Page 12 of Tangled Rose

Crossing my arms over my chest, I don’t say anything for several seconds as we stare at each other. Pissed, I shrug. “Never mind. I’ll do other stuff.” I whip my T-shirt off and throw it to the ground as I walk over to a pull-up bar. I bend down, dipping my hand in the chalk bin, and swipe my hands together. I turn around to see Beau still watching me, his arms crossed and his jaw tight. I swing my arms back, then jump straight up, grasping the bar.

I’m on my twentieth pull-up when Beau walks over.

“Fine. I was wrong. You’re plenty strong.”

“You’ve seen nothing, asshole.” I hang, then lift my legs in front of me, bending at the waist, until my toes touch the bar, then return to a hang. Repeat. I ignore Beau, though I can hear him moving weight plates around.

When I finally drop, Beau’s eyeing me curiously. “How many push-ups can you do?”

“Why? You want to have a competition or something?”

“Nope. Just kind of amazed right now. You still want to bench? I put on the one-fifty you asked for.”

With a jerk of my head in the affirmative, I cross back to the bench, straddling it, and lie back. Beau helps me lift it off the uprights. Then when he sees I’ve got it, he lets go. I try not to pay attention, but I can tell he’s watching me like a hawk. He allows me to complete ten reps before he takes most of the weight from me and guides the bar back to the uprights. “Fucking impressive, Seven.”

“Cut that shit out.”

“What, admiring your strength or calling you Seven?”

“Both. Just stop.” I groan as I sit up, stretching one arm across my chest, then the other. I walk over to a wall covered by a mat and slide down into a wall sit.

Beau comes over, leans back next to me, and lowers himself down. Thirty seconds later, he lets out a growl. “This hurts. How long are you holding this?”

“Another minute or two.”

“Ah, fuck. You’re going to have to distract me from the pain. My ass isn’t liking this.”

I snort. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“Shutthefuckup.”

“Okay, fine,” I say, amused. “What did you say earlier when I couldn’t hear you?” I glance to the side, seeing droplets of sweat pop out on his forehead.

He grits his teeth. “I may have said you’re very, uh, bendy.”

“Well, I’m a gymnast, so that’s to be expected.” I catch the side of my lip with my teeth as I steal another peek at him. Sweat drips down his chest, too, following the grooves of his muscles. Damn. That’s hot. I blow out a breath, readjusting a bit as the burn sets into my glutes. My thighs are on fire and trembling.

Beau nods, his lips twitching. “Still. That’s some crazy flexibility you’ve got there. Can’t say I’d mind seeing more.” The cocky ass winks at me and tries to play off the fact that he’s about to drop before I do.

I grit out, “Don’t get any ideas. I see you, manwhore.”

He pushes out of the position against the wall with a groan. “And what do you think you know about me, anyway?” He kneads his thigh muscles with his hands while he watches me.

“I’m not an idiot.”

“And what is it that makes me a manwhore?”

“You’re kidding, right? You’re telling me that what I saw last night isn’t a common occurrence? Girls pawing at you in a hot tub? Each one offering themselves up to you… because why?”

Beau picks up a gym towel from a fresh stack and wipes his face. “The ladies flock to me naturally. I can’t help it.” He smirks at me. “Even you ended up in my bed.”

“Right.” I finally push to standing and give him a disgusted look. “Whatever you say. I only wanted some reading material.” I turn around and kick into a handstand, resting my heels against the wall. I do a series of ten push-ups before I kick back down and face him again.

“Do you ever stop?”

“Stop what?” My eyes flash at him, daring him to say anything else.

“Well, I was going to say with the workout, but fuck. You keep jabbing at me. You don’t even fucking know me.” He runs his hands through his hair in frustration.

I almost feel bad for him. “Sure I don’t. Thanks for the comic book, by the way, but I’m not interested in anything else you have to offer.” Our eyes connect, and I roll mine before turning around. I glance at the equipment, considering what I want to do next. When I pivot to say something else, Beau’s gone.

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