Chapter Eight
A nthony heaved the bar above his head in angry, rapid thrusts while Nick spotted him from above. It was Monday after work and once he’d gotten back from taking the Andersons out, he’d still been wired about the misunderstanding with Delilah and Pike’s obliviousness.
“Hey, Hulk, why don’t you take it easy?” Nick said, his hand hovering under the bar. “I’m afraid you’re going to tear something.”
“I’m fine,” Anthony grunted, setting the weight bar back into the J hooks, his muscles burning at the overuse. He needed to let off some steam, or he would seek out the source of his frustration.
Because a fat girl can’t possibly want good sex?
Anthony sat up, desperately wanting to hit something. Why had Pike walked in right then like an eager puppy, drooling all over her before they finished their conversation? She stood there and encouraged Pike like Anthony hadn’t been the one making sure she got cleaned up and home safe on Saturday night. Making plans to date his best friend, who hadn’t even noticed her before Saturday while he’d—
Kissed her? Rejected her? Ignored her?
“Hey, man,” Nick said, jarring him out of his thoughts with a hand on Anthony’s shoulder. “I don’t want to come off like a nag, but you aren’t acting like yourself.”
“I’m in a mood, man, alright?” Anthony said roughly, climbing to his feet.
“No, I got that. I’m trying to suss out why.”
Anthony made his way toward the locker room without responding. While working out together was usually chill, Anthony wished he’d come alone. Nick was like a dog with a bone and wouldn’t let up until he told him.
Which he didn’t plan on doing. If he was going to talk to anyone, it would be Delilah about what she’d accused him of.
Anthony wasn’t naive. He knew some men cared about a woman’s weight. Hell, it was everywhere. Movies. TV. Books. The damn tabloids at the grocery store commenting on a celebrity’s weight, usually a woman, and the next magazine would be advertising some miracle diet. He wasn’t obtuse to these things because his mom had pointed them out to him, especially after his dad left.
“This world sure gets off on telling us how we should look, right?”
The reality was Delilah had lumped him in with all those assholes. Assholes like his dad and brothers.
Thinking about them brought up a new irritation he’d been trying to forget. Grant showing up in town hadn’t been to catch up. He’d been on a mission from their dad to invite Anthony to Thanksgiving with his father and his wife. Anthony hadn’t talked to the man since his mother’s funeral, when his dad acted like he cared, and then his dad had the balls to ask him what Anthony would do with his house.
Not his mom’s house. Not Anthony’s house. His.
Nick and Pike had jumped in to pull Anthony off his dad. Grant had his father in a bear hug, hauling him out of the wake. His other brothers had tried talking to him after that, but he didn’t want to hear from any of them. Since the divorce, he could count how often his siblings had visited on both hands. With the exception of Bradley, the rest of them could fuck off.
Which brought him back to Delilah. She’d assumed he thought she was less than because of her size, and nothing could be further from the truth.
He hadn’t gotten a chance to tell her that before Pike showed up and apology-blocked him.
Anthony shouldn’t be such a dick to Pike. The guy had no clue as to what he’d walked in on, and even if Pike had known, it would have been weird to ask him to leave Anthony alone with the woman he was interested in.
“Is Pike being a pain in the ass?” Nick asked, breaking into his thoughts.
Anthony opened his locker with a laugh, grabbing his towel. “Pike is always a pain in the ass.” He wiped the scratchy cloth over his sweaty face and tossed it back inside. “But no. I had a misunderstanding with someone and didn’t get to explain myself. It left a bad taste in my mouth.”
“Can’t you call them?” Nick asked.
“I don’t have their number.”
“Huh?” Nick leaned against the lockers, watching him. “Is it a woman?”
Anthony glanced away. “Why does it matter who it is?”
“Because I spill my guts to you regularly.” Nick said, studying him intensely. “Why are you being cagey with me?”
Anthony cleared his throat. “Maybe I don’t want to talk about it yet?”
“Oh, so this is big ,” Nick said, stroking his chin. “Were you seeing someone and not sharing with the group?”
“No,” Anthony said, taking a long drink from his water bottle. “I haven’t been out with anyone since the summer.”
Nick winced. “The chick that lied about liking camping?”
“Yep.”
Nick used one of the white gym towels on his own face, revealing a grin when he lowered it. “Is it about your life as a monk?”
Anthony scowled. “Fuck off. I should have never told you.”
“What, that you vowed to stay celibate until you found the one?” Nick asked, fluttering his lashes. “I think that’s romantic.”
Anthony shut his locker with a snap. “Can we stop talking about this?”
“Sure, but I’m going to wear you down.”
“You do what you gotta do,” Anthony said, heading for the urinals. “I’m going to take a piss and then hit the bag for a bit.”
“Is that your way of trying to get me to shut up? Because I have no qualms about talking to you while we pee.” Nick came up alongside Anthony and lowered his voice, “Together.”
Anthony snorted. Nick didn’t make good on his threat, leaving Anthony in peace. When he’d first decided to give up sex, Nick was the only one he told. He was afraid that he’d end up being a punchline.
Laughter shattered the quiet as more men entered the locker room.
“Damn, did you see the size of her? How does she think coming in here in that is okay? I’ll never get that image out of my head.”
Anthony froze, recognizing Trip Douglas’s nasally voice.
“She’s pretty, though; if she’s trying to lose weight, in about fifty pounds, she’ll be bangable. Did you see those tits?”
Anthony was almost surprised to hear Brodie joining in, but he’d been Trip’s lapdog since high school. Anthony had played offensive and defensive lines, going shoulder to shoulder with Brodie on more than one occasion. He’d never disliked the guy until this moment.
“The tits are always the first thing to go,” Trip said, his voice thick with disgust. “Twenty bucks says she loses weight and looks like a shar-pei.”
Anthony crossed the room to the sink, his jaw clenched. This is the type of guy Delilah thought he was? Anthony wanted to throttle these idiots.
“Couple of pricks,” Nick muttered, leaning against the sink beside him.
A locker slammed, and Brodie said, “I heard that fat girls are the freakiest in bed, though. They’re so happy to fuck someone, they’ll do whatever you want.”
“Maybe I should ask her out and see if it’s true?” Trip responded with a dark laugh.
Today was not the day. He’d wanted something to hit, and these two dick bags would jolly fucking do.
Anthony rounded the corner and spotted them in front of the lockers. Brodie had his back to Anthony, his large frame softer than it had been years ago. Anthony slammed his shoulder into Brodie, sending him catapulting into Trip. Both men hit the lockers, a cursing tangle of limbs, and Brodie stumbled, losing his towel in the process. When they hit the floor, Brodie landed on top of Trip, naked and sprawled out. Neither man moved for several seconds, frozen in place.
“Not in public, boys,” Nick deadpanned.
Anthony didn’t have to turn around; he could tell by the barely restrained laughter in Nick’s voice he was about to lose it.
“Watch where you’re fucking going, Russo!” Trip hollered. Anthony glanced back and watched Trip push at Brodie’s naked frame.
“Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”
Nick slapped his back when they exited the locker room, gasping with laughter. “Holy shit, that was the best thing I’ve seen all day.”
Anthony smiled. “I’ll admit, I feel a little better now.”
“We should probably vamoose unless we want to wait for them outside.” Nick shook his head, grinning like a sinner. “By the look on Trip’s face, he will be spoiling for a fight.”
“Nick! Anthony!” The manager, Frank, called out, heading straight for them. “I heard a crash in the locker room!”
“How?” Anthony asked.
“I was in the women’s locker room giving a tour and heard it through the wall.”
Anthony saw the dark ponytail before it fully registered Delilah was behind Frank, staring at Anthony with wide eyes. She wore a pink off-the-shoulder top that revealed the strap of her black sports bra and a broad seam of cleavage.
Anthony scanned the room, a sickening feeling settling in his stomach. “You hear anything else before the crash?”
“No, why?” Frank asked.
Anthony’s shoulders sagged with relief. Even if Trip and Brodie hadn’t been talking about Delilah, he couldn’t imagine her wanting to stick around if she’d heard what they were saying.
“I thought maybe you heard arguing or something? The only thing that happened when we were there is I tripped when we were leaving and accidentally bumped into a couple of guys.”
“Uh-huh.” Frank watched him skeptically before turning to address Delilah. “I need to go in and check on this. I’ll be right back, Delilah.”
“Not a problem, Frank.”
The older man disappeared inside, and Nick clapped Anthony on the shoulder. “You think Trip is going to tell Frank?”
“Tell him what?” Delilah asked.
“Nothing,” Anthony said.
“Okay.” She dragged out the word before she reached into the pocket of her leggings and pulled out a black earbud case. “See ya.”
Delilah hopped onto the nearest treadmill, setting her pink water bottle in the machine’s cup holder.
“Anthony!” Frank came out of the locker room with Brodie and Trip behind him, dressed in track pants and T-shirts. “These two gentlemen say you shoved them.”
“It was an accident, Frank,” Anthony said, innocently. “I came around the corner and didn’t know they were there until we collided.”
“It’s true,” Nick said.
Trip and Brodie wore identical scowls, but Anthony almost broke when Trip mouthed, Fuck you.
“I’m too old to deal with this shit,” Frank said, throwing up his hands. “When you’re in this building, act like grown-ups. Otherwise, work your shit out elsewhere.”
Frank left them and walked up to the side of Delilah’s treadmill to talk to her. Anthony faced Brodie and Trip with a smirk. “You two tattled over a little bump?”
“Why the fuck did you slam me into the locker?” Brodie grumbled.
“If I needed a reason,” Anthony said, all amusement erased from his demeanor. “I could have found one in any of the douchey things you said.”
“What? You got butt hurt over us talking about banging Delilah Gill?” Trip asked.
Anthony stepped toward him, rumbling in his chest, and Trip’s lips tilted into a smirk. “If she’s on your radar, Russo, maybe I’ve been sleeping on her charms.”
This motherfucker—
Anthony lunged at Trip, but Nick caught him and dragged him toward the front door. Trip jogged backwards a few steps, calling out “Don’t worry, Anthony. I’ll keep her warm for ya!”
Anthony nearly escaped Nick’s hold, his body pulsating with the need to wipe that smug smile off Trip’s stupid fucking face, but Nick tightened his grip and nearly lifted Anthony off his feet.
“Stop fighting me. Fuck!” Nick groaned, getting him through the door and onto the sidewalk before releasing him. He then blocked the door, keeping Anthony from charging back inside.
“Get out of my way, Nick,” Anthony panted darkly.
“No! You need to take a walk because this ain’t you, man! You don’t lose it like this.”
Anthony took a breath, closing his eyes. His friend was right. He was the levelheaded one. Not that he wasn’t willing to jump into a fight, but he didn’t start one over some shit-talking prick he wouldn’t wipe his boots on.
“Do me a favor, alright? Go back inside and make sure that dickhead stays away from Delilah?”
Nick nodded. “I can do that, but I gotta know. Are you interested in her?”
He didn’t know anymore.
“Pike is interested in her. She’s just a friend.”
Nick studied him, and Anthony wasn’t sure if he believed him. “Get out of here and cool off. I’ll keep her safe.”