Page 23 of New Neighbor

“No.”

Hayden scratched at his face before slapping at his small beer gut. “I have let myself go a little.”

“You have.”

Hayden sighed. “I’ll do it. I’ll go talk to her.”

Her. It’s definitely not Jesse.“Good,” Benji said. “But maybe after a long, hot shower to wash the drunk off you. And maybe dinner? My treat?”

Hayden nodded. “You’re a good friend, Benj.”

Benji smiled. “You are, too. Which is why I won’t let you kill yourself drinking.”

Hayden rose. “Lemme shower. I’ll be ready in fifteen.”

Benji left the room, hearing the water turning on. He went out to tell Clay the good news, but the guy was nowhere in sight.

He sighed.

They were all being pulled farther and farther apart.

Where would that lead them?

* * * *

Monday morning…

Benji stared down at his cellphone, waiting to see if he got an answer to his text. Earlier in the day, he’d sent Mac a text, asking about those pointers. He hadn’t seen the guy since Saturday and after their last interaction, he was feeling really confused. Before he could get more than a dozen steps inside the gym, he nearly ran right into a wall of muscle.

He looked up at saw a familiar face.

Mac grinned. “I figured this might be where you come to work out.”

“The infamous gym rat.” He showed his ID to the girl working the desk and went on inside, Mac walking beside him. “You joined?”

“Actually, I just got hired as a part-time trainer. Make me look good and let me help you.” Mac looked around the place. “You ready for those pointers?”

“Sure,” he followed Mac through the ellipticals and stair steppers to the weights. “I didn’t know you’d planned to get a part-time job. You didn’t say anything the other day.” Teachers didn’t make much money, so it wasn’t out of the ordinary to get part-time jobs. Benji was lucky, in some sense. He had a small trust his grandparents had set up for him years before. It wasn’t a lot—and a good chunk of it had gone to his education—but what was left was enough to keep him from financial ruin as long as he was careful.

“Julio works here, and they needed help. He’d left me a message Friday afternoon, so I came by Saturday to talk to the owner. I said I’d pitch in until school starts in a couple of weeks so he could find some help. I might work a weekend here and there on occasion, too, if I have the time.”

“Won’t hurt to have someplace to work for next summer, too,” Benji added. “If you wanted one.”

“Exactly,” Mac said, stopping in front of the machine that tested for body fat. “Before we get started, let’s check you over.”

Benji nodded. “Okay.”

Mac did his measurements and typed a few things on the screen. “Hop up on the scale.”

Benji kicked off his trainers and jumped on. Mac typed a few more things.

“Four percent? Jesus, Benji,” Mac said. “That’s less than a typical athlete.”

“I eat and I eat… I can’t gain weight. I can’t add bulk. I can’t get muscles.”

“I saw how much you put down at dinner,” Mac said. “Have you talked to a doctor about your metabolic rate?”

“I have. He just tells me to eat plenty. I’ve always been like this.”

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