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I’d learned, all right.
“Don’t forget the calories from your ink explosion,” I teased. “Wonder how many they have?”
She made a face. “Funny guy.” The phone rang and she held up a finger for me to wait while she answered it.
She’d been The Cage’s receptionist for about six months now, and she did the job as she did everything else—capably and quietly, with smiles and friendly conversation for everyone who passed her way. She’d told me she was signing up so many new members that her boss had mentioned a possible raise soon.
It didn’t surprise me. Lily was impossible not to love. I knew that better than anyone, and I was the guy who didn’t.
Love, I mean.
It wasn’t that I was incapable of the emotion. I just expected a lot from people, and they invariably didn’t live up to it. That wasn’t their fault. It was probably mine. But after losing my dad—who I’d adored in spite of all his issues—and then dealing with my mom, who tried her best but ultimately wasn’t really cut out to be a parent, I took guarded to a whole new level.
Only Lily—and Lance—had pierced that iron-clad cage I’d built around myself for self-preservation. Which was why I would never risk hurting either of them.
I’d hurt myself first.
“Another prospective client.” Lily hung up and made a notation on her pad. “He’s coming for a gym tour in an hour. Guess I better clean up first, huh?” She sighed and stared down at her skirt. “Good thing I have an extra pair of sweats in my locker. Not really professional for the front desk, though.”
“I’ll take you home to change at lunch,” I said quickly. Lily’s rustbucket of a car was on the fritz again, and she hadn’t scraped together the funds to get it fixed yet. Her dad wanted to help her, as did I, but she was stubborn and insisted on saving up for the new transmission herself.
She grinned and leaned across the counter to kiss my cheek. “My hero.”
A clatter sounded in the doorway, and we both glanced up to see someone struggling with a pair of ladders and a sawhorse. “Hey you two, feel like giving a hardworking guy a hand?” JC O’Connor’s brown eyes twinkled under a careless mop of blondish-brown hair. He always looked as if he’d rolled out of bed and shown up in whatever state he’d awakened in. “I’m down a few crew members at the moment.”
I’d made it halfway over to him when I realized his flannel shirt was open over his chest. And he wasn’t wearing any-damn-thing underneath it. Yet again.
I was used to seeing tons of shirtless men on a daily basis at the gym. This one, however, affected me in ways most of them did not.
The dude loved to be naked. Or at least I had to assume so, judging from how often he shed his shirt while he worked. Hell, even his jeans always seemed permanently slouched beneath the waistband of his boxers, revealing whatever name brand he was modeling today.
He and his crew had started renovating the gym a week or so ago, but I’d known him for longer than that because of Lily. They’d met years ago in a woodworking class, and I’d always kept a close eye on him. Lily claimed they were just good friends, but any guy who named his construction business O’Connor’s Wood shouldn’t be left alone with an inexperienced woman.
“Lose your shirt?” I asked idly, grabbing one of the ladders.
“Aw, you noticed. I’m touched.” He grinned up at me from where he’d bent to tie his shoelace. He could because Lily had grabbed one ladder and the sawhorse.
“Jesus, Lil, give me those.” I pulled them away from her, ignoring her pouty face. She was a strong girl and she was certainly able to help carry some stuff, but it bothered me on a cellular level to watch her struggle when I was right there to help.
“I’m perfectly capable of carrying something.” She tugged on the sawhorse and I relented, not wanting to fight. She was right. I was just being stupid.
“You’d deny Knapp his chivalry? Tsk, tsk. Now he’s going to burst a blood vessel and make a mess.” JC leaned against the doorjamb and grinned, shaking his head. He dropped his gaze to her skirt and his eyes widened. “Speaking of messes, did you run into a Smurf or what?”
“Or what.” She turned her back on both of us and carted the sawhorse across the foyer to where JC was framing out a doorway and putting down flooring in the new circuit room.
Since Marks’ Gym in Brooklyn had stopped accepting anyone who even appeared to be training for MMA due to the dangerous underground scene, more women had joined The Cage. Apparently, the ownership had decided to expand their services to cater to a larger crowd, including creating a room where machines could be done on a prescribed circuit.
Some of the guys were bitching it was turning into a pussy fest. Me, I figured they hadn’t gotten any in too long and were fucking crabby.
“Hey, wait up.” JC grabbed the ladders out of my hands and followed Lily, his mouth still running as usual. He talked about as much as I remained silent, and Lily was somewhere between the two of us.
All at once, an image formed in my brain—one I did not want there. Imagining Lily’s naked curves pressed against me wasn’t the problem. Envisioning JC’s ripped body pressed against her back, his big hands caressing her pale skin and continuing on to touch me, however, was a big frigging issue.
I didn’t want him with Lily. He had a reputation. He’d fucked his way across town, and he drank too much and caused too much trouble, like starting fights and getting kicked out of places for talking shit. He wasn’t the kind of stable influence I wanted for her.
If I wanted anyone for her, and the truth was, I didn’t. I was too busy wanting her myself.
That JC happened to turn my crank too was incidental and unimportant. I didn’t like the guy. Okay, fine, I didn’t want to like him, because of the Lily thing, and that was pretty much the same.
