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“What I thought I knew, what I thought I wanted—all that went out the door when I got to know you,” he said. “You make me feel… stupid…”
She wrinkled her nose, not impressed, and he grinned.
“Stupid for being the way I have been. But now that you’ve straightened me up, I’m grateful,” he said softly. “Because now I can be my best with you.”
A gasp spilled out of her rosy lips, followed by damped eyes as she tried to fend off the tears.Success. He congratulated himself. Maybe he was better with words than he thought.
“It’s not fair you can say such things and make it so romantic,” she said through quivering lips. “I don’t like crying. It’s bad for the eyes.”
“Then let’s stop.” He wiped the leftover moisture from her cheeks, deciding to turn the mood comical. “We’ll save that for when I make you come so hard you can’t help but cry.”
She laughed, smacked him on the chest, and used both hands to smudge her face. “Your ego is bigger than your head.”
“Which head?”
Her laughter echoed, shaking her head as she took out a tissue from her bag. She seemed to be pleased with his answer. None of what he said was a lie, and neither did he raise any hopes he didn’t want to mislead.
Rick liked where they were. Enjoying each other’s time, caring for each other. He was certain his feelings for her far exceeded casual superficiality. Could it be more? Anything was possible.
“So this is what you look like when you’re getting laid regularly,” Nick wise-cracked while walking next to Rick to the entrance of their gym.
“Yeah. You want some of that, too?” Rick quipped, taking a sip of his water bottle.
“I don’t have problems getting laid regularly,” his friend smirked. “How is Charlie?”
“She’s good.”
Verygood. He hadn’t felt this way in a long time, if he ever did. It wasn’t just the sex, which was plentiful and refreshing. Discovering the many sides of Charlie had been inspiring. She wasn’tanything like he’d expected, which confirmed that he’d been a world class idiot on top of being an asshole.
“The people here missed her,” Nick commented.
“That’s too bad. I’ve gotten her to agree not to send food here.” Rick shook his head. “She’ll sabotage everyone’s fitness goals. It was already affecting you.”
Nick frowned, looking downward at himself. “Are you saying I got fat?”
“Not at all, buddy. Since she stopped, you’re back on track.” Rick grinned, hitting his friend on the shoulder.
Grumbling incoherently, Nick pulled the door open when a voice called out to them. They turned to see Alex walking over with his gym bag.
“Hey, man. Haven’t seen you in a while,” Nick greeted Alex, and they exchanged fist bumps.
“What are you doing here?” Rick asked. Alex hardly came out to the gym, despite holding a membership. He was far too busy and used the one at the hospital he worked at. This smelled like ulterior motives.
“Wanted to catch up with you, and I finally found the time,” his brother said. “Let’s go.”
Inside, they placed their bags in the lockers and went into the weight room. Nick set the weights on the barbell of the bench press before Rick got underneath.
“I’ll spot,” Alex said.
As Rick lifted, he waited for Alex to start the conversation. After a few reps in silence, Rick initiated it. “So, what were you planning to talk to me about?”
“Couldn’t get past you, huh?”
Nick was close by, working with free weights. “This sounds juicy.”
Rick had a strong guess of what Alex wanted to discuss.
“What are your intentions with Charlie?”
