The aroma of dark roast and cinnamon filled the air as David leaned back in his chair, watching Rachel move around her kitchen with an effortless kind of grace. Sunlight streamed through the open window, making the colorful glass suncatcher hanging above the sink cast prisms of light across the wooden countertops. Rachel was dressed in a way that suited her--comfortable, loose, almost bohemian. A long, flowing skirt with deep earthy tones swayed around her ankles as she moved, and the faded band tee she wore off one shoulder looked like it had seen better days, but on her, it worked. She was barefoot, always barefoot, with silver rings on nearly every finger and a thin leather cord around her neck holding some small crystal that she swore balanced her energy.
David had just come from the gym, still dressed in black joggers and a tight-fitting t-shirt that clung to his broad chest, damp from the lingering heat of his workout. He'd wrapped his hands earlier for some time on the heavy bag, and the red marks on his knuckles hadn't quite faded. He took a slow sip of coffee, letting the warmth settle into him as he watched Rachel move.
"So," she said, finally settling into the chair across from him, tucking one leg beneath her. "Tell me about dinner with the Harts. You've been holding out on me."
David smirked, setting his mug down. "It was... about what I expected," he admitted. "Jonathan was a wreck--man's unraveling faster than I thought he would. But Claire?" He chuckled, shaking his head. "She's something else."
Rachel arched a brow, intrigued. "Something else, how?"
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "She's observant, calculating. Spent most of the night trying to figure me out. She's playing a game, but she doesn't realize she's already lost."
Rachel hummed, stirring her coffee lazily. "I take it she's interested?"
David exhaled a laugh. "Showed up at my gym Monday morning."
Rachel nearly choked on her coffee, setting the mug down quickly. "No. She did not."
"Oh, she did," David confirmed, eyes gleaming with amusement. "Pretended she was there for a tour, but it was obvious. She barely even looked at the equipment. Just me."
Rachel whistled low. "Damn. She's got it bad."
"She thinks she's in control," David mused, his smirk turning knowing. "That's the fun part."
Rachel watched him carefully, fingers tracing the rim of her mug. "And what's your endgame, Davey?"
David didn't answer right away. Instead, he leaned back, stretching his arms behind his head. The movement made his biceps flex, pulling his shirt taut across his chest. His voice was low, almost amused when he finally spoke. "Let's just say Jonathan Hart is about to understand what it feels like to lose."
Rachel rolled her eyes. "You're impossible."
David just smirked, taking another slow sip of coffee.
They sat in easy silence for a while, the sounds of the city filtering in through the open window. Then Rachel shifted, biting her lip, and David caught it instantly. His gaze sharpened.
"What?" he asked, setting his mug down.
Rachel shook her head, a flush creeping up her cheeks. "It's nothing."
David arched a brow. "Rach."
She sighed, shaking her head before finally meeting his gaze. "It's just... something Emily said once."
David's smirk faded. "Yeah?"
Rachel hesitated, then took a sip of coffee before setting it down and meeting his gaze. "She said that, um... sometimes intimacy with you was... uncomfortable."
For a moment, there was silence. Then, David threw his head back and laughed--a deep, rich sound that filled the kitchen.
Rachel groaned, covering her face. "I knew I shouldn't have said anything!"
David shook his head, still grinning as he wiped a hand over his jaw. "Jesus. Don't believe everything you hear."
Rachel tilted her head, her smile turning just a little coy as she tapped her fingers against her mug. "Oh, I don't think it's a rumor."
David leaned forward then, his voice dropping to a low drawl. "And what exactly makes you so sure?"
Rachel just smiled, biting her lip as she looked at him over the rim of her coffee cup. "Call it intuition."
David shook his head, running a hand through his short hair as if physically brushing the conversation aside. "Alright, we're done here." He picked up his coffee and took a long, slow sip, hoping to move things along.
Rachel, of course, wasn't having it.
"Oh no, we're not," she countered, setting her cup down with a deliberate clink. "You can bench-press a small car and probably crush a coconut between your biceps, but you're trying to tell me that's not impressive?" She let her gaze drift, exaggeratedly taking in the sheer breadth of him--the thick muscle of his forearms, the way his shirt barely contained the size of his chest and shoulders. "I mean, look at you, Davey."
David smirked, shaking his head. "Rach--"
"No, seriously," she interrupted, tilting her head, eyes bright with amusement. "You're built like a damn Greek statue, and then there's this whole"--she waved her hand vaguely in his direction--"thing you've got going on. I don't think you even realize what you do to people."
David exhaled a short laugh, leaning back in his chair. "Trust me, there are some things you can't work out to make grow."
Rachel chuckled, tilting her head. "True, but that's not what I'm talking about." She tapped a finger against the side of her mug, studying him. "It's more than just muscle. It's your energy. Your presence. You walk into a room, and people notice. You don't even have to try."
David arched a brow, but there was a flicker of something unreadable in his expression. "Rach--"
"I mean it," she insisted. "It's the way you carry yourself. You're confident without being cocky."
David smirked at that, tipping his cup toward her. "Oh, I'm plenty cocky when I need to be."
Rachel grinned, shaking her head. "See, that's the difference. Most men want to impress people. You don't. Yet somehow, everyone you meet is impressed."
David held her gaze for a long moment, the teasing fading slightly as something unspoken passed between them. He could deflect all he wanted, but Rachel wasn't wrong, and they both knew it.
He exhaled, shaking his head. "I just don't have the energy to care what people think."
Rachel's smile softened, but there was something knowing in her eyes. "Maybe," she allowed. "Or maybe you just don't need to care."
David huffed out a laugh, shaking his head as he tried once again to steer the conversation in another direction. "What is this, Rachel? Some kind of late-game round of truth or dare?"
Rachel's lips curled into a slow, mischievous smile. "No," she said lightly, tilting her head. "But it could be fun."
Before he could respond, she stood, her movements fluid and deliberate. She stepped toward him, closing the space between them until she was standing directly between his spread legs as he sat in the kitchen chair. His body tensed, but he didn't move away. She was close--too close. Close enough that he could smell the faint, earthy mix of lavender and citrus in her hair.
Rachel glanced down at him, her voice softer but no less teasing. "I know what I felt when we hugged a couple of weeks ago."