Dances with Monsters(75)

"What are you doing here?" he asked, noting her attire. "You come to work out?"

"No," she replied. "I'm actually on my way to the Y to work on the showcase piece. I stopped by to bring you something."

"What's that?" he asked, his eyes going to the little paper sack in her hands. She held it out to him and he took it.

"It's a mini-apple pie," she explained. "Something new. Bunz baked them. Thought you might like to try it."

"Smells good," he commented, sniffing the bag. "Even through the plastic wrap. It's not just sweet though." He frowned and took another sniff. "It smells like…bacon. And cheese too, maybe. This is an apple pie?"

Drew laughed. "Yes. It's mostly sweet. The cheese is in the crust. Cheese and apples have gone together since the dawn of time."

"And the bacon?" he asked, lifting his eyebrows.

"Haven't you ever had salty and sweet mixed together?" she asked, and he slowly shook his head. "It's one of the most delicious combinations in existence, in my opinion," she went on. "Salty and sweet are meant for each other. Like caramel and sea salt, or chocolate and sea salt. With the bacon in the filling, it gives you that savory, salty payoff after the tart and sweet of the apples. It's the perfect mash-up of everything your tongue craves." Her final words hung in the air, and while Drew had genuinely been talking about food, she realized how sensual the words were. And it wasn't lost on Heath. She'd noticed his eyes fall to her mouth as she was speaking, and they lingered there for a long moment after she was done. Despite her desire not to do so in that exact moment, her body rebelled and the tip of her tongue slipped out and swept over her slightly dry bottom lip, drawing it between her teeth as she withdrew it.

His eyes followed every movement, then lifted to hers, holding her gaze for a moment. Finally he nodded.

"Can't wait to try it," he said. "It'll be my post-workout snack. My nutritionist will be so happy with me."

Drew smirked. "Just tell him you had protein, fruit and a little dairy and he'll be fine." She shrugged. "It's true, after all."

He let out a chuckle. "You could be right about that," he replied, folding his arms over his chest.

Drew stared at his bicep until she realized she was staring and shook herself. "Well," she said. "I'd better get going. I'm hoping to get another full minute of my dance completed tonight."

"All right," he said softly. "Good luck on it." He unfolded his arms and stepped toward her again, and her pulse sped up until it was completely out of control. She could feel it pulsing in her throat. He leaned down to brush his lips to her cheek again, and they hesitated there for just a moment. She turned her head slightly toward his and looked up into his eyes, then down at his mouth. It was just centimeters from hers and he seemed to be asking the silent question he'd asked from the night before. She was about to be bold and initiate it herself this time, her hands even coming to his shoulders as though they had a mind of their own, but then she heard footsteps behind her and she quickly stepped away, dropping her hands, following the sound as Heath's head snapped up.

"Heath," Rex said, then stopped short, noting their closeness. "My bad," he added with a smirk. "I didn't mean to interrupt anything."

"What you want, Rex?" Heath asked curtly.

Rex's smirk widened. "I just wanted to let you know some of the competitors who are going to be at Smackdown are on ESPN right now, showing some highlight videos. Might be good to come take a look, study their moves."

Heath sighed, glancing at Drew, then nodded. Drew wasn't upset; she knew next to nothing about MMA but could agree that it did sound like a very good, helpful idea. She glanced back up at him, giving him a half-smile and noting the wistful disappointment in his eyes.

"Gotta go," she said lightly, shoving her hands in her jacket pocket.

"Be careful," he replied. "What time you goin' home?"

"Couple hours," she said. "Long before you even close up here."

He nodded. "Send me a text when you get home, okay?" he asked. "So I know you made it home safe."

"Sure," she said with a smile. "Enjoy the pie. Have a good night."

As turned to leave, she gave Rex a dirty look and brushed past him. His laughter echoed in her ears as she pushed through the doors of the gym, pulling her hood up against the drizzle. She couldn't stop a little smile from crossing her face, though. If she were contemplating being the initiator this time, it was progress. Or maybe it was just what Heath did to her.