Page 24 of Work It Out
Jake blinked. Pierce had been his brother from another mother since they were six, and he probably loved the guy more than he would a blood relation. But Pierce had never been the sharpest knife in the drawer when it came to people. Still, he’d never dreamed he was as blind as Rayah. Was there something in the water up here?
“Blaine,” Jake whispered. He hadn’t seen the big guy in a while, and he was fairly sure he couldn’t sneak up on him, but he wasn’t testing that theory.
Pierce’s eyebrows popped up. “What about him?”
Yup. Had to be the water.
“He’s in love with Rayah.” Jake’s shrug in no way matched his feelings on the subject. “Has been for a while by the looks of it.”
Pierce’s crack of laughter had half the gym turning their way, including Rayah. She glanced between Jake and Pierce, an indulgent smile on her face. Then she shook her head and returned her focus to her class. “Now, center.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Jake whimpered as Rayah shifted so that her legs went straight out to either side.
“Blaine and Rayah?” Pierce shouted, still laughing his fool head off. “That’s the funniest thing you’ve ever said.”
“Keep screaming it,” Jake barked. “I’m sure he’d be thrilled to tell you all about it. He’ll probably think it’s a real hoot after she shot him down this morning.”
That shut Pierce up. For a second. Then he shouted, “She what?”
Every eye in the place was on them now, including the mopey green giant’s. Swell.
Jake grabbed his water bottle and jerked his head toward the fountain by the locker rooms.
Pierce glanced around, finally catching on to the fact that this wasn’t a conversation in need of an audience, then fell in step beside Jake. “Shit, you’re serious. What do you mean she shot him down? Did Blaine ask her out? I had no clue he was even into her. I mean, those two have been tight for years. Sure, he flirts with her all the time, but he flirts with all the women. Except Grace. He tried that once. She threatened to turn his balls into ovaries.”
Jake screwed the cap off his bottle and took a long swig. “No more screaming, man.”
“I won’t scream again. You just surprised me. Now, what happened?”
“He didn’t ask her out.” Jake stuck the wide mouth of the bottle in the stream of water. “He begged her to move in with him because, apparently, I took her cabin, but…” He winced. “When she said no, he looked gutted.”
Pierce’s mouth flopped open and kind of hung there. The whole thing was comical, as long as he didn’t think too hard about the details.
“You and I are going to talk about that, by the way.” Jake pointed his water bottle at him. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me I kicked her out of her home.”
“She threatened to spike my coffee with MCT oil. Do you have any idea what an excess of that stuff can do to you? It makes those ex-lax brownies I slipped you in high school look like child’s play. And she’s totally mean enough to do it.”
“And I’m mean enough to kick your ass. Lucky for you, after she turned Blaine down, I made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. She’s moving back into her place tonight.”
Pierce looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “Where will you go? You can stay with me, but my apartment’s a glorified shoebox.” He paled. “You aren’t going to Jean’s, right? Tell me you’re not—”
“Relax, man. I’m not going anywhere.”
“But you said…” Jake saw the moment the light bulb blinked on. Horror. Sheer horror. “No.”
“We’re not shacking up.” Jake screwed the lid back on his bottle. “The cabin’s a two-bedroom. There’s plenty room for both of us.”
“You just finished telling me Blaine has a thing for her. Now you’re saying you two are sharing her romantic cabin? For months? Together? Alone?”
“Your point?” Jake wiped the sweat from his eyes.
“Blaine knows like a thousand ways to kill a guy. He’s got a crazy streak you don’t want to rub up against. And your brilliant plan is to move in with his girl?”
“She’s not his girl,” Jake corrected, voice too steely. “She friend-zoned him. Hard.”
“That doesn’t change anything!” Pierce shook his head. “You’re lying to her, man. How do you expect to keep the POTS a secret when you’re living with her?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “At least you paid me up front. It’d be hell getting money out of your estate when they can’t find your body.” He grumbled something that sounded like “suicidal dumbass.” “I’ll clean up the bench. Walk the track for cooldown, then we’ll do some stretches. You can die limber.”
Jake turned and started for the small indoor track that circled the cardio and weight lifting area. He’d do his cooldown and Pierce’s stretches, then he’d head back to the cabin. He didn’t have that much stuff. It’d take him no time at all to move into the other room, but he’d have to do it before she came home. Knowing that firecracker, she’d argue that he should have the bigger room, and that wasn’t happening.
