Page 14 of Ripped

“He needed a place to stay and I’ve got the guest room, so I let him come home with me.” I cross my arms and stare Beau down, daring him to say something.

The guy towers over me. He’s not the least bit intimated. “You brought a complete stranger home? And he’s one of our members?”

Connor doesn’t feel like a stranger, not anymore. He feels like… I don’t know, a friend? At the very least, an acquaintance. Except the only word that comes to mind is “mine.”

The word echoes through me and I almost stagger at how booming it is. Connor isn’t mine in any sense of the word. I just met the guy last night. I know nothing about him. He said Miles cheated on him, but there could be more to the story.

I’m pretty sure there isn’t though. I’m pretty sure Connor is exactly who he appears to be, and things with Miles are exactly as he says they are. I don’t know how I know. I just know, and that’s… terrifying.

“We don’t have a rule against that.” I lift my chin as I speak.

“What? Fraternizing with members?” Beau scoffs. “No, we don’t.”

“So, what’s the problem?” I’m deliberately being obtuse and it’s pissing Beau off, but I don’t care.

He runs a hand over his face. “Okay, listen, one thing at a time. You want to ban this Miles guy. Fine. Why?”

“Because he’s a fucking asshole.”

Beau pins me with an impatient look. “That’s not good enough and you know it.”

I have to tell him. I have no choice. I want to tell him, I realize. I want him and Sawyer and everyone in the gym to know what kind of bastard Miles is. It comes out of me like a compulsion I can’t stop. “He cheated on Connor, with Connor’s best friend. Connor walked in on them last night when he went home.”

There, it’s out now, and gratification runs through me like I’m fucking high. Beau doesn’t look as angry as he should be though. He looks decidedly unimpressed.

“Okay, and?”

I frown. This isn’t going the way it’s supposed to. “And Connor was distraught. He couldn’t go back there, so I took him home with me.”

“And you want to ban the boyfriend because…”

“Because he’s a cheating bastard!” What about this isn’t Beau getting?

Beau sighs and shakes his head. “Donnie, we can’t ban someone because they’re cheating bastards. If we did that, we’d lose half our membership. Hell, we’ve got people joining us for the express purpose of sleeping around. Or have you forgotten about the condoms we stock in the locker rooms?”

He’s right and I hate it. I fucking hate it. I don’t care about all those other assholes and what they’re doing in the locker rooms. I care about Connor and what Miles did to him. “So what, are we condoning infidelity now?” I spit out.

It’s entirely the wrong thing to say and I can see how wrong it is on Beau’s face. Whatever patience he had is running thin now.

“We’re not condoning infidelity,” Beau says softly, but menacing enough that I shrink back from him. “But we’re not the fucking morality police either. As long as everyone’s a consenting adult, remember? That’s our policy.”

“I doubt Connor consented to being cheated on.” It slips out. I don’t even consciously think it. I want to take it back the second it’s out there because Beau is not happy.

His face is dark and if I didn’t know him better, I’d be petrified. I’m a little scared as it is. I take a couple steps away from him as my senses go on high alert.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

Of course I know it. Beau is right. Everything he’s saying makes complete sense and under any other circumstances, I’d agree with him one hundred percent. But not when it comes to Connor, apparently. I can’t let it go. I want Miles gone so badly it lodges in the middle of my chest and burns.

Beau’s expression softens a touch. “If it helps, Sawyer mentioned the boyfriend hasn’t been here in a while,” he says, still cautious.

“He was here this morning. Asking about Connor,” I say through gritted teeth.

Beau nods as if that explains everything. “We don’t have to tell him where Connor is. But we can’t ban him unless he violates one of our policies.”

I’m not going to win this argument and I’ve got a class I need to get ready for. They’re going to get one hell of a workout today. I shrug out of my winter coat and turn to leave. “Yeah, fine, whatever.”

“Donnie.”

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