Chapter 19
Rhys
“When we’ve burned all that energy off, we work out how the fuck we’re gonna get Katie to see us as three guys she wants to date.”
Great plan. Pity it fell apart the minute we got to the gym.
“I’m gonna work the bag for a bit,” Rhett said, storming off without waiting for an answer and then pulling on some gloves. The heavy punching bag started to jump the minute he landed his first hit.
“Don’t think we should be talking to him right now,” Garrett said, appearing by my shoulder. “May as well get some reps in while he tries to cool down. Bench press?”
He nodded to an empty weight bench.
“Spot me?” I said, walking over and grabbing some plates from the rack, then adding them to the bar. I had the collars locked down tight, and then when I laid down on the bench, Garrett appeared above me.
“So what the hell are we gonna do?”
I didn’t ask him straight away. Hands clasping the bar, I felt the weight threatening to crush me as I lifted it up off the pegs and then in one slow, controlled movement, brought the barbell down. There was enough weight on each end to crush the life out of me if it landed on my chest, and that was exactly what I needed. Adrenaline pumped through me, making clear the danger and gifting me the strength to deal with it. I pressed the bar up again, holding it at arm’s length before finally replying.
“Do?” I breathed that out and then performed another rep. “Nothing’s changed.”
Garrett shook his head with a hiss.
“Everything’s changed, Rhys.”
“Did you spend the day cooking for a girl you liked?” I didn’t wait for an answer, performing another rep. My muscles strained, the burn that started up better than the ache in my chest. “Did you adopt a goddamn dog for her? Did Rhett buy half a pet store? Did I ban Steve from the gym for hassling her?”
“You did?” Suddenly I had his full attention. “Thank fuck for that. He was a total wanker.”
“I did.”
I’d loaded the barbell a little heavier than I normally did and right now my arms let me know. They quivered as I strove to press the bar higher, but right as I began to wonder if I’d bitten off more than I could chew, two hands landed on the bar. Garrett threatened to tear his swanky shirt sleeves as he helped me place the bar back on the pegs. For a moment I just sucked in breaths. That was the weird thing about lifting. The more adrenaline, the calmer I felt. My mind felt sharp as a knife, and one way or the other, it would cut through all this bullshit.
“And I’d do it again. So would you if Steve was here or any other bloke that was bugging her, including that fuck, Dave.” His growl was a replica of mine. We’d heard Rhett’s stories, our already low opinion of the prick dropping through the floor, but it was different now that we knew the girl he was hurting. I gripped the bar again, performing shorter, faster reps in rapid succession. “And that’s the thing. She got hurt by a bloke that didn’t even deserve to look sideways at her, let alone…” My lips peeled back from my teeth as I thought about that arsehole touching Katie. “That has to have made her wary, but…”
I was coming to the end of my strength, the lactic acid build up making clear I only had a few more reps in me before I’d need to set the bar on the pegs again.
When the bar was safely back on the rack, I stared into the artificial lights, looking but not seeing them. “Who’s gonna look after her, get her smiling, laughing?” All I could see was Katie’s stricken expression, and right then, I vowed that would be for the last time. “Who’s going to look after the dog she loves so much?” I rolled up into a seated position, not even feeling the burn in my arms anymore. “Who’s gonna look after her better than us?”
Before Garrett could answer, we were all forced to look over as some of the guys moved to watch Rhett pound the bag like it owed him money or something. Some called out encouragement, others made comments about his fury, but he didn’t hear them. When Rhett was this deep in his head, he couldn’t hear or see anyone.
“Any reason why your mate is trying to beat the stuffing out of that bag?”
Drew appeared beside us, crossing his arms as he watched the proceedings.
“We found out we’re all chasing the same girl,” I told him, earning me a dark look from Garrett.
“Same girl… Katie?”
I watched Drew's lips twitch and knew what was coming. As I swapped the plates over, loading the bar lighter for Garrett, sure enough, he burst out laughing.
“Is this some straight guy thing? Like you can’t get it up unless your mates are panting after her as well?”
“Fuck off, Drew,” I told him, then nodded to Garrett.
“Are you sure you idiots are straight?” I ignored my business partner’s question, watching Garrett lift the bar, then lower it towards his chest. “What am I saying? Of course, you are. None of you have any sense of style whatsoever.”
“Pretty sure it’s more about not wanting to suck dick…” Garrett hissed out, then pushed the bar up again. “Or have a guy do mine.”
“We know what to do.” I watched Garrett closely, my eyes trained to identify moments of weakness, when your muscles just couldn’t take one more rep. My fingers itched to step in, take over, just to give them something to do. “The same thing we agreed to before. One girl, us three guys. This is a sign to try again.”
The bar rested on Garrett’s chest, making me think I needed to grab it, but he just stared up at me, a small frown forming.
“Try again? After…” He shook his head and then shoved the bar upwards, pumping out a few quick reps, then setting the bar on the pegs. “After the hell we went through?”
“This time’s different.” I grinned then, feeling it as soon as I said the words. A white hot flicker of something I’d given up feeling: hope. “We’ll be upfront from the start, be clear about what we want.
“And if she doesn’t want us?”
Garrett shot me a meaningful look.
That flame threatened to be blown out by cold, hard reality, but I forged on.
“Won’t happen.” I was a fire sign, so I was happiest when I burned hot, and fuck me if I wasn’t on fire right now. “This is meant to be. How the hell else did each one of us meet and fall for the same girl?”
“OK, so you’re still straight.” Drew nodded. “If that’s the plan, how the fuck are you gonna get Rhett on board? Because right now he looks like he wants to cage fight every damn guy in the gym.”
“He’s a Capricorn.” They groaned at my reply. “I’m a Sagittarius. Goat’s no match for a centaur.”
I slapped one fist into my other hand, making clear I was ready to fight this out, if that’s what it took.
“Calm down, horse boy,” Garrett said, grabbing me by the shoulder to slow my roll.
“Bulls are all slow and methodical,” I told him. “Right up until something catches their eye. Then they go charging right in. Looking forward to seeing you lose control, Garrett.”
“Oh, this is gonna be good…” Drew muttered to himself.
Rhett dropped his fists as we came to stand beside him. Sweat was rolling down his face, but he just stared us down.
“I’m not backing down.” I knew what he was feeling. His blood pumping furiously through every vein, forcing him to stand straight, breathe deep, and note how alive he felt right now. “Spent too damn long watching that idiot, Dave, mess Katie around. If she says she’s ready… If she’s willing to take a chance on me, then I’m going for it.” He knocked his gloved fists together. “With everything I’ve got.”
“Wouldn’t expect anything less.” I walked up to him, stiff legged as a dog looking for a fight. “But just so we’re clear, the same goes for me.”
We turned then to look back at Garrett, who shook his head and then let out a ragged sigh.
“Looks like we’re all in then, but…” The look he gave us was the same one we got when we tried to use a knife on the kitchen counters. “Can I suggest that we make amends first?” He scratched at his head. “Not sure what for, but that feels right.”
“Whatever she wants.” Rhett jabbed a fist at me, forcing me to dodge out of the way. “I’m there. Make sure you keep up, because I will leave you all behind.”
“See?” I told Drew as we went back to the weights. “We’ve got a plan. It’ll all work out in the end.”
“Or it’ll end you.” He pursed his lips. “Promise me this time that you won’t let it break you like it did last time.”
“No need.” I threw my arms wide. “This time everything will be perfect. Natasha wasn’t the right girl, but Katie.” My hands went to my heart and Drew rolled his eyes. “She’s here already. Just gotta get her to let me in.”
As Garrett loaded the bar with weight, I scrolled through my phone, finding the website of the florist I’d selected before. Drew told me to cool my jets, but that wasn’t the way I worked. Go hard, or go home, that was my motto, so I added bouquet after bouquet to my cart and then as Garrett started doing bar squats, I paid for the lot and organised for them to be sent to the veterinary surgery Katie worked at.
“So are we ready to start really lifting?” I asked as Garrett huffed through his reps. “Or are we still fluffing around like a pack of old ladies?”