Page 8 of Jacked
I jerk my eyes away from it in awe and a little bit of terror. Terror for whatever poor soul rides that beast, yes, but also terror for the fact that there’s no way he didn’t just catch me staring. In my defense, what the fuck? Instead of glaring or telling me to fuck off though, he just winks and saunters past, stopping a few lockers down to dry himself off and get dressed.
I hurry through changing, trying really hard not to think any more about the one-eyed monster a few feet away. You ever notice how the more you trynotto think about something, the more it becomes theonlything you can think about? Like, if it’s that long and thick soft, how fucking big does it get when it’s hard? And why is that thought making me all kinds of sweaty and nervous?
Once I’m dressed in my shorts, tank top, and gym shoes, I haul ass out of the locker room, leaving my musings about frighteningly big dicks behind. AJ is still near the front desk, but he’s chatting with a dude who looks like a potential client, so I hang back instead of interrupting him.
While I’m waiting, a big, blond dude with a baby face comes over with a big grin, giving me a once-over as he approaches.
“Hey, man,” he says. “Butch.” He holds out his hand and I go in for a shake, but instead it turns into an elaborate fist-bumping hand jive that I do my best to keep up with, but when he gets to the part where there’s finger wiggling and a series of snaps, I give up and settle for patting him roughly on the shoulder. He chuckles jovially and I decide I like him. “So, are you AJ’s man?”
“His…” I frown and cock my head. “We’re roommates,” I say, hoping that’s what he’s looking for.
A redhead with a lot of freckles gasps dramatically and pantomimes a move that looks like he’s whipping off a pair of non-existent sunglasses.
“They wereroommates!” he shouts, and I can tell from his voice he’s the same one who made the comment about shower sex earlier.
Butch cackles and Andre sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Ignore them, they’re idiots.”
“Uh, okay,” I agree with a stilted chuckle, still trying to figure out what any of that actually was.
Thankfully, AJ finishes up with the guy he’s talking to and turns back to me with the clipboard in hand.
“Alright, let’s fill this shit out so I can get you lifting weights,” he says. Right to the point, no nonsense. I like it.
“Fuck yes, please. I haven’t been inside a gym in over a week thanks to the long-ass drive from Cali. My ass feels like dough.”
“Looks pretty good from where I’m standing,” Butch says, leaning around for an exaggerated peek.
“Thanks.” My cheeks heat and I huff out a laugh.
“Dude, bad form to flirt with someone’s…roommateright in front of them,” a big dude with a bushy beard and tattoos says from his spot perched on a stationary bike, peddling and puffing as he shoots me a grin like he’s got my back.
“Do you have any idea what they’re talking about?” AJ asks.
I shake my head. “Not even a little.”
He chuckles, and I notice again that funny little wheeze that goes along with it. For some reason, it makes me smile.
“Glad I’m not alone,” he mutters, and a warm feeling floods my chest.
It’s been a long time since I’ve justclickedwith someone as easily as I have with AJ, and he’s right, it’s fucking nice not to feel so alone. I squeeze his shoulder again and grin at him.
“Me too, man, me too.”
CHAPTER FOUR
SLATER
“Goddamn.”I pant, tilting my head back to guzzle my water bottle dry.
AJ chuckles unapologetically like he didn’t just hand me my ass in that training session. I don’t know if it’s because I slacked so hard over the past week or if he’s just fucking gifted with this shit, but I swear every muscle in my body feels like Jell-O.
“You’ll be back in tomorrow, right?” He punches my shoulder and then we step farther apart to let a group of people move between us on the sidewalk. Once they’re past, we gravitate back together and round the corner to our apartment entrance. “I’ve got an idea for a kick-ass circuit that will work muscles you didn’t even know you had.”
I groan and grin at the same time.
“Somehow I love and hate you at the exact same time right now.”
