Page 28 of Bewitch

“What makes you think my friends need exercise?” I ask.

“Just about everyone on this planet needs exercise,” he says dryly. “Not everything is an attack.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t take things as personally as you think I do.”

“I doubt that.”

I lift my chin. “What do you have next for me?”

“You want a complex move? Two in one? Do a close chest press into a dumbbell fly. Here. On the bench. Yes. With the weights.”

I can only manage two reps, and both suck, so I drop them and start to get up.

“Do the move without the weights,” he dictates. “Ten reps, pause, ten more, pause, ten more. Let’s go.”

Cursing him under my breath with every exhale, I do the moves. Once finished, I sit up and glare at him. “What’s next?”

“Glutton for punishment?”

“You have no idea,” I say in challenge, and I swear that’s the first time I see him smile.

And it really is as bewitching as I always thought it would be.

* * *

After I finish that workout, Lucas walks me toward the front. Once we’re past the main gym area, I remove a banana from my bag and unpeel it. I thought about doing this for a long time, and since I made that hand motion earlier, I figure that now is the best time to do it.

I wait for him to glance my way, and I put the banana in my mouth as far as I can without gagging and then take it back out and then in again.

He watches, shakes his head, and sighs.

But then I bite off well over half and chew it.

Lucas just shakes his head some more, but that smirk of his? Yeah, he’s thinking about my giving head. I know he is. Just what I want him to.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I say after I swallow that massive bite.

“Actually, I can’t tomorrow. Something’s come up, and I can’t be in tomorrow at ll. You can have tomorrow as your rest day, and we do a session on Sunday if you want.”

“No. Sunday is my rest day. I’ll figure something out. See you on Wednesday.” I wave to Pamela and head on out.

And that’s when it hits me.

Maybe he isn’t walking me to the front so much as he’s coming to see Pamela.

* * *

The next day, Brooke and I are eating lunch together—a cheesy pasta and chicken and broccoli confection that she made for us.

“Any chance you can come with me to the gym today?” I ask, trying to sound as casual as I can.

“Not today. Sorry. I have a karate thing—”

“Say no more. I know how much that means to you. Almost as much as Declan.”

A slow smile spreads across her face. Man, does she have it bad for that bad boy. I wasn’t sure what to think of Declan at first, but I have to admit that he’s grown on me.

“No worries,” I add, already grabbing my phone. Kaylie is the first one I text. She does martial arts too, so maybe she’ll be up for a workout.

---