Page 55 of Work It Out
Jake’s eyebrows popped up. It wasn’t so much what Blaine said as the rude tone in which he said it. Jake knew they weren’t back on besties-forever terms yet, but if he’d been treating her like this, they were about to have a problem.
He should’ve known better by now.
Rayah’s spine went steel-rod straight, and her glare made both men take a step back. Blaine opened his mouth but snapped it shut again when Rayah held up her hand for silence. “I don’t know what form of temporary insanity gripped you that you thought talking to me like that would fly, but I’m willing to chalk it up to your man-sies and move on.”
Doc chuckled. “Man-sies. I get it, like menses.”
Her gaze didn’t waver from Blaine. “I would’ve liked to display enough respect for you and your position here to speak to you privately, but since we aren’t worried about respect today, I’ll deal with it myself.” She turned to Doc. “Dr. Martin, have you considered the benefits of compression shorts? They can reduce chance of injury, aid circulation during activity, and significantly cut down on recovery time.” She was trying to stay professional, but Jake knew Blaine had hurt her. Tears glistened in her eyes, welling bigger with every word, and it made him want to climb on a weight bench and punch a certain giant.
Doc sighed. “Boys are hanging out again, eh?” He shook his head and adjusted his shorts accordingly. “Don’t know why everybody gets the vapors. They’re just testicles. Half the population—”
Rayah had run out of patience. “Half the population isn’t coating surfaces upon which I occasionally rest my face with their ball sweat.”
“But the boys need to breathe. You wouldn’t take Earl’s oxygen tank away.”
Jake and Blaine stared at him, because really, how did you argue with that?
Rayah didn’t miss a beat. “Those aren’t even remotely the same, and you know it. Put the boys in a sling, or I’ll let Samuel give you a twenty-minute lecture on why a doctor should know better. Besides, you’re going to give him a coronary. Then, you’d have to fix him up. So, really, you’re just making more work for yourself.” That said, she turned and strode toward her office.
Jake let her get as far as the back hallway before he rounded on Blaine. “You’re a fucking idiot.”
“Excuse me?” Blaine’s voice was low and dangerous and not the least bit repentant, the asshole.
“What he said,” Doc added with a frown and a nod at Jake.
“Who do you think you are?” Jake stepped closer and lowered his voice. This wasn’t everybody’s business. “She doesn’t love you the way you want her to. Boo-hoo. You fuck up over and over, and she still loves you. I messed up once, and she won’t even take another chance on me. You don’t see me being a dickhead about it.”
“Do not compare my relationship with Rayah to yours.” Blaine spoke barely above a rumble, and his eyes had turned the kind of glacial that let people know he’d killed before and was contemplating doing it again. “You’ve been here a few weeks. I’ve been by her side for seven years, through shit you couldn’t fathom in your worst nightmares.”
“Is that supposed to be better? Why do you think Doc started making jokes about his hypoxic testicles? She was trying not to cry.” For a second, that hard frown faltered, but Jake had no mercy left for him. “She cries over you all the time, though I honestly can’t figure out why right now. I’ve defended you over and over because, inexplicably, she does love you, and I thought you loved her. But you’re on your own from now on.
“You’re her best friend,” he said slowly. “And that means a damn sight more than you seem to understand. Just being near her, hearing her laugh, knowing you’re important to her… I’d give just about anything to have that gift back, and you’re pissing all over it. Worse, this is the only family she has left and you’re making it hell for her. Step up or move on. Stop tearing her apart.”
The coward was gone an hour later. Rumor was, he was calling it vacation time. Jake just hoped he came back on his own. Hunting his big, stupid ass down would be a nightmare.
…
Rayah sat at her desk, head in her hands. She couldn’t keep doing this. Her life had become too hard.
Blaine left so fast, nothing but a muttered excuse and dust had lingered in the air where he’d stood. Her anger about Jake’s lies wasn’t sustaining her the way she’d hoped, and spending nearly every second of the day with him was torture. At least the initial media invasion hadn’t lasted long.
A knock on the open door brought her head up. “Okay, don’t get mad.” Grace closed the door, set a binder on Rayah’s desk, and sat in one of the guest chairs.
“Everyone’s favorite conversation starter.” Rayah turned the binder around so she could read it. Her gaze flew to Grace. “The Hunt?”
Grace fidgeted in her seat. “You’ve been busy with Baby Thor—”
“Jake.”
“Hey, it was a compliment. I didn’t think he had it in him.”
Physically, he’d made decent progress since Rayah had taken over. He still struggled from a cardiovascular standpoint and always would, but even that was improving. After extensive research, she’d found ways to help him build muscle, and more importantly, stay conscious. He’d only gone down twice this week. Of course, it was only Tuesday.
Whatever. It counted.
The denser his muscles became, the more they helped pump blood back to his heart. She’d focused mostly on the larger muscle groups first, like quads and glutes. That led to a plethora of jokes about her plotting to stare at his ass. He was wrong. The view was just a perk.
Things like making sure his heart was never above his head, not going from the floor to standing more than absolutely necessary, and adequate rest time between sets to allow his heart the extra time it needed to return to something approaching normal had been the most effective at preventing episodes. No mountain climbers or burpees for him. He was heartbroken, devastated really. She infused his diet with enough sodium to give an elephant hypertension and enough water for that elephant to swim in. Oh, and naps, enough naps to make a grumpy toddler out of him. Of course, he promised to stop complaining if she took naps with him.
