Page 52 of Take Me On (Pushing the Limits 4)
The word fees eventually sinks in, and, as I stroll up next to West, I say, “I hope you make good money.”
West
Haley rakes a hand through her hair, then grips it at the base of her neck like she’s going to tear it out. “Shirt off.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I’ve already lost the shoes and socks. “I’ll take the shorts off, too, if you’d like.”
I thumb the edge of my waistband and Haley shakes her head too quickly. “That won’t be necessary.”
“You know you want me to,” I say and enjoy every second of watching her skin blotch red and the slight tilt of her lips. In typical Haley fashion, she chooses to ignore me. One day, I’ll climb into that head she constantly withdraws into.
Her grandfather left for the night and Haley is sexy as hell in her sports bra and shorts. Her flat stomach looks so soft, so smooth. My fingers twitch with the need to caress it.
A rush of air escapes her lips. “Crap.”
“Want to fill me in?”
She blinks as if she’s noticing me for the first time, which does nothing for my ego. Girls usually pay attention to me when I have my shirt off.
“You weigh 177 pounds.”
“Yeah.” Not news.
“I need you to weigh 170.” Her eyes roam my body. “And there is not an ounce of fat on you.” Haley bites her lower lip as she stares at my abs and I grin. Now I’ve got the girl’s attention.
I step off the scale and the lever clanks against the metal. “You keep telling me this is going to be hard-core. I’ll lose the weight.”
“Yeah, but you’ll also gain muscle. I’ll figure it out later. Come on.” Haley pulls at her hair again, then lets it cascade through her fingertips.
I’ve filled more than one night this week driving out the darkness and loneliness by fantasizing about rumpling Haley’s silky hair and placing my mouth over those gorgeous lips. It’s taking every ounce of willpower I possess not to push her against the wall and kiss her. The image in my head almost causes me to groan. My shirt’s off, her stomach is exposed, hot flesh would be touching...
Damn, I’m killing myself. I snatch my shirt off the floor and trail Haley to the open spot near the mirrors. I’m doing the friend thing with Haley. Just friends. No benefits. She’s proven time and again she deserves the respect. “You say that a lot.”
“What?”
“That you’ll figure things out.”
She raises one shoulder as she snags a yellow ball off the floor. “That’s because I will.”
“The weight of the world isn’t on you, you know? There’re a couple other billion people who can help you figure out the solution to global warming.”
I earn a half smirk from Haley as she rolls out the two-inch wide material. “I’m not worried about global warming.”
“You know what I mean.”
She pretends I didn’t speak. “Have you ever wrapped your hands before?”
“None of the fights I’ve been in have included advance notification so I bare-knuckled it.”
“And that,” she says with her best under-eyelash schoolteacher glare, “has to stop. Outside of this gym, there are no fights.”
“Hey, I don’t go looking for trouble. It finds me.”
Haley inclines her head at a stool and I sit. “Put your hand up, like this.” She sticks her hand in the air, palm down, with spread fingers.
I follow directions and Haley hooks a circle of material at the end of the wrap on my thumb. “Do you see the tag?”
I nod.
