AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her eyes glittered. Her lips were bright pink from the exertion. A faint rose color tinged her cheeks. “Well, I think that’s obvious.”
Sean used the hem of his T-shirt to mop sweat from his face, still dripping from his pores, even twenty minutes later. Delaney’s gaze followed the motion. He was pretty sure of what she was going to say.I don’t care about this run or this tie. Quit gawking at me like a teenager.She wasn’t wrong.“You’re going to let me have the win?” Sean nodded in Duke’s direction, shirt stripped, skin dripping with sweat. “Duke’s a secret service agent. He doesn’t miss a thing.”
Delaney grabbed her water bottle from the floor and squirted some in her mouth. She swallowed hard. “Duke took an extra second to turn around and check the clock. Zoe was looking right at it. You and I both know I won that race.” She shrugged. “But that’s okay. I don’t need charity.”
“Charity?”
“That’s right.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
Sean had just parted his lips to ask her what was obvious about the bet, when Hobbs popped between them with a big grin. “Callahan, you superstar. I haven’t seen you run that fast in...well, ever.” Hobbs, the most boisterous coach at Semper Fit, stripped his shirt and rubbed the sweat from his face. He’d joined the run today and finished in the top third. On a normal day, Hobbs would’ve beat Sean. But today was not a normal day. “Hi.” He turned to Delaney. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Hobbs. I’m one of the coaches here.”
If Hobbs’s tone had been any slicker he would’ve sounded like Joey, fromFriends:How you doin’?He flexed his chest, making his pecs bounce.
Delaney’s gaze went from his bare chest to his eyes. Her lips had the tiniest smirk at the corners.
“You new?” Hobbs sank into his stance, feeling confident. The ladies always went for his casual charm. Sean figured it had something to do with the way his completely harmless nature came through at the exact same time as his shameless flirting.
“New to what?”
“Um.” Hobbs was momentarily stopped by her reply. “The gym.”
“I’ve come twice.”
“You going to join?”
“Probably.”
“Nice.” Hobbs slipped his shirt back over his head. “New to the area?”
“Not really.”
“Alright, then.” Hobbs seemed to be picking up on her clipped replies. “Well, you ran great today, but if you need anyone to help you work on your running a little more, I know just the guy.” And there it was. Despite all her warning signs, he went for it. Typical Hobbs.
“Generous of you.” Delaney took another swig from her water bottle. “If I need lessons on how to run slower, I’ll look you up. Have a nice day, gentlemen.” With that, she turned and walked away, stopping at the cubbies to collect her helmet, boots and bag. She took everything outside, disappearing into the sunshine.
“Dang.” Hobbs choked out a laugh. “Guess she doesn’t mess around.”
“I wanted to warn you. But that was so much more fun.”
“I like it.” Hobbs looked back toward the bay door, where Delaney had vanished. “I’ve definitely got my eye on her.”
“Hobbs.” Rhett’s voice came from behind Sean’s back. “Don’t start. We want her to join, not slit her wrists.”
Hobbs made a pffft sound and waved his hand. “She ain’t afraid of me.”
“Get a bucket and mop up the sweat.” Rhett pointed to the corner, where the mop lived. “Everybody’s dripping all over my damn floor.”
Hobbs gave a sigh, then a salute. “Yessir.”
Once he was gone, Rhett fixed Sean with a knowing look. He grinned a little bit. Sean was expecting a dig or a joke, but all he eventually got was, “Good work today, Callahan. I’m glad to see your motivation is back.”
Then he was off, in the direction of Red, who’d finished in the middle of the pack. Her copper hair spilled out of her ponytail and her face was all smiles as Rhett approached. They couldn’t have looked more different if they’d tried—Rhett tall as a basketball player, black hair and brown skin, and Red just past five feet and the spring sun barely kissing her pale skin. Over a year into their relationship and they still acted like lovesick fools regardless if anyone looked on.
Sean turned away. His lungs were better now, but his throat was still tight. He’d probably have metcon cough all day. Worth it, though.
“Hey, man, you took her in that race,” Duke said as Sean headed past him, toward the door. Duke stretched his arms over his head, chest and arms like boulders, and quads to match.
“He totally didn’t,” Zoe countered. She was busy jotting down people’s running times on the whiteboard.
