Page 84 of Fractured Souls
“Fine. Never mind. Let’s go get me ripped for my hot boyfriend.”
“Just like this.”
Jamie’s on his back, one of his arms straight up. The other is stretched out behind him.
“Then the one leg up.” I get down on the mat, grabbing his side. “Keep it tight. Then do it again for ten more reps. Once you get used to it, you can add to it. As many as you want.”
I watch Jamie do as he’s told, and the hand that’s straight up begins to wobble a bit. “Harder than it looks, huh?”
Jamie keeps going for fifteen reps instead of ten.
“Good. Now the other side.”
He curses, putting his other hand straight up with the opposite leg and doing fifteen reps. “Never mind. I’d rather be soft,” he says.
Laughing, my eyes dip to his stomach. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. He’s a big guy in general. But I guess I see what he means when I watch the soft skin of his belly show.
“You look great, okay? How youfeelshould be the priority.” I help him with the last few reps. “Besides, I don’t know if you know this, but Noah is obsessed with you.”
“I guess.” Jamie collapses against the ground. “What now?”
“Place both of your arms at your sides.” He does as he’s told and I get down on the mat in front of him. I place my hands on top of his knees.
“You need to bring your feet up. This part sucks, but I need you to lift your core as high as you can off the ground.” I watch Jamie try to do as I ask, but then he struggles to lift himself. “It’s okay, here.” I get down on my knees in front of him, touching his hips. “Just go slow and try to lift where you can.”
Jamie tries again with my help.
“As you get used to it, tighten up your stomach and keep it as flat as you can, using your abs to lift your body off the ground.”
“Oh my.” We both look up, with me between his legs and my hands on his hips. “This is what my wet dreams are made of.” Noah smiles at Bowen then mouthsoh my god. “What new positions is Cam here showing you?”
Jamie shakes his head, rolling to get up. “Cam’s helping me with some workouts I can do.”
Noah frowns, wrapping his arms around his waist.
“What?”
“Don’t overdo it, alright?”
Jamie hooks his arm around Noah’s waist and kisses him.
“Jamie wants abs.” I snitch on him.
Noah’s frown deepens. “I love your body, though. I like your stomach. It’s great to lie on while I read, and it feels nice when you hug me while we sleep.” Jamie’s ears redden. “Just go easy, okay?”
Jamie nods, kissing the top of his head.
“You know, it might help using the treadmill. Great for cardio and stamina.”
“Oh, stamina, now that I can get behind.” He pokes his chest. “So you can get behind.”
“Stop,” Jamie chuckles, and his face reddens as well. “You guys get everything we need?”
“Well, I bought hard seltzers, beer, and a couple of bottles of wine. Our beautiful, smart, intelligent, heavy-handed friend said she’s bringing vodka. They have Christmas flavors, apparently.” That sounds like a stomach ache.
“I just have to tell Sam I’m leaving. Did you grab my duffel bag?” I ask Bo.
“Yeah, I did.” I almost reach for him, but pull back. We haven’t talked much since our dates. Luckily I’ve had to work late to make up for what I’m going to miss. I even slept on the couch for a couple of nights. I want to get us back on track this week, though.
