Chapter 29
“What the hell is that noise?” Jackson grumbled as he tucked me into his side. The man was like a furnace, but I didn’t want to move because I loved being so close to him.
I slung my leg over his and replied, “I don’t know,” my words barely audible. Not ten seconds later, we both heard a banging sound.
“Jackson!” someone shouted, the ruckus at the front door becoming louder as we wiped away the remnants of our sleep.
I glanced at the clock and saw that it was six thirty. “Shit,” I shouted, tapping Jackson on the chest repeatedly. “You’re late for training.”
“What?” He was slower to wake than me, but as soon as reality set in, he shot up in bed, almost knocking me over in the process. “Sorry, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. But you better get the door before whoever is out there breaks it down.”
As Jackson reached over the edge of the bed to retrieve a pair of sweatpants, he took the covers with him, exposing my naked body.
Normally, I wouldn’t care, as it was just the two of us, except when I turned to look toward the bedroom door, I heard someone approaching.
Before I could cover up, Trevor appeared in the doorway, looking as shocked as I did.
I flailed my arm to the side, trying to get Jackson’s attention but his back was to me. I finally snatched the blanket the same time he turned around, his eyes colliding with Trevor’s before they shifted to me.
“What the fuck?” Jackson shouted as he sprinted around to my side of the bed, blocking me from his trainer’s view. “What are you doing in here?”
“You’re late for training. You weren’t answering your door or your phone, so I let myself in. I was worried.” He barely took a breath before he said, “What is she doing in your bed?”
“That’s none of your business,” he replied as he clenched his fists.
“Yes, it is. Everything you’re doing is my business. You lied to me. You said there wasn’t anything going on between you two.”
“There wasn’t when you asked.” Jackson’s breathing increased, and if he didn’t calm down and soon, I feared something bad might happen.
Trevor stepped to the side, pointing his finger directly at me. “You lied to me too.”
“Leave her out of this,” Jackson barked.
They spoke about me as if I wasn’t inches away from them. But instead of speaking up for myself, I kept my mouth shut. I wasn’t about to get in the middle of their argument even though I was the cause of it.
“Why? You didn’t.”
“You need to go, Trevor. Now. I’ll be down in a few minutes.” Surprisingly, Jackson’s tone had calmed, which I was thankful for, since this situation was stressful enough without things escalating.
“We’re not done talking about this,” Trevor said right before he left.
“Are you okay?” Jackson asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. I nodded right before a rush of embarrassment washed over me. “What’s wrong?”
“I didn’t know he was there. You moved to get your pants and… I couldn’t….” I took a breath before blurting, “Trevor saw me naked.” I released the cover and slapped my hands over my face.
“No, he didn’t,” he uttered, as if he didn’t want to believe it.
I parted my fingers so I could see him, all while still covering my face. “Yes, he did. Oh my God. I’m mortified.”
“I’m gonna kill him.”
“Why? It’s not his fault.”
“It’s exactly his fault,” he argued, pulling my hands from my face. “If he hadn’t barged in here, he wouldn’t have seen anything.”
“I know. I get that. But we were the ones who were late. He was just worried about you.”
“Why are you making excuses for him?” Jackson’s cheeks heated as he stared at me.
“I’m not making excuses for him. I just don’t want this situation to escalate. It’s not worth it. You have to focus on your training. Your fight is coming up soon, and you can’t afford to be arguing with your trainer, your friend.”
He ran his hand over the top of his head. “You’re right. But it’s gonna be hard to ignore the fact that he saw you naked.”
“I know. I probably won’t be able to look at him for weeks.”
“Good,” he said, grinning when I playfully slapped his leg.
A heavy sigh escaped his lips, and all I wanted to do was assure him everything was going to be fine, but I didn’t want to lie to him. Honestly, I had no idea when or if Trevor would come around to the idea of me and Jackson. Or for that matter, what the rest of his team would think.
“We should get going.” I swung my legs over the bed, but before I could stand, he pushed me onto my back.
“Can we just stay right here for the rest of the day?” He trailed his finger over my breast, my nipple pebbling with excitement. The way he looked at me made me want to throw my arms around him and give him anything he desired, but I had to be smart. We had to be smart.
My lips hovered near his. “I’d love to, but I have a job to do, and you’re getting in the way of that.” I pecked his mouth and smirked when he rolled his eyes.
He rubbed his nose against mine. “Fine.” When he stood, he held out his hand to me to help me up. “You better put some damn clothes on before I change my mind.” A swift swat to my bare ass had me squealing in surprise.
“I’m gonna rinse off quick. I’ll meet you down there,” he said as he walked out of his bedroom.
I threw on my clothes from last night and left his apartment, stopping by my place to shower and change into something appropriate.
Ten minutes later, I entered the back room of the gym, but Jackson wasn’t waiting in there for me like I suspected.
I peeked my head into the main area, but instead of finding the man I needed to stretch, I saw Trevor talking to Lance in the corner.
Their attention swung my way, and based on their matching frowns, Trevor had informed Lance about me and their friend.
“What are you doing?” Jackson asked, walking up behind me, and startling me.
“I was looking for you.” I closed the door to give us privacy. “I thought you were already down here.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to take long, but the hot water felt so good on my shoulder.” He rested his hand over the area and winced.
I pointed toward the chair. “Sit.” He did as instructed, smiling the entire time.
“What’s that look for?” I asked, grinning right along with him as I stepped behind him.
His skin was still warm, and the second I touched him, memories of last night infiltrated.
Before I got myself too worked up to do my job properly, I pushed the images aside and focused on him.
“I’m confused on how you’re going to fight in a couple months if you’re having this level of soreness with your shoulder still. ”
“It’s not that bad. I just like when you rub me.”
“Liar.”
The sound of his amusement was the best sound I’d heard in a while. Well, one of the best sounds.
I poured a small amount of oil into my palms and rubbed my hands together before I massaged the elixir into his shoulder.
“Fuck,” he moaned, dropping his head. He was going to make my job impossible because every groan he uttered, every smile he threw my way, every touch he gifted me would remind me of the way he worked my body last night.
And the last thing I wanted to do was give him or his team reason to doubt my ability to keep my professional and personal lives separate.
I moved to stand in front of him to obtain a different angle, straddling his leg like I’d done before. Only this time, we reacted differently. The sexual chemistry was stronger than ever, but the awkwardness of the closeness had disappeared.
Jackson grabbed my ass and squeezed. “I love that I can do this now without fear you’re going to smack me.”
I wanted to demand he do other things to me, but instead, I stepped back until his arms fell to his sides.
“I reserve the right to smack you,” I teased. “And no touching.”
“Why?” He genuinely sounded baffled.
“Because while I’m working, we’re not going to be messing around. We need to keep things professional between us.”
“And when I’m done training for the day?”
“Then we can do whatever you want.” I stepped behind him once more, working on the tension in his shoulder before moving down his arm. I leaned closer to his ear and whispered, “And I do mean anything.”
A shiver rocked his body seconds before he twisted in his seat and seized my wrist. “If you don’t want me touching you while you’re working, then don’t tease me, Sophie.” His eyes briefly dropped to my mouth. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to control myself.”
The lust dancing across his face set my body on fire, but now wasn’t the time to succumb to desire.
“You’re right. I won’t tease you.”
He released me and faced forward. “Thank you.”
Before we’d slept together, whenever I touched him, I imagined us tangled up in each other, wondering what his kiss tasted like and how lost I’d allow myself to become while wrapped in his arms. And now that I didn’t have to imagine any longer, I was oddly overcome with a sense of dread.
The thought of whatever this was between us vanishing scared me, and for as irrational of a feeling as that was, I experienced it just the same.
As we finished his stretches, the door opened, and Trevor popped his head in.
“You ready?” he asked, unable to mask the irritation in his voice.
“We just finished up,” I answered even though he kept his focus on Jackson. His demeanor was rude, but I was thankful he didn’t look at me because the memory of him seeing me naked was way too fresh.
Jackson straightened his posture, and Trevor narrowed his eyes at him, and just when I thought perhaps one of them would finally say something, Trevor slapped the doorframe and walked away.
“What was that about?” I asked even though I could’ve guessed.
“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” He stood from his seat and leaned in close, as if he was going to kiss me. I moved back. “I can’t even kiss you?”
“Not here. Not while we’re in this gym.”
The way his face scrunched made me smile. He mumbled something right before he strode toward the door, glancing back at me over his shoulder and flashing me a half grin before he disappeared.
Because I didn’t want to risk being subjected to disapproving looks from his team, I retreated to my apartment, where I’d wait until Jackson’s session was over.
I shot off a quick text, asking him to let me know when to come back down.
As soon as I blacked out my phone, an incoming message lit up the screen.
Mitch: I’ll sign the papers, but I want to see you first.
My heart pounded against my chest, as if desperately seeking an escape, each thunderous roar echoing in my ears. My muscles tensed and my hands trembled. I tossed the phone on the counter, as if getting it away from me would somehow save me.
I hadn’t heard or seen from my ex since the day he showed up outside the gym. I’d be a fool to believe he’d simply back off after the confrontation with Jackson, but the small reprieve I had received was wonderful.
As I waited to be called back down to the gym, I contemplated what to do about Mitch. The last thing I wanted to do was see him, but if that meant he’d sign the papers, allowing me to finally move on, then what choice did I really have?