Page 8 of Pucking Strong

I pat his forearm. “Good to see you too, Nov.”

He lets me go and spins me around, one hand tight on my shoulder. “See this PT?” he shouts to the crowded gym. “This is my PT. You got that, assholes? I don’t make the rules, but Iwillenforce them.”

Some of the older guys laugh, while the rookies look ready to take his word as gospel. I pat his hand on my shoulder. “Sorry to sour this little reunion, but I’m actually gonna be working with the injured-list guys. If you’re not injured, I can’t promise any of my magic massages.”

Novy drops his hand away. “The fuck you say?” He looks around the gym. “Who do we have to talk to? Brady? Don’t even worry, bud. I’ll have this settled in five minutes—”

“No—” I pull on his shirt to keep him from storming off. “Come on, man. Don’t get me in trouble on day freaking one.”

He settles down, still frowning.

“Who even is this guy?” one of the new faces asks.

Novy rounds on him. “Thisguy? How ’bout you watch your fucking tone, Bouch. This is Doctor Teddy O’Connor. We call him Teddy of the Golden Hands, because he’s fucking magical. He gives the best damn leg massages I’ve ever had.”

Langley and a few of the other older guys laugh. “I’m gonna tell Morrow you said that,” Langley teases.

Novy shows no fear. “Go ahead. Hell, I’ll tell him myself. I’ll text him right now. That’ll make my fucking night.”

He pulls out his phone, and my eyes go wide. Fuck me, I am not getting in the middle of those two again. Back when Morrow was a player, he got a little territorial over how much Novy liked my massages. Ever seen a jaguar hunt a caiman while a helpless capybara watches? Yeah, I was the capybara. “Ohgod—don’t,” I hiss, slapping at his phone.

“It’s fine.” He body checks me with his shoulder as his thumbs type. “Besides, it’s my ass, not yours.”

I groan.

“Hey! Are you guys bothering the good doctor?”

We all turn to see Brady walking over between the row of treadmills. My heart fucking stops when I see who is walking at his side. Dressed in a Rays tech shirt and a pair of athletic shorts, HenrikKarlsson looks every inch as beautiful as the first time I saw him. He’s fucking magnetic, with those navy-blue eyes and the soft sweep of sandy-blond hair over his brow. His beard is shorter now, little more than stubble. God, he looks so fucking good.

I swallow, trying to stifle the annoying fluttering that’s currently happening in my chest. This is so embarrassing. It’s been six years. And it’s not like we were ever …anything. That’s the worst part about all this. We were literally nothing. For the whole year I interned for the Rays, I tried to give him as wide a berth as possible, content to torture myself with secret, longing glances from across gyms and hotel breakfast buffets.

I was too much of a coward to ever approach him casually. And when I was forced to work with him as part of my job, I was usually so tongue-tied, I couldn’t even speak. I’d squeak out things like, “Pressure okay?” while I was massaging his calves. And once, while wrapping an ice pack on his shoulder, I swear to god, I said the words, “All set, chilly dog.”

Seriously, somewhere inside this building, they’re already digging a hole for me. When my shame builds high enough, I’ll just lower myself down, and they can bury me. Henrik Karlsson is as untouchable to me now as he was then. Maybe even more so because now I have more to lose. I have it on good authority that Rachel may not be coming back to work after she has those babies. If I play my cards right, this position could become permanent. It’s my literal dream job.

Whatever hand of fate dealt me these cards, I’m in the door. I have the job. And I mean to keep it. That can’t happen if I’m too busy torturing myself, daydreaming over a man who has never looked twice at me. A man I’m not even sure is gay. A man who likely doesn’t remember my goddamn name.

No, this is over. It’s done. Henrik Karlsson is off limits. Frankly, I’m not interested. Do you hear me, Universe? There’s absolutely nothing about him that would ever—

“Hey, Teddy.” He smiles that smile that only reaches his eyes. God, I haven’t seen that smile in six long years. “Good to see you again.”

Well, fuck me. Apparently, the love of my life remembers my name.

“Oh, yeah … that’s it. That’s the fucking spot, right there. Don’t stop.”

I still my thumbs on the back of Novy’s calf.

“Hey, I said don’t stop—”

“What was ouronerule?” I say over him.

He pushes up on his elbows to look at me. “Oh, come on. Those weren’t sex sounds. I was just talking.”

“Yeah, in a weird, growly sex voice.”

Chuckling, he flops back onto his stomach. “My sex voice isn’t weird.”

“I beg to differ.”

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