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“Mm…hmm, good point, I’ll never forget Denver. We’ll be heading to Austin on Thursday. Could we stay with you ‘cause I need to go into the office on Friday?”
“As long as you’re good with me using your man as my personal ‘get the man’ coach,” she joked.
“He’ll love it. He loves drama. See you Thursday, probably around six.”
“Thank you, Matt. I love you.” Matt’s voice, his thoughtful answers, managed to help her see through the anxiety to a path. He’d always done that for her.
“Love you too, Princess.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
She timed going to the gym when Jake normally went. She also gave her workout outfit extra thought, making sure it was just a little sexier than usual. She wore a pink sports bra that showed more cleavage than she typically would, with white leggings that highlighted all the lines of her muscular legs and ass. She put on some mascara and a light pink shade of lipstick, even though she never wore makeup to the gym.
Her heart was pounding as she climbed the steps to the second floor. She had never done this before, chased a guy, a guy who was making it clear he didn’t want her. She laughed to herself, thinking how she had learned this from him. He’d done the same thing to her a year ago. He wouldn’t take no for an answer back then, and now she was refusing to acceptEND. She saw Jordan, Dwayne, and Jake standing in the corner of the gym near the free weights. When Dwayne looked her way, she made a point of waving and smiling at him before walking directly toward them.
She could see that Jake was on the bench press, struggling against a massive amount of weight, so he didn’t see her approaching.
“Uh-oh, Jumbotron in the house, and looking mighty fine,” Dwayne said just under his breath.
Jordan smiled. “Wow, Jake. I think you are going to get un-ENDed.”
Jake looked up at Jordan as he pushed up the last rep, his face red, breathing hard. “Not engaging,” he grumbled, climbing off the bench press and standing.
“Hi mates,” she blurted out cheerily. “Dwayne, Jordan, how are you? What’s on the agenda for your workout today?” she practically sang out, her voice overly chipper.
Turning toward her, Jake swallowed hard. “Fuck me,” escaped under his breath. Her breasts heaved from her tight sports bra, which was uncharacteristically low for her gym attire, and he couldn’t help but notice how her white leggings emphasized her muscular legs. God, and her face—she lit up a room with her smile. He looked past her, knowing his best defense was no eye contact.
Jordan jumped in, trying to assuage the tense air Jake was creating. “We’re starting with chest, then going to do some plyometric exercises that I guess Coach Mark wants Jake doing, right, Jake?”
“Yep,” Jake uttered, eyes staring off, intent on not participating.
“Gotta get our star quarterback here a little quicker with his side moves, so he can get the ball to me before getting tackled,” Dwayne chided, taking advantage of Jake’s silence, ignoring the glare Jake shot at him.
Rakell’s gaze lingered on Jake, smiling, raking her teeth over her lower lip. He knew she was nervous seeing this unconscious gesture of hers, but nothing about her body language or tone showed it. Moving directly in front of Jake, she placed her hands on her hips—she was almost sassy-like, Jake thought, trying to look past her. “That sounds like an intense workout, Jake. I love watching you move on the field so maybe I should take a front-row seat and watch you practice today,” she oozed, spewing adoration.
Jake’s eyes narrowed. “Please don’t,” he said curtly.
“Okay, I get you feeling self-conscience with an audience. So how about coffee after your workout so we can talk?” she asked as if she was clueless to Jake’s dismissive affect.
“Busy.” His jaw tightened.
“Completely understand, so how about a late lunch…my treat.” She heard Dwayne’s pained sigh.
“Nope, busy,” he clipped out with a hardened jaw, wanting this to stop.
“Okay, busy boy, how about a drink tonight then, my place?”
“No,” he spat out again, hearing Jordan’s low groan behind him and the shuffling of feet.
“Well, how about…” she persisted in her overly chipper voice, matching her big smile and twinkling eyes. This time, Jake cut her off.
“Indefinitely busy. That’s whatENDmeans,” he barked, turning to walk toward the rack of weights.
“Okay, well…Super, mate, but I bet we can find a little time in that very busy appointment book of yours to meet. I’ll try again soon.” Her gut squeezed inward, but she was determined not to show any sign of disappointment.
He ignored her words, thinkingWho the hell does she think she is, pushing him like this after he’d begged her and she’d just thrown it all away? He was not going to get knocked on his ass by this girl again.
Grinning as if the conversation with Jake hadn’t just happened, “Jordan, Dwayne, have a good workout. See you around,” Rakell chirped, a bounce to her step. She knew it would take time, but she was proud of herself for doing it and couldn’t wait to call Jonathon and report her first attempt at Operation Get the Man. She smiled to herself as she jumped on the Stairmaster.
