Page 43 of Gym With Benefits

“Her legs gave in and I stopped her from falling!” What was so hard to grasp about that? “Quit playing bodyguard and get real for a second.”

“I mean it,” he warned, stepping forward.

The laugh that rose out of me was paper-thin. “She’s been looking for a reason to get me thrown out of here since day one, and you and Hunter have been too busy falling for her games to see what’s right in front of your faces.”

“You’re an arrogant prick.” Her face flushed a furious crimson. “You’re the one who’s had it in for me. You make a point of getting in my way, and you hate that I’m not one of your skanks, pandering to your every whim.”

“My what?”

Brock pushed between us, hands raised to hold us back. I didn’t need it, but Jess looked about ready to rip out my throat with her teeth.

“Look, it’s obvious this is going nowhere,” he said. “Dane, why don’t you call it a day and we figure this out tomorrow?”

“You’re seriously kicking me out? She almost crashed into my truck getting here, she’s been nothing but annoying and childish—”

“Childish?” Jess snapped her head around Brock’s guarding arm. “That’s rich coming from you.”

“I’m not the one running around here crying to management whenever I don’t get my way.”

“I’ve never cried to anyone about you!” Her voice cracked at the end, her chest heaving as she struggled for breath. “You’re an insecure bully who can't handle the fact that I’m not impressed by your little performances. You think you're some kind of prize, but you're just a loud, irritating obstacle in my day.”

“If I'm such an obstacle, find another gym.” I slapped Brock’s arm away. I wanted her to see my face, to see how much I meant what I was saying. “Go find some boutique yoga studio where everyone pretends you're special. Because in here, you're just another body in the way of my equipment.”

“That’s enough,” Brock said, his hand coming down onto my shoulder with real force, his fingers digging into the muscle to haul me back. “Get out of her face.”

The contact broke the circuit, and the anger in her face suddenly shifted, buckling beneath a wave of something much sharper. Something raw and exposed that made her features look suddenly fragile. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. A single, hot tear broke from her lower lid and ran down her cheek, cutting a clean path through the salt and grime of the workout.

She didn't stay long enough to let me see the second one.

“Jess, wait!”

But she was already on her way out, the door swinging on its hinges as she stormed through it.

The sudden silence of the small space rang in my ears. My chest was tight, and the red mark on my cheek felt colder now. It was as though the heat of the argument had drained out of the room along with her hasty exit.

“Nice work, genius,” Brock said, his voice filled with quiet disgust.

I moved to the threshold, my hand resting against the wooden frame as I watched her retreat across the main floor. She was practically running, her head down, shoulders hunched as if she were trying to disappear into her own skin.

Through the clear plexiglass panels of the lobby partition, I saw her hit the turnstiles. Hunter was there in an instant, abandoning his post at the desk to intercept her before she reached the exit. His arms came up, his hands catching her shoulders to steady her, his head bowing down until his mouth was near her ear, his posture full of an immediate, protectivesoftness. The same protectiveness I’d seen from Brock moments ago.

I bit the inside of my cheek as her forehead dropped against his shoulder. Then he guided her around the counter, turning her away from the prying eyes of the remaining clients. He opened the door to the administrative office behind the desk, ushering her inside. The door closed behind him with a final click.

“If you can’t contain this, he’s gonna have to escalate it.” Brock sounded like my dad instead of a friend. “What’s your deal with her anyway?”

I turned slowly, letting my back rest against the doorframe. Brock hadn't moved from the center of the room. His arms were still crossed, his massive shoulders squared, his face a mask of unbothered contempt.

“I don't need a lecture on gym etiquette from you,” I said, my voice flat, the adrenaline from the screaming match leaving a bitter, metallic taste under my tongue. “She crossed a line, and you know it. The question is, why are you taking her side?”

“You stole a parking spot, and then grabbed a woman because your ego couldn't handle her beating you to a machine,” he said, sounding done with me. “You've been riding her since the day she walked in here. Every set, every repetition, you're tracking her like a hawk. You're obsessed.”

“I didn’t grab her. I helped her,” I hissed, my fists tightening inside my pockets. “And all the other stuff… Okay, maybe I’ve been giving her a hard time. But it’s harmless fun, not obsession.”

Brock let out a short, mocking sound that wasn't quite a laugh. He shook his head, his eyes boring into mine. “You're an idiot if you can’t see how this is playground politics 101.”

“What?”

“You're into her,” Brock said, the words falling into the room with the blunt force of a lead plate. “You like Jess, but because she doesn't fall out of her chair when you walk past, and because she actually calls you out on your bullshit, you don't know how to handle the physics of it. So you act like a total asshole to keep her from realizing how much space she’s taking up in your head.”