Page 14 of Stolen

Keith walked up to Jacob, like I was completely invisible. “Hey, there. Damn, you look good in your workout clothes.”

Jacob ignored him as he looked over at me. “How are you feeling? Weights? Treadmill?”

“Is nothing an option? I’m pretty sure I’m getting enough of a workout with this low-grade panic attack that I’m having.”

“Weights? Treadmill?” Jacob repeated, his eyes locked on mine. “Come on. I know things seem chaotic right now, but I’ve got a plan. I promise.”

I grimaced, even as I took a step closer to him. “Fine. Treadmill.”

“Perfect.” Jacob smiled before he headed toward Andrew. A few moments later, we were on treadmills, side by side. Our pace was slow to start, almost like we were going for a leisurely walk around the block.

“So, what’s your plan?” I asked, my nerves causing my stomach to get tangled up in knots. “You’ve been playing it kind of cool since?—”

“My plan is to focus on the workout.”

I let out a laugh, before I realized that Jacob’s expression was stoic. “Wait. You’re serious?”

“Dead serious.” Jacob nodded before he upped the speed on his machine. “Make sure you keep matching my pace.”

“Is this some kind of challenge?” I upped the speed on my treadmill until the speed matched for both machines. “You think I can’t keep up with you or something?”

“We’ll see.” Jacob cracked a smile as he broke out into a light jog. I did the same, and for a few minutes, we jogged side by side.

Then, Jacob set his speed even higher, breaking out into a full run. Soon, I was running right beside him, taking deep breaths as I focused on my feet, on the way my arms swung up and down as I moved. I always found it was so much easier to run when my mind was on anything else but the running itself, so I let my thoughts drift through the wind.

“Fuck. You’re good.” Jacob grunted. “This is where I usually lose people.”

“Maybe I’m not like other people.”

“Yeah. Maybe not.” Jacob hummed before he went back to running at full speed, with an expression on his face that I couldn’t quite make out.

Weights were next.

I spotted Jacob as he pumped iron, his back resting against the workout bench, his muscles bulging as he expertly handled the weights in his hands. I inwardly groaned as I watched him but couldn’t touch, my fingers aching to trail down his skin, to feel his muscles underneath my fingertips.

Needing to distract myself before I pounced on him in public, I let my anxieties guide the conversation. “Is it plan time yet?”

“Plan time?”

“What are we going to do about the photoshoot? What are we going to tell the photographers?”

“I thought I said we were focusing on the workout?—”

“Yeah, and now you’re done stalling for time, right? And you’ve come up with something really good?”

Jacob sighed as he set down the weights. “You’re very impatient. You know that?”

“I just like to know what’s going on.”

“You just like to be in control.” Jacob lightly chuckled before he lowered his voice. “Which is funny, because in my experience, you love taking directions from me.”

“Don’t,” I warned, my voice low, too. “If you start flirting with me in public, all bets are off.”

“You think I wouldn’t take you? Right here? In front of everyone?” Jacob leaned closer to me. “I told you, Leo. I always go after what I want, whenever I want it?—”

“Leo! Just the guy I wanted to see.” Tommy cut into our conversation, and then blew out a heavy breath. “What’s going on here? Change of scenery for the photoshoot?”

My heart sank inside my chest.

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