Chapter 15
Leo
Istand in the doorway of Clara’s new room and try to contain my jealousy as I watch Asher and her sleep wrapped in each other’s arms.
Both of them look so content. It’s rare to see Asher without a frown. Before Clara showed up in our lives, it was what he wore more often than not. He also used to spend an enormous chunk of his time at the punching bags, but I’ve barely seen him touch them this past week.
I sigh and move to the bathroom to shower and get ready for work.
He deserves to have someone like her in his life, someone who’s good for him.
But where does that leave me? Stuck watching them together for the rest of our lives?
It would be pure torture. She’s gotten under my skin in a way I deeply enjoy, and I don’t want to let her go.
But could I really try to make her choose me over Asher?
I picture her laughter in one of those moments when she lets down her walls; it pulls at something in my chest. I’ve dated before, even had a couple of girlfriends, but none of them had made me feel this way before.
Is this what love feels like? It can’t be; it’s far too soon for that.
But they say that when you know, you know?
I finish my shower and get dressed, returning to find the two of them haven’t moved at all.
“Shit,” Grant hisses, joining me in Clara’s doorway.
“Yeah.”
“I’ve gotta go open the gym, do you want to come?”
I shake my head. “No, it snowed last night, they’ll need to come in my truck with me.” He nods and heads off downstairs.
I take a steadying breath then step inside, taking a seat beside her and gently rubbing her arm as I whisper, “Wakey wakey, shortcake.”
“Mmm?” she mumbles adorably as she turns towards me and her eyes slowly blink open.
“I wasn’t sure if you'd set your alarm. What time do you usually get up?”
I ask as she sits up and rubs the sleep from her eyes. I see Asher’s fingers flex on her hip and her eyes drop to where he’s holding her, slowly widening in surprise. She whips her head around to find him lying in bed beside her.
Her cheeks turn bright red as he slowly opens his eyes and smiles up at her. “I’m sorry, I must have fallen asleep,” she says, her eyes looking anywhere but at either of us.
“What are you apologizing for?” Asher asks as he moves to sit up beside her, yawning widely. “I’m the one who fell asleep in your bed.”
She doesn’t seem to know what to say, and I start to feel bad for her. I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable, even if I do wish it was me in bed with her instead of Asher.
“It’s quarter to six. Do you want to shower before Asher? He normally takes his around seven.”
“Oh, um, sure, thanks.”
“Of course.” I move off the bed to give her space to escape the room. “Holler if you need anything.”
She goes to her bag and pulls out a tiny bag of bathroom supplies, then practically runs across the hall to the bathroom.
As soon as the door shuts, Asher’s on me. “You really couldn’t let me have a little longer with her?”
I turn to him with narrowed eyes. “I already did. I got up forty minutes ago and showered so you two could sleep a little longer. I know you both need it.”
“So why wake us now?”
“You know why.”
“It doesn’t mean she’s chosen me, you know.”
“Not that you’re giving her much of a choice, crowding her in her bed.”
“She didn’t want to be alone.”
“Did she say that?” I ask with worry. Was she afraid of being on her own? She’d been living on her own for as long as we’d known her. Had she been afraid all that time?
“She didn’t say those words, but I can read between the lines.” I frown, turning to stare at the closed bathroom. “I told her I liked her.”
My wide eyes spin back to Asher. “You what?”
He shrugs as if it isn’t a big deal, looking down at the marks on his hands. “But I also told her I know she’s going through something and I wasn’t going to press her for anything until she was ready.”
“Fuck.” I scrub my hand through my hair in agitation. Was I too late?
“You really like her, too. Don’t you?” he asks as I glance back at him.
“Yeah. I don’t know that I can back off, Ash.”
He shrugs. “Then don’t.”
I frown in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, we don’t have to fight. At the end of the day, it’s her choice. And I don’t want you to back off now and resent me for it later.”
I consider it, and no matter how I look at it, I don’t see any other option.
“You know Grant likes her, too?”
“I know.”
“Who would have thought we’d ever meet someone who we’d all fall for?” I ask, shaking my head.
“She’s special.”
“Yeah,” I sigh. “She is.”
“Welcome to Iron Oaks,” Clara says, happily greeting two younger guys from our new reception desk.
“Wow, this place looks completely different,” guy number one comments.
“We’re trying something new, do you like it?” she asks hopefully.
“Yeah, especially with a pretty girl like you greeting us. Where’d they find you anyway? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around town before.”
I clench my teeth in annoyance at their flirting. Is she blushing? It’s hard to tell from where I’m lingering nearby, wiping down the weight machines.
“I’m new to town. So, can I interest you in a free day pass, or would you like to sign up for a month with our introductory new client offer?”
“That depends,” guy number two says as he leans his elbows on the counter. “Are you the trainer?”
“Trust me, you don’t want me training you,” she says, shaking her head, but it just makes them grin wider.
“Oh, I don’t know about that. I bet a woman like you could show us a move or two.” I see his eyes trail down her chest.
“I can’t fucking take this any longer,” I grumble to myself as I quickly move to join her behind the counter, wrapping my arm around her back and placing a claiming hand on her shoulder, practically pulling her into my side.
Clara glances up at me with relief. Placing my best customer service smile on, I turn to the two guys and ask, “Did I hear someone ask about training?”
They both immediately stand up straight and stop leaning on the counter as they take me in and clear protection of her.
“Oh, ah, yeah,” Guy number two says, taking in my size. “I’m actually interested in bulking up, but I’m not sure how to do it.”
I nod and grab the tablet that Clara trained us on. “Yeah, we can definitely help with that. We’ll start with giving you a one-on-one session with Grant—”
“Who?”
“See that big guy over there,” Clara says, pointing to where Grant is currently doing a one armed pull up. I roll my eyes. He must have known Clara was going to seek him out to help with these new clients, so he’s showing off for her.
“That’s Grant?” he asks with raised eyebrows. “Where do I sign?” he turns back and I turn the tablet to him, explaining how to fill it out.
Once he’s occupied with that task, I turn to his friend. “What about you? Do you have any goals, or are you just looking for a good place to work out?”
“I had a pretty good workout in high school, but I’ve let it slide, so I was thinking about signing up at a gym to get back into the routine.”
“Oh, that’s a great idea,” Clara says as she grabs one of the flyers she made and slides in across the counter to him. “Also, you guys should check out our holiday open house on the 22nd. We’ll have Christmas treats, prizes, and games going on all day.”
He picks up the flyer and glances over it . “That looks pretty cool, I might even bring my brother. Is that okay?”
“Of course, the more, the merrier! It’s sort of our way of showing off our newly renovated space,” Clara says happily.
We help get both signed up with our introductory offer that Clara had suggested, then I give one guy a tour while Clara introduces the other guy to Grant.
When she’s back behind the desk, without those guys lurking at her, I feel more settled.
The rest of the day goes fast. Now that we’re actually getting clients in the door, we find ourselves busy throughout most of the day. I kind of miss the days of fucking around and doing nothing, but I knew it wasn’t sustainable; we weren’t making any money.
The front door lock clicks as Grant locks the gym for the night. He switches the main light off as I finish closing out the point of sale system.
“Busy day,” Grant says, stopping to lean on the counter.
“Yeah, busiest one yet.”
“When we hired her, I didn’t actually expect her to work this hard; I just wanted to give her a safe space and a way to earn money.”
“I know, Grant. I’m the one who offered her the job before knowing her education, remember?”
I power down the system and round the counter as we head back to where Clara and Asher are sprawled on the mats.
“You two look tuckered out,” I say as she sits up to look at us.
“I feel like I didn’t stop all day.”
“You know you’re allowed to take breaks, right?” Grant asks her.
“In fact, they’re mandatory,” Asher adds.
Clara nods once but doesn’t respond, telling me we are going to have to force her to stop more often. And that gives me an idea.
“Speaking of breaks, I vote we close tomorrow.”
“What?! We can’t!” Clara says worriedly.
“You love work that much, huh?” I ask with a chuckle.
Her shoulders drop as she looks down at her hands. “It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?” Grant prods.
She shrugs. “I dunno.”
“I think you do,” he says, kneeling down beside her and tipping her head up with a finger under her chin. “Tell us.”
She licks her lips as her eyes bounce between us. “I like to stay busy. I wouldn’t even know what to do with time off anymore.”
“Lucky for you, you don’t have to worry about that,” I tell her, feeling proud of my plan.
“I don’t?”
“Nope. The four of us are going to spend the day together, doing every Christmas activity we can think of.” Her eyebrows raise, and she glances at Asher. He shakes his head softly, and she relaxes a little.
“So, what do you say?” I ask again.
“That sounds fun.”
“Great! It’s a date!”