Page 9 of Gym With Benefits

He shifted effortlessly into his work persona, his posture straightening as he gave her a reassuring, completely disarming smile that always made his clients feel like they were the only person in the room. "Don't worry. We'll focus on upper-bodyhypertrophy and core mobility on Tuesday. Your hamstrings will be perfectly recovered and loose for a night of dancing and fun. Just make sure you hit the foam roller in the back room for ten minutes before you leave today."

"You're an absolute lifesaver," she sighed, giving his bicep a playful pat before turning on her heel and heading toward the locker rooms.

I poured Victoria's neon-green drink into a plastic cup, popped a lid on it, and handed it over with a polite nod as the blender finally died down. "Have a great weekend, Victoria. Enjoy the smooth ride."

"Thanks," she muttered, already staring intensely at her phone as she snatched the cup and walked away.

The second the coast was clear, Brock and I both locked our eyes right back onto the Sweat Sanctuary. But the show was already over.

The digital timer on Jess’s machine must have hit zero. I watched her slap the stop button with an aggressive smack of her palm. She didn't give Dane a single parting glance as she tore her headphones out, snatched her gym bag, and marched off with a furious, breathless energy.

My heart did a ridiculous, teenage flip against my ribs. Her direct path out of the Sweat Sanctuary required her to cut right through the lobby to hit the showers, meaning she had to walk straight past the Nutrition Nook. Past me.

"Hey!" I called out, leaning over the counter as she drew closer. I pitched my voice to that effortless, welcoming register, desperately trying to project safety and comfort after the storm she'd just survived. "First workout down. You survived."

Jess stopped dead in her tracks, giving a visible start. Her eyes darted from me to Brock, who was still hanging around. Nodoubt to watch things play out for his own entertainment. But I couldn’t be bothered with him right now. The last thing I wanted was for Dane to have put a damper on her earlier enthusiasm. Part of me prepared to hear her announce that she hated our gym and would never be back.

She looked beautifully wrecked. Sweat dampened the collar of her hoodie, a few dark curls sticking to the flushed skin of her neck, her chest heaving slightly from the exertion.

And to my relief, no such announcement came out of her perfect mouth.

"Barely.” A nervous laugh escaped her lips. "Your cardio room has a serious pest problem."

I chuckled, glancing over her shoulder to where Dane was still furiously pedaling away, completely oblivious to the world. "Yeah, Dane’s one of our regulars. He tends to occupy a lot of oxygen. I should’ve warned you before you went in there. He sometimes thinks he owns the place."

"Well, he's an asshole," she muttered, pulling the drawstrings of her hoodie a little tighter around herself. It was a classic defensive reflex, and it made me want to jump the counter even more just to shield her from the rest of the room.

Beside me, Brock didn't say a word, but I felt the distinct shift in his weight. He was shamelessly checking her out, and with the clinical precision of a guy evaluating a prime piece of athletic potential. His steady eyes traveled down her legs, tracking the curve of her calves beneath the second skin of her workout leggings before coming back up to fix on her face. Jess caught the look too, and her cheeks turned an even deeper, intoxicating shade of pink under his gaze.

"Don't let him scare you off," I said quickly, pulling her attention back to me. I wanted her looking at me, notgetting flustered by his silent evaluation. "Are you coming back tomorrow? I can set you up with a custom cardio routine. Keep you entirely away from the shark tank."

"Oh, um, maybe," she stammered, her eyes darting nervously toward the hallway that led to the changing areas. "I should probably go. Get cleaned up. Have a lot to do today."

She was dancing around it, her excuses slipping out rapidly as she began backing away toward the dual-access locker room doors.

"Right, wouldn't want to keep the day waiting," I teased, giving her a casual wink to let her know she wasn't fooling me. "See you around, Jess."

"Bye, Hunter," she murmured, practically bolting through the heavy door markedWomen.

The lobby suddenly felt about ten degrees colder without her in it. I let out a long, pathetic sigh and slumped my upper body flat against the counter, staring blankly at it.

Brock let out a mocking whistle, slapping me so hard on the shoulder that my teeth rattled. "You've got it bad. Real bad. I haven't seen you act like this since high school."

"Shut up," I groaned into the counter.

He glanced at the swinging locker room door, a dark, deeply teasing glint flashing in his eyes. "You know, if you’re really that worried about her safety with Dane lurking around... you could always follow her in there. Make sure she’s adjusting to the facilities okay. I'm sure she’d appreciate the customer service."

I yanked the damp cleaning rag off my shoulder and threw it straight at his chest. "Why don’t you get out of my face, and go lift something heavy?"

5

Jess

I had definitely gotten more than I bargained for today.

The heavy door of the locker room hissed shut behind me, instantly cutting off the ambient noise of the lobby, the clanking plates of the Muscle Mansion, and the suffocatingly intense presence of Hunter and Brock. I pressed my back against the tiled wall for a fraction of a second, letting out a long, shaky breath that had been threatening since I stepped off that miserable elliptical.

My heart still hammered a chaotic rhythm fueled by equal parts unadulterated fury at the prick who’d worked out next to me, and a sudden, deeply inappropriate rush of adrenaline from the front desk.