.
“Oh. My. Gods,” he shrieked. “And I thought this day was never going to come.”
I balled up a piece of paper and tossed it at him. “Shut up.”
“Did you get her number?”
“No,” I snapped, rearing back. “That would have been weird.”
He sighed, rubbing his temple with his talons like I was a massive disappointment. “You have been out of this for so long that you have absolutely no game. You should have asked for her number. Or at least given her your card.”
“I told her where I work and to let me know if she ever needs help.”
“You need to do more than that if you’re interested in her, though.” He was quiet for a second, then bolted upright. “You know what—was the cake for the wedding tonight?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Didn’t you say the mayor invited everyone from the local businesses? If she owns the bakery and made the cake, she’s probably going to be there tonight.”
My ears perked up at the prospect of seeing her again. “You’re right.”
I had to give Fal credit. He was smarter than he looked.
“Dude. You totally have a crush on her.”
“I do not. I just—want to get to know her better.” Wow. That didn’t sound convincing at all.
“You know what they say. The best way to get over someone is to get under somebody else.”
“It isn’t like that.” Sure, my mystery woman was attractive, but hooking up with her wasn’t a priority—at least not yet.
“You sure you don’t want to take me as your wingman?” he suggested.
“No way. If she’s there, I don’t need you scaring her away.”
“I’m so proud of you,” he said, wiggling his shoulders excitedly. “It’s like my little pup is all grown up.”
I rolled my eyes. “Get out of here. I have a lot of work to do if I want to make it out of here in time for the wedding.”
He stood in front of the desk, staring down at me like he was some superior life-form. “Yeah, yeah. All right. I can take a hint. But if you change your mind, send me a text.”
“Will do,” I said with an eye roll as I watched him walk out the door.
There was no way I was going to text him, but one thing was for sure: The prospect of seeing her again made attending the wedding a lot more appealing.