Page 60 of Hat Trick

“Goddammit.” Ethan rips off his shirt and throws it on the floor. “Now I want to run through a brick wall. Let’s fucking go.”

Lexi grins. A new song starts over the speakers. “Everyone up. We’re going into Warrior two lunges.”

My teammates and Piper get into position and I watch them. I don’t trust myself enough to balance, so I take the opportunity to sip on my water and decide who I think is going to topple over first.

Grant.

It has to be Grant.

“Want a modification?” Lexi asks, appearing in front of me and turning off her microphone. The guys might look like they’re dying, but I can’t find a drop of sweat on her body. She could probably go for another hour and a half at this intensity and not bat an eye. “You can do it on the ground instead of on the platform. It’ll give you more stability.”

“I’m not sure I’ll be good at it.”

“Who said anything about being good?”

“Okay.” I stand and look at my legs. “What do I do?”

“The same thing you’d do on the machine. Do you remember this move?”

“Vaguely. Can you give me a refresher?”

“Sure.” She smiles and moves to my side. “Is it okay if I touch you?”

Screaming outfuck, yes, anywhere you wantis probably too aggressive, so I nod. I try not to blush when she rests her palm on my hip, and I’m glad the lighting is shitty back here. The last thing I need is for Hudson to glance over and point out how red my cheeks are, even if I would blame it on my lack of athleticism rather than the hot girl I’m crushing on giving me a lick of her attention.

“Tell me what to do, teach,” I say.

“Put your right leg forward and your left one behind you. Lunge into your right leg—don’t worry about getting too deep—and make sure your knee points the same direction as your toes. You’re really going to feel this in your core, quads, and hamstrings. You should also notice your hip abductors being engaged. We’ve worked on those in our sessions, remember?”

“How could I forget? They hurt like hell.”

Lexi flips her microphone back on. “Let’s go two more, then we’ll switch sides, everyone,” she says.

I grit my teeth. Sweat rolls down my forehead, but I stay focused. I take a deep breath, trying to center myself, and Lexi gently pushes down on my shoulders.

“Relax. There you go,” she murmurs, her touch warm and soft. I bet the rest of her is warm and soft too. Her thumb presses into the muscles around my neck, and I almost whimper. “That’s so good, Riley.”

Fuck me.

Up to this point, my attraction to her hasn’t been a physical thing.

It’s been something manageable. Something I can pretend only exists because we’ve been around each other for years and she’s one of the few women I interact with, not because I think she’s smart, talented, gorgeous, and incredible.

But now it feels like her hand is lingering on my body longer than it needs to, and my mind can’t help but wander. I’m dreaming about what her palms would feel like skimming across my stomach. Dipping under the waistband of my shorts and wrapping around my cock. How she would taste if I was given the chance to take her to bed and worship her like she deserves.

I squeeze my eyes shut and try to get rid of the images of her on her knees, mouth open and tongue out while she tells me she can takemore, but then she exhales a breath that tickles my skin. She gets me to stretch an inch lower, and I’m a helpless mess of thoughts that would get me in serious fucking trouble.

Jock straps.

Sweaty jerseys.

Two-year-old skates that smell like death.

I try to think of anything but her, because I refuse to get fucking hard in front of my teammates.

“Jesus,” I mumble. Any pain I might be close to experiencing disappears when she moves her hands to my hips, her grip settling there.

“Are you okay?” Lexi asks, and the question makes me want to laugh.

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