Chapter 17 #2
“I changed my mind,” I hissed, stepping back to create more space between us. He liked to stand so close, and since he’s tall and broad, it’s pretty intimidating, but I refused to let him see that his presence got to me. “I’ll go on the treadmill.”
“Sure,” he brimmed over in smugness, and I couldn’t stand to be around him.
“Don’t follow me,” I demanded. “I don’t need your help.”
Ignoring me, “Put it on slow and then increase the speed slowly. Can you do anything faster than a walk?”
“I can jog,” I snapped, then internally berated myself for answering him when I planned to ignore him.
“Had breakfast?” he asked, rubbing his jaw with the back of his fist.
“Yes,” I snarled, wishing he’d just go away.
“Get a coffee afterward?” he asked, although it sounded more like a demand.
“No, thank you,” I replied.
“There’s a tuck shop in the reception area. They serve good coffee, and we could grab a couple of protein cookies,” he explained, oblivious to the repulsed look on my face.
“Protein cookies?” I couldn’t think of any other way to scare him off besides spraying insecticide in his eyes or maybe waving my knife in front of his face, but I left it in my locker. “I mean... I’d rather eat dirt.”
“Nah, they taste great,” he defended his snack choice without taking offense at my comment, and I thought it must be wonderful to live in a bubble of untouchability.
It was like water off a duck’s back because nothing bothered him.
He was blind to the signals I was giving him that I wanted him nowhere near me and deaf to my venomous words spat out of the mouth of an irate cobra.
“I’ll buy you one after we’ve finished.”
“I just said I don’t want one,” I argued as my patience was running out with this guy. “Jeez, you Warwicks are pushy. I don’t suppose it was you and your sullen brother that planted a dead rat in my room by any chance?”
“Why would we do that for?” he frowned, and I almost believed him.
“Well, I don’t know. Maybe you should tell me that since you put it there,” I hissed as my legs moved faster, pushing the pedals in anger.
At this rate, I’ll be fit in time if this guy keeps hanging around me, acting all nonchalant.
There’s nothing more annoying than having a heated argument with someone, yet only one of you is angry.
“Five minutes,” he said, glancing at the timer before adjusting the settings. It felt like I was going uphill, and my heart rate and panting increased. “Then I’ll show you some moves.”
“Huh?” Is he flirting with me? “We’re supposed to be deadly enemies, you know.”
“I hadn’t forgotten,” he said in a steely voice for the first time since I arrived. There were two sides to this guy—the charming, laid-back disguise to hide the Warwick dark side. I wonder if he’s killed anyone? Or maybe he hires people to do that, like my father did.
“So, it was you who left the dead rat in my room,” I accused him, pointing my finger at his annoyingly handsome face as the vision of the masked me in my room whirled about in my mind. “Do you have a mask?”
He frowned again, trying to shrug off my comment as if I were being ridiculous, but then he said something that surprised me. “Everyone has a mask around here. If you don’t have a mask or some sort of disguise, then you’re the minority.”
Strange answer, but I couldn’t think too deeply about it because my heart rate was rising even more.
I had to lift my butt off the seat to push the pedals harder, as if I was biking up a hill.
Sweat started pouring down as my breath hitched in my chest, and I began panting.
He raised his eyebrows, simmering. It took me a few seconds to realize that my breathing sounded like a woman’s orgasm.
Immediately, I blushed in embarrassment when I remembered that he caught me self-pleasuring at the window. God, I wish the floor would open up and swallow me whole. Luckily, I was already hot, sweaty, and probably red, so he might not notice.
“I’ve finished,” I announced, halting my pedaling and starting to climb off.
“Wait,” he seemed confused, resting his big hand on the handlebars. “You had one more minute, Adina. One more. You’re almost there.”
“No,” I shook my head, landing on the floor as if waved under my feet. “I’m leaving.”
“Why?” he asked, following me as I headed toward the punching bags, then paused when I realized I was walking in the wrong direction and turned back. “You spent four minutes on the bike. C’mon, Adina, let me show you some moves on the gym mat.”
“No way, and I don’t want you showing me anything,” I snarled in a warning tone as I stepped into the locker room, relieved that he couldn’t follow me in.
Opening my locker, I pulled my bag out and started pulling my clothes out.
My overreaction was purely embarrassment over him catching me masturbating at the window.
I couldn’t be around him after that because he’s a damn Warwick.
Anyone but a damn Warwick. I'm basically handing him ammunition to use against me at another time. Stupid.
When I left the locker room, I was relieved that he wasn’t hovering nearby, but I kept looking for him.
I hated him, but my radar sought him out to see if he was watching me, scrutinizing my behavior.
But he was nowhere to be seen. Even when I walked into the reception area and Robbie was behind the desk, munching on a protein bar, I expected to see the tall, dark blond jock.
“Are you done?” Robbie asked as I walked by with my head down, hoping he wouldn’t notice me. Or maybe he would notice me and not remember who I was because there were so many other girls here. But no, he did notice.
“Yeah,” I breathed, struggling to find an excuse why my workout being so short. “I have to go.”
“Oh, okay,” he said casually, like he didn’t really care; he was just doing his job.
Once outside with the sun on my face, I took several deep breaths and then headed toward the bus stop, waiting for the next bus to arrive.