Chapter 11 Bear
ELEVEN
BEAR
Well, I wasn’t expecting this to happen.
Clay cradles the back of her head with one hand, with the other placed on her lower back and leads Holly into a deep kiss. To my immense surprise, she’s kissing him back, her back arching into his touch. This is not the kiss of two strangers.
Clay isn’t the most sociable of people and takes a lot to warm up to someone, so the chances of him kissing our neighbour on a first meeting were incredibly low. For Holly to kiss him back? Yeah, it doesn’t add up; there’s something going on here.
I’m standing here and watching them like some sort of weirdo, and I look over at Elliot and see he’s doing the same.
We’ve been stunned into silence. Still, their kiss is ongoing and I’m starting to feel a little awkward.
How do you go about breaking up a kiss between one of your closest friends and the woman that you haven't been able to stop thinking about?
Taking a deep breath, I cross my arms over my chest and clear my throat, attempting to look amused at what’s happening.
Really, this whole situation is making me uncomfortable, I just don’t know why.
Clay and Holly pull apart, remembering that they aren’t the only ones in the room.
At least, Holly does, her cheeks pink and looking adorably flustered, moving back and putting some space between the two of them.
Clay, on the other hand, is staring at her as though she’s his very reason for being.
“What’s happening here?” Elliot asks, beating me to it and looking between the two of them.
He looks pissed off, although he’s trying to hide it with a tight smile.
It might work on someone who doesn’t know him, but I can see he’s annoyed by this little display.
“You should have said that you found us a way to get the neighbours to like us, Clay.”
Holly looks like she’s seen a ghost, her right hand pressed against her lips like she can still feel his touch.
I’m pretty sure she’s not taking in anything that Elliot just said, her mind completely caught up on the man before her.
She’s clearly taken aback by Clayton’s show of affection, but from the way she kissed him back you could tell she was definitely enjoying her little moment with him.
He would never force his attention onto a woman, so the only option that makes sense is that they have met previously.
“Clay?” I ask, needing to make sure he’s okay as he seems to have turned to stone, his entire focus locked on Holly.
I have my suspicions about what’s happening here, but I’m going to keep them to myself for now.
He will know what I’m asking just by calling his name, and slowly he blinks and glances across at me.
Never being one for much conversation, I know this is as close to a confirmation that he’s alright as I’m going to get.
Holly is glancing around, her cheeks so red that it’s impossible for her to hide her embarrassment at having an audience.
Asking questions is only going to make it worse for her, so I will hold back my curiosity and continue with the introductions as though nothing out of the ordinary just happened.
Clearing my throat again, I force my smile to stay even and gesture towards the others.
“These are my friends, but they are more like brothers to me. Together, the three of us are going to run the business.” Motioning for her to follow me, which she does in a daze, I give her the tour, pointing out various areas of interest and sharing my vision for the business.
“I will head up the gym side of things,” I explain as we walk around, “and Elliot is our nutritionist, so he’ll be working the health bar. ”
“What about him?” she asks quietly a few minutes later, her eyes flicking to Clay, who has resumed his statue-like state, his eyes following us around the room.
Of course, she would want to know what Clay’s involvement in the gym would be.
“Clayton will be helping with the day-to-day running of the business. He already runs a nightclub so he’ll be splitting himself between the two.
” Is that relief I see in her eyes? Focus, Bear, don’t get distracted.
“The flat above is also ours and we’ll be moving in once the renovations have finished. ”
She looks overwhelmed by the sudden influx of information. Discovering that we shall be moving in right next door to her seems to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
“You said that you were just visiting,” she accuses, her eyes narrowing, and I realise she’s referring to when we first met and I told her I was staying in the B I just didn’t mention the business. Why, then, do I feel as though I’m having to defend myself? Coughing out a short laugh, I shake my head. “I was visiting. We haven’t moved yet, we still travel to and from our house in the city.”
“You left a lot of information out.” Her arms are crossed and she glares up at me. She’s trying to be intimidating, but honestly, I just find the way her little nose scrunches up adorable.
My smile turns cheeky, trying to calm the situation without sounding as though I’m having to defend myself. “We had just met and I had no idea who you were. Do you share personal details with perfect strangers?”
Elliot snorts from the other side of the room. “No, but she’ll kiss them if you’re lucky.”
Oh, shit.
Elliot’s snarky reply has the exact effect on Holly that I thought it would, all traces of humour dropping from her face in a second. Spinning around like a whirlwind, she storms over to Elliot with a finger raised, anger radiating from her. For someone so small, she carries a lot of anger.
Oh, it’s going to be fun with her as our neighbour.
I don’t know exactly what happened between her and Elliot, but he clearly got on her wrong side.
She jabs him in the chest with her finger and I don’t bother to hide my grin.
Elliot could do with being taken down a few pegs, and honestly, I’m enjoying this immensely.
“Listen, you,” she seethes. “You can keep your snide little comments to yourself and leave me the hell alone.”
Elliot is a ladies’ man, and I don’t think he’s ever had a woman speak to him like this before. He looks shocked, staring down at her finger where it is still presses against his chest. Choking out a laugh, he attempts to compose himself.
“That’s going to be difficult, seeing as we’re neighbours.”
Holly bristles, readying herself to reply. I don’t know what has her so worked up with him, and it’s clear that she gets to him from his sarky comments. This is just going to dissolve into a fight. I need to step in before this gets ugly.
“Look, Holly, we just wanted to introduce ourselves and promise that we are not here to take your business.” My smile is honest and open, and I hope that she can feel the sincerity of what I’m saying.
I really don’t want to take her business.
“The health bar will be selling shakes and smoothies, none of the products that you make.”
“We encourage a balanced diet. I would never tell anyone to cut out the type of products you sell.” Elliot is obviously trying to be encouraging but, if anything, Holly is only more annoyed by this.
“Oh, yes.” She steps back from him and throws her arms up in the air. “Cake and bread are the perfect things to complement a gym-goers diet.”
Elliot raises his brows, confused at the strength of her frustration. “Everyone deserves a treat from time to time.”
“This isn’t helping, Elliot.” I glare at him over the top of Holly’s head. Stepping into her line of vision, I hold my hands up in a gesture of peace and smile gently. “Please, Holly, just trust us.”
She looks at me intently and I feel something in my chest a little like butterflies, a lightness filling me and lighting a hope that I’ve not felt in a long time.
How is it she brings these feeling out in me that I didn’t even know I could feel any more?
She looks over to Clay and the moment is broken, disappointment filling its place.
Clayton is still staring at her, having not said a word since the kiss.
Something seems to pass between them, but I can’t tell you what, especially given the fact she’s now backing away.
“I have to get back to work,” she mutters.
“Thank you for hearing us out. Give us a chance and we’ll prove that having us here is a good thing.” I reply, walking alongside her, holding open the door for her.
She smiles up at me, cheeks a little flushed and clearly surprised at my gratitude.
Her mouth opens, then closes, and I can see she wants to say something, but I’m not going to push her.
I watch her leave, and as soon as the door closes, there’s a loud thump behind me.
Spinning around with a frown, I find Clay on his knees, staring at the spot Holly had just been standing.
Elliot kneels at his side, hand on his shoulder, “What the hell is going on with you, man?”
That’s a sentiment I share with him, and I walk towards the two of them.
Slowly, I crouch in front of Clay and take in his dazed expression.
Recognising that it’s now me in front of him and not Holly, he blinks, almost like he’s waking up from a deep sleep.
I’m pretty sure I know what he’s about to say as he looks over my shoulder and towards the bakery.
“That’s her.” Clay croaks out, sounding desolated at the realisation. “Holly is the girl from the club.”
Holly, the woman I can’t stop thinking about. The one that Elliot clearly has a crush on, and the woman that Clayton has been obsessing over. I share a tense look with Elliot and I know he’s thinking the same thing.
Shit.
Things are about to get awkward.