Page 8 of Operation Annulment
She continues staring straight ahead as if I’m not there, making me feel like the world’s worst sister. Now I remember why I haven’t bothered pursuing another relationship since Benjamin.
Dakota comes first. Dakota will always come first.
“So, what’s the plan?”
She mashes the emergency stop button and cracks her neck from side to side. “The plan is to get through this workout and get on with our day. Come on. That’s enough of a warm-up.”
“I take it things didn’t go well with Thor?” I guess, trying to keep pace with her.
“Who?” she asks, her ponytail flicking back and forth like an agitated cat’s tail.
“Zane? Big Guy? The man of your dreams?”
“Oh,” she says with a heavy sigh. “Him. Yeah, he acted as if he didn’t know me, so it appears I’m the butt of yet another one of the universe’s jokes. Cool, right?”
“Maybe there was a work emergency? Yeah, that’s it. Somebodydownstairs dropped a barbell on themselves, and he’s working to free them. No one else has the strength of Thor, so obviously he had to step in. He’s obligated. Blessing and a curse, all that strength.”
“Yeah. Maybe. Let’s just get this over with, okay?” She’s trying to pretend he means nothing, but her wide eyes and furrowed brow tell a different story altogether.
“What’s the deal with that?” Dakota asks as we take the stairs back down, nodding to where Nate hangs from the pull-up bar.
His mouth splits into a wide grin when he catches me out of the corner of his eye. He pulls himself up effortlessly before winking at me.
Okay, now he’s just showing off.
The hair on the back of my neck rises even as I lift my shoulder in a casual shrug. “Him? Nothing. He was just thanking me for the whole Doucheface thing. That’s all.”
She nods at my answer and goes over to a stack of containers in the corner. “Yeah, I figured as much.”
See? Even my sister doesn’t see this going anywhere. It would be entirely out of character for me, that’s for sure. Nothing more than a temporary lapse in judgment. Well, that, and he’s nice to look at.
God, I want to do more than just look…
I shove my lustful thoughts aside when my sister, probably the most uncoordinated person on the planet, begins setting up metal steps for box jumps.
This is worse than the time Nan hid all the junk food on the top shelf in the storage room. Dakota waited until she left to run an errand and then stacked box upon box to reach it.
I came in just in time to witness her fall from the shelf with an armful of Chips Ahoy. She landed on Pops’ toolbox, knocking the air out of her lungs. While gasping for her next breath, she kept a death grip on the cookies.
“Are you sure you don’t want to start with something—I don’t know—easier?”
Dakota shakes her head and flashes a confident smile. “I’ve got this. Seriously, working out has helped tremendously with my balance issues.”
Balance issues.
Well, that’s one way of putting it.
After watching her demonstrate her newfound agility by completing a couple of jumps, I reluctantly agree to join her.
“We’re going to go to ten for this first set,” she orders as though she’s been training people her entire life.
Nate suddenly jumps down and begins walking over. My cheeks flame again as I try to think of something clever to say. I step around the box to meet him.
He runs his fingers lightly down my arm and I silently thank Dakota for picking this gym. Then his hand freezes and he glances over my shoulder. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Stay right here, babe.”
Babe?
I may swoon. The blood in my veins seems as confused as I am right now. One minute, it feels as if it’s all rushing to my head, and with that one word, it begins moving south.
