Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
I tug a sweatshirt over my pajama tank and tread into the kitchen in sleep boxers.
There are thirty mugs to choose from in the cupboard.
I usually grab the Adult Sippy Cup, but my hand gravitates to the Challenge Accepted mug with the arms-crossed caricature on the front.
It’s been almost two weeks since Lewis showed me exercises in the backyard and he is extra careful during training sessions now to avoid touching me, as if he believes that what Drake did has me shying from men. He’s partially correct.
I don’t want to be touched by other men, but Lewis?
Lewis I’d like to climb and lick—it’s disturbing and intensifying the more time we spend together.
I repeatedly remind myself he’s no good for me.
That he’s not the safe choice and I’ll end up getting hurt.
There’s also Mira still in the picture. But for some reason my libido has taken this moment in life to make a staggering appearance, and it wants him.
I’m drawn to Lewis, and it’s not all lust. I wanted him to hold me after the Drake incident.
What the hell? The closeness I feel toward him scares the crap out of me, so I’m trying to not think about it.
He’s certainly making it easier with his training torture that leaves me in chronic pain, unable to feel much else.
Lewis’s first obstacle replication consisted of a trip to an indoor climbing wall. My forearms burned, and I haul heavy trays for a living. They quivered like crazy at work that night. Fortunately, I didn’t drop anything.
The next outing was a boot camp regimen at his gym, where Lewis finagled a free thirty-day membership for me through his buddy who runs the place.
After that bit of hell, I couldn’t sit without falling into a chair for two days.
My muscles are never going to forgive me for what I’m putting them through.
Out on the patio, I ease into the plastic lounge chair next the one Cali is sitting on and peer at the pines. A warm breeze swirls around my bare legs, giving me pleasure goose bumps. Cali returned from her mom’s, and after a few days of cold reception, we talked things out.
“I should have said something sooner,” I told her when she returned. “I feel terrible how it came out.”
“It was the sense of betrayal that hurt more than anything,” she said. “Then when I saw Jaeger hugging you and thought there was something between you two…I freaked out.”
Cali came into work to talk to me after our argument. She saw Jaeger hugging me after Mason sent him over to check on me the night of the Drake incident, and she got the wrong idea. That’s why she left town. She needed space.
“I like Jaeger. A lot,” she confessed. “It’s crazy how much I like him. When I saw you two hugging, and after you told me what Eric had done, I thought Jaeger was doing the same thing—hitting on you behind my back.”
“There was never anything going on between me and Jaeger,” I reassured her. “He is one hundred percent into you.”
She smiled this sweet, secret grin. “I figured that out when I visited Jaeger after I returned.”
When it comes to this guy, I’ve realized Cali isn’t her normal laid-back self. In any case, there’s no more tension between us, thank God, but now Jaeger’s ex is causing problems.
And seriously, what is up with the ex contingent messing with everyone? Jaeger’s been MIA dealing with this other girl, and Cali’s stressed out about it.
I lean back on the lounge chair and point to the sky to distract Cali from her worries, and hey, because teasing her is fun. “I thought you wanted to get rid of your freckles? Shouldn’t you be in the shade or something?”
“They’re not freckles.”
Cali’s overly sensitive about her freckles.
She has two on her nose—nothing compared to most strawberry blondes.
I enjoy playing up her paranoia. It’s the least I can do, considering how much crap she gives me about my conservative clothing, my lack of makeup, the music I listen to—the list goes on.
I’m doing her a favor; this will take her mind off Jaeger and his ex.
“I have a light smattering of beauty marks and I’m wearing sunblock.”
I’m already loving this argument. Cali is logical, except when it comes to her freckles. We’ve had this one before, but it never gets old. “Why risk it when the shade will prevent them?”
Her pale blue eyes peer above her book, Poetry and Prose. The title alone triggers a yawn. “You’re starting to sound like my mother. I’m making vitamin D. It’s healthy.”
“But if you’re wearing sunblock, doesn’t that prevent vitamin D production?”
Her face turns a bright shade of pink. Steam will be coming out of the top of her head soon. “Are you done?”
“Making a logical point? Yes, I’m finished.”
Her eyes narrow. “You’ve been out and about lately. Still seeing Lewis?”
I frown. She knows nothing is going on, but I guess teasing is a two-way street. “We’re friends. He’s helping me train for that mudder competition I’m doing.”
Lewis doesn’t have a girlfriend, he has a Mira, which apparently is a hell of a lot more stressful than an actual girlfriend.
Cali witnessed them together. Even if this thing with Mira isn’t romantic, I doubt very much that Cali will endorse him.
But Lewis has kept things platonic between us during training and I’ve managed to contain my lustful urges, so it’s a nonissue.
Lewis has been a great coach. I already notice a difference in my strength. With his help, I’m sure I’ll finish the race. I might even come in with a good time. That would be a huge confidence booster.
“Good luck with your training. I’ll salute you the next time my spoon dips into butter pecan goodness.”
Her addiction to strange ice cream flavors, butter pecan being on the top of that list, is about as natural as her love of green olives. I scrunch my nose. “Don’t worry about saving me some.”
She grins and sets her book down, her expression turning serious. “Gen, I’ve gotta find a job.”
Aaand that was a topic change, but one I understand.
When Cali returned from her mom’s, we didn’t just talk about Jaeger and Eric—I told her what happened with Drake. It turns out, Drake was the coworker who gave Cali a ride home from the club that one night. I never thought about it, but she’d lost her job afterward. Now I understand why.
Drake had tried to force a kiss on Cali and God knows what else he would have done if Jaeger hadn’t followed her home.
Cali was keeping silent about her feelings for Jaeger, so her options were to either lie about Jaeger’s presence that night, because she’d gotten it in her head—silly girl—that I was interested in him, or to not mention what happened. She chose the latter.
We’d both kept something from each other, protecting our feelings, and not wanting to hurt the other. Note to self: just tell your BF what the hell is going on. The shit might hit the fan, but at least you can talk through it.
Cali’s story about Drake adds a scary new light to the entire situation. The way things went down for her—getting fired, no questions asked—I’m not convinced Drake is the only person pulling strings. Others must be corrupt inside the casino as well.
“What can I do to help with your job search?” I ask.
“I’m not having luck finding one at the other casinos. I’ve looked into old work contacts, but nothing pays enough. You think you could talk to Nessa? See if she knows anyone looking for a superstar employee?”
“Arrogant much?”
“What?” Her look is all innocence. “You know it’s true.”
I do. I kick Cali’s ass at hand-eye coordination, but she could pummel me in a contest of mental agility.
“I’ll give her a call.”