Page 44 of His Hungry Wolf

“Traffic,” I suggested.

“Really?” Claude asked, surprised.

“Yeah. I passed another car on the way here and…” I made the gesture of my head exploding.

“It confused you?”

“I wasn’t sure what to do with myself.”

“I see,” Claude said, amused. “By the way, did you ask permission for us to be here?”

I looked around at the empty school building and parking lot.

“Did I have to?” I asked sincerely.

Claude laughed sarcastically and, then took out his phone.

“I’ll let Cage know we’re here.”

“See, this is the type of partnership we could have. Yin and Yang,” I said, gesturing between us. “I’m the ideas person and you’re the execution.”

Ignoring me, he read from his phone, “He said we’re fine to use it.”

“Great! Have you warmed up?”

Claude opened his mouth, searching for a reply.

“Stretch and give me a lap,” I said, indicating the circumference of the field.

Without a word, Claude went to work. When that was done, I took him through some of the things he would need to do in the workout. Despite taking two years off, he wasn’t bad.

His sprint times were still good for a quarterback. And his ability to change direction, although not what it used to be, wasn’t far off.

“Did you do any sports at all these last two years?”

“Depends. Do you consider getting coffee a sport?”

“Was it at Starbucks during rush hour?”

“It was on the back deck of your bed and breakfast.”

I stared at him with a ‘don’t be ridiculous’ look.

“Well, for a guy who has given up on life, you’re not that out of shape.”

“I haven’t given up on life.”

“Have you lifted anything heavier than a fork in the last two years?”

“I carried all of our touring equipment to our new office.”

I stared at him again. Looking away, I said, “I’ll take that as a no.”

It was Claude’s turn to be annoyed. That was okay because Claude always performed better when he had something to prove. And when, after a series of wind sprints, he was dripping with sweat, he whipped off his shirt.

God damn! He had been lifting something heavier than a fork. Because that man was ripped. Somehow he now had a better body than when he was the starting quarterback for a Division II championship team.

Getting aroused as I stared at him, I looked away. That helped downstairs, but my fair skin was no match for how I was feeling. Turning back around, I was glowing. Claude laughed… that bastard.

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