Ten minutes in and sweat was dripping down me. My legs were begging for a break from the steep incline I battled. Groaning, I gave myself one last push to finish when the door swung open. A familiar face reflected off the glass as he strolled through. Josh.Great.
It wasn’t unusual to run into some of the guys from the team, but most of them preferred to use the stadium facilities. Josh spotted me on the machine and I watched the reflection as his eyes roamed over my ass in tight leggings, with a workout bra barely holding my bouncing boobs, as I rode the machine to what felt like my death. Josh made no attempt to hide his gaze that sat directly on my chest.
Something about the way he stood frozen in place, watching me, pushed me harder. I gave it my all, making sure there was extra pep in my step. He was damn near drooling and I was relishing in it. It had been a long time since anyone had looked at me like that and it certainly wasn’t anything Wes ever did. Ugh, why did Josh need to look at me like that? And why was I more than willing to let him ogle me? ’Cause no matter what, he’s hot and we have some sort of weird quasi-friendship or understanding despite denying it.
Finally, the machine slowed down, allowing me to catch my ragged breath.
Josh’s gaze finally broke as he wandered over to me. “Hey.”
“Hey? After you’ve been staring at my assets for the last few minutes,” I taunted through choppy breaths.
He chewed on the inside of his cheek, a tight grin pulling at his lips. “How could I not?”
Was he flirting with me?Then I remembered, Josh flirted with everyone.
“Enjoy the rest of your workout.” He smirked and headed to the weights. He purposely flexed when he removed hisshirt, exposing all his abs. Sure, I had seen it every day doing his physio, but I still couldn’t look away. I should have. It only added to his stupid ego.
After only a few curls with the weights, I was done. There was no way I could focus as I watched Josh’s rippled muscles flex with his arm curls. With my luck, I’d trip over my feet and fly off the damn machine. I didn’t trust myself, especially when Josh was adding squats in with his weights. He might be an ass, but he also had a fine one.
“Like what you see?” He winked at me.
Hiding my blush, I quipped, “Ha! With that form, I better start making a plan for your back tomorrow.”
He stuck his ass out further, dropping lower and pushing his arm straight up. His entire body was chiseled at that angle and worth every unfiltered thought at that second. He wiggled his brows in the mirror. “Better? And don’t lie, I saw you licking your lips.”
“In your dreams.”
He chuckled. “At this point, it’s a nightly event. You know you can just ask…”
What an arrogant piece of work.Two could play at this game. I stepped over to my towel and water bottle on the side of the machine, making a performance of patting myself down and taking a slow drink from my water bottle. Josh was eating it up, even though he was pretending not to, but his eyes betrayed him in the mirror. He was watching me like a cat with a mouse.
“Now who’s in your dreams?” I chided and left before he could gather enough of his brain cells back north. I may have caught the start of some uncomfortable pant straining.Serves him right.
Once I got back to my room, I took my second cold shower. I’d like to say it was because of my workout, but Josh had an unnerving effect on me. I hated how much my body responded to the way his eyes watched me or how he lookedlike he would take me right there on the benches. An image that only made me hotter for him. My stomach tightened and heat pooled between my legs despite the cold water. What the heck was with me? Maybe it’s been too long. I thought back to my last lackluster-sex encounter and couldn't even remember it. Damn.
CHAPTER 10
JOSH
My concentration was shot. Kev’s words tumbled around in my head from our conversation on the plane. “Fake date her. Get Carlos off your back and no one will know. You have chemistry with her, whether you admit it or not.”
I couldn’t deny the chemistry, especially while I watched her tits bouncing around in the gym. It took all of my energy to keep from dragging her off that damn machine and burying my cock inside her. I know she caught a glimpse of the half chub she’d given me. She smirked like she knew what she did to me and it was hot. She was a flirt and it was all I could think about.
Especially since the calendar on the wall in front of me was like a countdown of doom. I was running out of time, and options. Maybe there was something to what Kev suggested. It would be fake. I could talk her into some sort of deal. If we took sex off the table and just hung out a few times to appease everyone. Maybe it wasn’t far-fetched.
The city was electric. The lid on the stadium was open, the air was warm but breezy, and we were playing our rivals, Boston, on their home turf. We were up 2-1. It was their turn at bat. Just as the batter walked up to the plate, I shot Carlos a stare that read,you betterhave it locked down behind the batter.Johnson had a habit of bunting. I checked over my shoulder to third base, where Castle was stretching just off the base. Kev whipped the ball at Milos who caught it. He swung at the leg of Castle who had just made it back to the base. I groaned. It was a split second off having his ass walk back to the bench. Hopefully, it served as a warning not to mess with us. I doubted it, though; he liked to showboat and stealing home was a fucking enticing option.
The chants began. Urging the batter to knock one out of the park. They needed one to tie the game. It was tight, as we were in the ninth. Castle was on third and edging for a steal. If Johnson hit it out of the park, it would be an easy win. Johnson turned to see his coach. Something about the way he changed his stance had me feeling he was aiming to bunt. It would be enough to get Castle over the line and tie the game.Fuck.
Without being obvious, I signaled the coach to close the gap. The outfielders edged closer and we were prepared for it. I bounced on my toes, waiting. Kev took a steadying breath just before he wound up his pitch. His hand released and the ball launched right into the strike zone.Nice!
Carlos narrowed his eyes, making sure no one attempted to steal a base, then lobbed the ball to Kev. Johnson lined up the same way again. Kev tossed out a curve ball, but the prick was ready for it. The clink of the ball connecting with the bat had Kev scrambling off the mound as fast as he could. Carlos and Kev were racing to catch it when it dropped with a thud just out of reach of both of them.For fuck’s sake.Carlos grabbed it and rushed back to home plate just as Castle slid across it.
A bead of sweat rolled down my forehead.
A hush fell over the crowd.
“OUT!” the umpire yelled, shaking his fist. The crowd thundered in disappointment, but we didn’t care. I ran and jumped on Kev. We won! It was our first win in the last four games. We finally broke our losing streak.
