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There was a smile in her words as she said, “Vincent put you up to this, didn’t he?”
I turned to face her. “Vincent? Nah, he could care less about the gym.”
Her hip cocked as she folded her arms. “So it’s a coincidence that you’re here to watch me the day after I run into Manson’s creepy dad?”
Shrugging, I said, “Can’t hurt to have someone to keep an eye on you. Don’t worry, I won’t interrupt your flow. I’ve got my own routine. I’m not going to be following you around.”
Her face fell so drastically I thought I’d offended her. But she wasn’t looking at me — she was looking over my shoulder.
“Morning, Jess. Need someone to spot you today?
Oh fucking hell.
Alex’s face stiffened when I turned around. I was pretty sure I was the only guy with blue hair in this goddamn town, but he still looked at me as if he was stunned to see me.
I waved a quick peace sign at him. “Mornin’, buddy. She’s good. I’ll spot her today.”
For a second, I thought he was going to punch me in the face. His hands clenched into fists, his lip curling in disgust as he looked me up and down. He had several inches of height on me, but height wasn’t everything. I had no doubt I could kick this guy’s ass if it came down to it.
But I wasn’t trying to get kicked out of my fancy new gym on the first day.
“Later.” I gave him a dismissive nod and walked away, leaving him there to stew. Jess followed right behind me, but a prickling feeling of irritation was bubbling up in me. I’d had no clue Alex went here too. Did he work out with her? Jess didn’t even likethe guy!
I was overreacting. But why the hell had he assumed he’d spot her? What the fuck was this bullshit?
I found a space to stretch out and lobbed my bag into the corner. There were lockers here somewhere, but I’d gotten distracted and didn’t want to go hunting around for them.
It was petty, but I said, “Am I interrupting some bonding time with good old Alex?”
“I don’tbondwith him, Jason,” she said, bending at the waist to reach for her toes. Her ass looked good in those leggings. Juicy as hell. “I try toavoidhim. Trust me, I wish he didn’t go here either.”
I stretched out my quads, alternating between legs. I believed her. I didn’t think she had any interest in Alex; it wasn’therthat was the problem.
“I get it, I get it,” I said, as I realized she was still staring at me, waiting for a response. “Pissed me off, I guess, him assuming you’d want him to spot you.”
Her face softened as she smiled. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous?”
“Nope,” I said quickly. “It’s not jealousy.” She tweaked an eyebrow at me skeptically as I clarified, “It’s determination that you are way too good for him, and him stealing a second of your time pisses me off.”
That small smile remained on her face. “Well…thank you. For saying that, and for showing up here. I didn’t want you guys to feel like you had to go to the trouble for me.”
“It’s no trouble.”Lies. “I don’t mind doing it at all.”This morning was hell. “It feels good to switch up my routine.”Nope, it felt awful.
But it was worth it. Waking up early, going to a different gym, dealing with Alex. All of it was worth it if it meant keeping her safe.
Honestly, it was worth it because it meant spending time withher.
I didn’t want to crowd her though. I knew that having someone insert themselves into my routine without any warning would be jarring and irritating as hell. After we stretched, I kept my distance, positioning myself so I could keep an eye both on her and Alex. But I was obviously distracting both of them. Alex looked suspicious, and he had every reason to be.
Lucas and I had been having a lot of discussions about how we were going to get back at him. We’d settled on a plan of attack but needed to work out a few logistics. After what Alex and his friends had done, it only made sense that he’d expect a response from us, and he’d get one.
Until then, I enjoyed the thought of him stewing in his own anticipation.
But that motherfucker didn’t know when to quit. I was on the bench press, lowering the bar toward my chest when he appeared above me. I had to complete the rep before I could tap my earphones and mute them, allowing me to hear what he had to say.
“The fuck do you want?” I didn’t sit up from the bench; I wasn’t going to move an inch. He leaned against the bar above me; the stench of his sweat was truly repulsive.
“You freaks really can’t stay away from her, can you?” he said, nodding his head toward the other side of the gym, where Jess was on the leg press. “It’s creepy, man. What are you stalking her for?”
