Chapter 4
Dylan
“My brain is fried,” Ian declared.
“Mine too.” We’d been brainstorming ways to improve the code on project Z for the past two hours.
“I’m going back to my cave to try some of the things we discussed, see if I can get it right.”
I nodded as he rose to his feet. “I’ll try the same.”
“By the way, should we check on Isabelle? She’s been radio silent for the past three days. I thought she’d ask us over to pack the rest of their things.”
I chuckled. True, our sister usually liked to text us at least twice a day, but she had a lot on her plate.
“Nah, don’t butt in. They’ll ask for help if they need it.”
Brayden was home for a break between legs of the tour, and they just wanted time for themselves.
“Butting in? No one in this family appreciates me,” he muttered before leaving the office.
I spun in my chair, looking outside. Our office was in a building overlooking the Hudson River.
It wasn’t far from my apartment, so I lost zero time commuting.
I loved efficiency—it allowed me to focus on the essential things, like project Z.
We had other projects going on too, but those were running like a well-oiled machine, bringing in a lot of revenue.
Project Z was something Ian and I needed to do.
It was challenging and pushing my limits, but I loved every second of it.
I'd always been looking for ways to prove myself.
I always wanted challenges that made me see beyond the narrow scope of software programming.
I'd gotten into it by mistake in high school when I became a hacker and roped my brother into it too.
We lurked around without breaking the law…
most of the time. Now we put our skills to better use.
And after an intense day of programming, I needed to blow off steam.
It was necessary, or I'd go insane. My favorite way of blowing off steam was working out.
Before joining Genesis, I mostly jogged, but I wanted a more intensive workout.
I’d planned to go later this evening, but I was already on edge.
I couldn't stand being at work anymore. I went to my brother's office.
He was at the keyboard typing furiously, and I knew he was programming.
Both of us were still very skilled at writing code and enjoyed doing it because we were good at it.
Being businesspeople came second, and we always described ourselves as software programmers first, then as business owners.
I didn't want to interrupt him, so I sent him a message, letting him know I was heading for the gym. He’d signed up yesterday too, so I was likely to see him there later.
I walked to Genesis since it was a few blocks away. I was proud of my “triangle of efficiency.” My office, my condo, and the gym were all in walking distance from each other, near Battery Park.
The gym was relatively full when I arrived, but it didn’t feel crowded.
While I changed, Ian texted me that he was going to drop by the gym too.
I went straight to the treadmill, setting the timer for forty minutes.
Running gave me a sense of freedom. Growing up in Montana, I was outdoors a lot.
Running while overlooking the Hudson River reminded me a bit of home.
Twenty minutes into the workout, a sinful distraction named Mel appeared.
Finally .
I’d come here every day since I’d signed up three days ago, but I hadn’t seen her again since that first time.
I ended my workout early and stepped down as she approached with a huge smile.
Her eyes were strikingly beautiful, not just because they were vivid green, but their round shape was simply gorgeous.
She’d pulled her dark brown hair on top of her head.
I wanted to run my hands through it to feel its silkiness.
Even though she was tall, I still towered over her by several inches.
Up close, I now noticed a dimple at the right corner of her mouth, something I’d not seen before.
“Hey. Where have you been the last few days?” Mel asked.
Nice to know she missed me.
“You’ve been keeping an eye out for me?” I teased.
She blushed. “I figured maybe you decided not to join after all.”
“I was already signed up. And if I weren’t, meeting you definitely sold me on the gym.”
“How did I manage that? By fainting on you?” she asked with a giggle.
“By promising to spill some secrets next time we meet.”
Her blush intensified. I enjoyed it immensely.
“Oh, that? You remember, huh?”
“Told you that you’re not off the hook.”
“I thought you might say that.”
“Is this why I haven’t seen you around these past few days? Were you hiding?”
Her lips curled in a half smile. They were so fucking tempting that I was itching to touch and taste them.
“So you’ve been keeping an eye out for me too, huh?”
“Both eyes.” I did my two-finger-me-to-you eye point.
She licked her lower lip, glancing away. “Okay… so how many times a week do you train?"
The change of subject surprised me, but I went for it. “I come in daily. But it's more than a workout for me. It's a way to blow off steam. Otherwise, I have far too much adrenaline to sleep, so I need to work it off."
“Hmm." She tilted her head to one side, surveying me. "Yes, I can tell by the rigidness of your shoulders that you're stressed. That means the workout didn't really help you all that much."
“I'm not done yet," I clarified. "I'm hitting the weight area next."
“Well, I have free time on my hands. If you want, I can watch you work out and see if I can give you any tips."
Isabelle's warning rang in my mind, but I wanted to spend time with Mel too much to pay it any attention.
I couldn't explain what drew me to her. Last time, I'd put it all down to the protective instincts of mine kicking in.
I'd wanted to make sure she was all right; that was why I hung around, as any gentleman would have done.
But today was different, and I couldn't use that excuse anymore. She’d been on my mind ever since her unintentional flirty text.
“Sure, why not? I have a weight training program that one of the trainers here designed for me when I joined."
"Why don't you have a personal trainer?" she asked.
"Honestly, it didn't seem like it was necessary, and I didn't want to have to make appointments. I like coming and going whenever I please."
She looked at me with a wry smile. "Okay. Do the exercises, and I'll correct your posture and give you tips."
I started with weights for my back. She looked at me carefully, her eyes wandering up and down my body in more than a professional assessment. I was filing that in my memory; I was sure I'd have the opportunity to tease her later on.
"Why don't you tell me about yourself while you watch me?" I suggested.
She laughed. "You and Isabelle are the same. She always wants to keep me talking when she works out. She says it distracts her."
"Really?" I had completely different intentions when it came to Melanie. I didn't want her to distract me. I just wanted to know more about her.
"Well, unfortunately, I cannot multitask," she said.
"With Isabelle, I do the mat exercises as well. But weight training is a different beast, so I’ll watch you and pay attention to your posture.
Oh, look, see? The moment you don't focus, you make a mistake.
If you're going to keep your shoulders hunched like this, it won’t help you relax.
If anything, you're going to get a muscle strain.
" She went behind me, flattening her palm between my shoulder blades.
" I'll apply some pressure here, so you remember to keep your back straight, okay? Now do another set."
I could see her in the mirror. I was watching her instead of myself.
Feeling that small palm on my back was messing with my mind.
I imagined her hand elsewhere already. Her hair was tied up on top of her head, leaving her neck completely free.
Like last time, she was wearing tight pants, and the short top left nothing to the imagination.
Her body was delicious. I'd do anything to explore her curves.
After I finished the set, she said, "Okay, good. Well, you should take a three-minute break now to give your muscles a chance to relax."
"Will you spend that break with me?"
She grinned. "Do you want me to?"
"Fuck yes."
Her eyes widened a little at my response. Then she asked, "So what else do you do for relaxation besides working out?"
I didn't have to think about it too long. "Absolutely nothing."
"Come on, that's not healthy."
"What do you do to relax, Melanie? Come on, help a guy out here."
To my astonishment, she blushed. "Right, I don't think my tips will help you very much. They're particular to me."
“Tell me.”
"You're that curious, are you?"
“Very.” Only when it came to her. I didn't say that out loud, though.
“Well, I go for a walk, watch a movie. Sometimes I meditate. I also listen to audiobooks.”
Something in the way she quickly glanced away when she said “audiobooks” clued me in that there was more to that.
“What kind of audiobooks?”
She narrowed her eyes. “You won’t get all my secrets today, Dylan.”
“That’s a secret, then? Good to know. Okay, you’re off the hook for now. What else do you do to relax?”
“I visit my dad.”
“He also lives in the city?" I asked.
"Just outside the city. I visit him a few times a week. He’s housebound. " Her eyes clouded, and those protective instincts from last time we met kicked in.
"I bet he's happy when he sees you," I said.
"Yes. Even when I don't visit, I call and keep him informed of everything in my life. Thank god for FaceTime and all this modern technology."
The affection in her tone stirred something inside me.
I hadn't been expecting that at all. I thought I was hollow inside when it came to anyone but my family.
I didn't know I could feel anything anymore, but here Mel was proving me wrong.
I wanted to learn more about her life and what drove her, what inspired her.
“I see Shauna from reception waving at me. She needs me. I’ll catch you around later, okay?”
“Sure.”
She smiled before leaving the weights area. I continued my exercise. A dangerous plan was already forming in my mind. I was so focused on it that I didn’t realize Ian was here until he walked right up next to me.
“Hey,” he said. “Couldn’t focus anymore. Thank fuck the gym is so close.”
“Yeah.”
"Man, she's hot," he said.
I glanced in the direction he was looking. Mel was at the reception desk, talking to a guy. "She's off-limits."
"What do you mean off-limits? No one's off-limits."
"Mel is Isabelle's personal trainer."
Ian turned around slowly, staring at me for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. "Man, you're giving me the evil eye because I said she was hot. You've got it bad."
“Ian,” I said in a warning tone.
“Very bad. I’m getting on the treadmill before you can give me more shit.”
“Shut up.”
After he hopped on a treadmill, I headed to the locker room. I changed and showered, and the idea from earlier wouldn’t let go. I knew it was ridiculous, but I wanted to spend more time with Mel. I gave my brother shit, but he was right. I was feeling possessive because he'd looked at her.
Leaving the men’s changing room, I walked around the main floor, spotted Melanie in the break room again, and joined her. There was another guy in there, but he left shortly after drinking a glass of orange juice.
“Hey. Done for the day?” she asked.
“Yes.” The corners of my mouth twitched. “By the way, I changed my mind about having a personal trainer. I want one.” I gave it a minute so I could look her straight in the eyes. “And I want you.”
Lowering her glass on the table, she looked at me intently. “My pitch about the training won you over, huh?”
“Your pitch did. Just not the part about training. The way you checked me out might have something to do with it. Might,” I teased purposefully to see if what I thought was real or not.
When she gasped lightly, covering her mouth before looking around wildly, I had my answer.
Her shoulders slumped with relief when she realized we were alone.
“You thought I hadn’t noticed?” I asked playfully.
She groaned, lowering her hand. “You didn’t want to let a flirty text slide even though I was tipsy when I sent it. I have no chance of you letting this go, huh?”
“Zero,” I confirmed. “And just so you know, I’ll bring it up every chance I get during our private sessions.”
“I have no doubt you will.” She grinned, and I couldn’t help but tilt closer. She drew in a sharp breath, licking her lower lip.
I barely staved off the urge to kiss her, but I wasn’t going to resist the next time I saw her. I just knew it.
Ian was right. I had it bad.