Page 61 of Daring You

17

Ben

“You wanna maybe not dropa barbell on my head?”

Ash’s voice cuts through whatever vortex my brain decided to redirect to, and I refocus on being his spotter as he bench presses 250 pounds.

“Sorry, bro,” I say as he grunts through another repetition. “I got caught up in—” Astor.

“A chick, no doubt,” Ash says after a harsh exhale. He pushes the bar up again.

“Speaking of, haven’t heard much about those lately.” Easton comes up beside us in the gym, a towel draped over his neck while he uses another one to wipe his forehead.

“Am I the only one getting thoroughly and happily fucked?” Locke asks from his seat on a bench beside us, chugging from his water bottle and being a lazy asshole, as usual.

I’m not in the mood to talk about my feelings, so I decide on the usual bro code of sarcasm.

“I’d say you two are the only ones going through a dry spell,” I say to Ash and East, then give extra attention to Ash’s deadlift, since I don’t actually want to be responsible for his sternum being crushed. “Not me.”

East takes a seat beside Locke and asks me, “Since when are you getting laid?”

I say, “Since last night,” as a way to get them off my back. Too late, I realize the deep, dark, crevice full of shit I’ve landed in.

“Oh, yeah?” Locke raises his brows and spreads out his legs, getting comfortable. “Who now? A cheerleader? Nah wait, you’re off season. A barfly?”

This is an excellent time for a your mom joke, but since it’s Locke’s sister crowding my mind and his mom passed away from cancer….ah jeez, I better hold my breath, ‘cause I’m swan diving right into the center of this shit pile.

“Nobody important,” I say, except she’s everything important.

Admittedly, I kissed Astor to get her scent off my trail. She’s too close to wondering why I was so invested in the SI Slaughters, and thinking I’m smarter than her is the greatest mistake I can make. She’s not only intelligent, she’s quick. Darts like a viper.

What I didn’t expect was how much I missed exploring her lips. Both of them.

Worse, she tasted just as lonely as I remembered.

“Dude, you’re fired.” Ash gives one last, growling push and places the barbell back in its holder.

“Sorry,” I say, and don’t mean it.

“What’s with you lately?” Locke asks, but it’s half-hearted concern. He’s been knee-deep in raising a child, recovering from a life-threatening injury, and having a woman permanently move in with him. Locke’s busy adjusting to a family that loves him. I could tell him right now, no issues, and he wouldn’t blink.

It’s East I’m worried about, and his unusual perceptiveness. People usually take his quiet demeanor as shy, but he’s too busy watching and cataloguing the world around him to care. I’ve actually seen East’s reserve reduce girls to tears. Chicks crush hard on that sort of thing, I guess.

“Do we need to institute another dare or something?” Ash lifts off his back, leaning forward with his palms on his thighs.

“Jesus, no,” I say, at the same time Locke guffaws, “Hell yeah. Now that I’m a taken man, I can watch you bimbos run amok all over this town.”

“It’s been years,” East adds. “Hopefully we’re older and wiser at this point.”

“Older, maybe,” I say.

“It ain’t up to me to spice up your sex lives, anyway.” Ash rises, then pulls his phone out of his gym shorts and grins. “Looks like I’ve got a date tonight. What do you two suckers have? Locke, I know what you got. Shut it.”

Locke claps his hands together and stands. “What I got is two beautiful women waiting for me at home, one with mushy pancakes, and the other in lingerie. I’d say I’m a lucky man. Every single one of you should think on that.”

Ash makes a sound of disgust. “Six months ago you were just like us, princess. Don’t act all queen on us now.”

“Just sayin’.” Locke shrugs. “It’s good to be happy.”

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