Page 3 of New Neighbor

“You can’t just draft my new neighbor into unloading my shit,” Mac growled over one shoulder at Tevan.

“It’s called worksmarter, not harder,” Tevan answered before turning to Benji. “And why lift weights when you can lift boxes? Same difference.”

“I… I don’t mind helping,” Benji said. “Lifting is lifting, right?”

“See,” Tevan said, turning to Mac with a grin.

“He’s just being nice,” Mac said, pushing Tevan down the hall, toward the stairs. He turned his head to Benji. “Get out while you can.”

But I don’t want to go. Not now…

Julio offered a polite nod and followed the pair down the hall.

I’d really like to help.Benji stood there a moment before gripping his gym bag’s strap. Staying to help would keep him in the vicinity… but then, he wasn’t totally sure Mac wanted him there. It didn’t sound as if he did.

Benji waited until he couldn’t see the trio any longer before he moved. He headed for the stairs, trying to act nonchalant. Once he made it to the lower landing, he saw the guys pulling boxes from the back of Mac’s U-Haul. As he headed for his truck, Mac turned to stare.

He felt that stare down to his very toes. Looking away, he was sure he wasn’t seeing what he thought he saw…

But damn if it didn’t feel like interest.

A smile came to his lips as he slid behind the wheel and started the engine. He pulled out of his assigned space and headed for the gym.

Ten minutes later, he slid into a space atHard BodiesGym, knowing full well he’d never truly belong there. He showed his ID card at the front desk and then went straight for the weights… and felt like all the huge muscle-bound gods were watching him and silently judging.

After a few deep stretches, he went to the leg press and adjusted the weights. He jumped on the machine and had barely gotten a set done when his friend Jesse showed up.

“Hey, man.”

Benji turned his head. “What’s up?”

Jesse rolled his eyes. “Same shit, different day.”

Benji chuckled before pushing his legs out, starting another set. He struggled with the weight, but he needed to push himself harder. If he wasevergoing to build muscle, he needed to go past expectations…

“I don’t know what’s up with Adam and Clay, but it appears they’re not on speaking terms at the moment,” Jesse said as he sat on a piece of equipment beside Benji.

“They get into another argument?” Benji asked.

Jesse hopped to his feet, walking as he talked. Benji knew that meant Jesse was up to something. He always paced when he planned out strategy. “No idea. I can’t get either one of them to talk about it. Adam completely shut me down yesterday when I asked. And Clay—well, he pretty much did the same just now.”

Benji extended his legs, frowning as he pushed with everything he had. As he held the weights for a moment, he turned to Jesse. “I’m sure they’ll work it out. They typically do.”

Jesse shook his head. “I get the feeling that’snotgoing to happen this time around. The vibe I got… it was just weird.”

He walked closer and lifted a hand, forcing Benji to stop. After pulling out the pin, Jesse reset the machine for a better weight. “I keep telling you less is more. It’s about the repetition, not the amount of weight. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“I need to build muscle mass,” Benji said.

“Why?”

Benji frowned.Because I want to be stronger.

Because there’s a hot guy moving in across the hall from me who’s so out of my league.

Just like most guys are out of my league. Not that you would know that I’m into guys because I’ve never had the fucking courage to tell you.“I justdo.”

“You know… that I know a thing or two about the body, right?”

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