Chapter 4
Kari
My body hums like I brushed up against an electric fence. In some ways I wish I had. At least then I’d be closer to dead or hospital bound instead of here with Grey’s arms around me, his hand on my waist, and his lips so close I could just eat him up.
I’ve imagined Grey’s hands on me more times than I’d ever admit out loud, but dang, my imagination isn’t this good. I bet the girls he dates don’t have a clue how lucky they are. Which isn’t something I should be thinking about right now.
Heck, everything that’s happening right now shouldn’t be reality.
I finally peel myself free from his grip, stepping back before my knees and brain forget how to function. The second the space opens up between us, the air feels colder. And I want back in. I want the safety net that’s always been Grey.
He watches me closely, cataloging my every movement.
“Were you waiting for me?” he asks. My heart stutters. “Why were you sneaking into the gym?” His gaze sharpens. “Did Darby send you to check on me, too?”
I shake my head quickly. “No. God, no. She doesn’t know I’m here. I mean, she knows I’m back home, but not here, here. And what do you mean, too?”
“Nothing,” he says too quickly. Which makes it worse, somehow.
I cross my arms over my stomach without thinking, suddenly aware of the tight waistband cutting into my skin and the too tight leggings squeezing me like I'm sausage. I feel exposed, too visible. All the things I notice when I’m feeling judged or not good enough…
not perfect. Oh, I’ve got the boobs and the butt, but too much of that, too.
I’ve heard that enough.
But there’s no point in lying to Grey. He would see through me in five seconds. So I rip off the bandage and expose my wounds, hoping I won’t hemorrhage out with pathetic self-loathing.
“My sister’s engaged,” I blurt. “She’s getting married.” I swallow hard. “I’m her maid of honor. And I can’t look like this.”
I gesture vaguely at myself. My sloppy hoodie, spandex leggings. Not to mention the messy ponytail I’ve sported for three days without a proper wash.
“I lost my job,” I continue, the words tumbling out faster now. “I had to move back home with my parents. Kelly’s thriving, living her best life, and I’m… here.” My laugh comes out thin. “Pathetic.”
Grey looks me up and down, slow and deliberate, like he’s taking inventory. The silence stretches until it’s heavy and uncomfortable causing my skin to prickle.
Just as I’m about to smell my pits, hoping I don’t reek, Grey shakes his head.
“Whoever told you that you need to lose weight is a moron.”
I blink.
“You look good,” he says simply. “I’ve always thought so.”
Something in my chest unravels, even though I don’t fully believe him. Not completely anyway. I mean, guys will say anything to keep a girl from crying. They’ll tell even bigger lies to get in a girl’s pants.
I am not that naive.
But this is Grey. He’s never done anything to make me doubt him or his intentions. Always good intentions. Never bad boy Grey with me.
I stop my thoughts before I stumble into a spiral, wishing his arms were around me. Wishing I’d risked more than a kiss on his cheek.
“Whatever, Mister Workout King,” I mutter. “Have you looked in the mirror lately? Your muscles have muscles.” I squeeze his arm and he flexes. Rookie mistake on my part. I gulp. “I mean, if I had half of what you have—” I gesture at his body.
He lifts a brow. “You’d be a man?”
I laugh despite myself.
“You know what I mean,” I say. “I just want to feel good. Fit into my clothes without sucking anything in. I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. I thought I could figure things out here.”
He watches me like a hawk, his eyes fixed firmly on mine with an intensity that could melt panties.
Keep the conversation going before you jump his bones, Kari.
“I’ve watched a few videos,” I add quickly. I leave out the part about the Fans Only guy I’ve been sleuthing.
“You can’t trust everything you see on the internet,” he says.
Heat creeps up my neck. I definitely can’t tell him which videos I’ve been watching. That would be humiliating beyond recovery. And dangerous judging by Grey’s clinched jaw.
So if I’m not to believe the internet, that leaves me with one choice. Grey.
“Then you teach me,” I say before I can talk myself out of it. “Tone me up.”
He studies me for a long moment. “You’re serious?”
I nod, probably too cocky for my own good. “I’d rather you show me what to do than screw it up on my own.”
Something unreadable flickers across his face.
“Okay,” he says finally. “But we do this right. No sneaking around. No starving yourself. No chasing some number that doesn’t mean anything.”
I look him up and down, staring at his chest, his abs, his muscular thighs. I bet he’s sporting two six packs and a full package of sausages under his gym clothes. I can’t help the smirk that plays across my mouth.
“Deal,” I say. “You like bossing me around, don’t you?”
And now I don’t feel so bad about sneaking around. It landed me one on one time with Grey, and that’s way better than Flex Appeal.
Grey
I should say no, nip this in the bud. That’s the responsible move.
The clean one. The one that keeps everyone in their proper lane.
Instead, I feel a sharp, instinctive twist in my gut at the thought of someone else teaching her, correcting her, putting their hands where mine already know they’d fit too easily.
The jealousy catches me off guard. I tamp it down just as fast. It isn’t my place to feel territorial with Kari.
Not with the history we’ve had. I’m not boyfriend material.
I’m like an older brother, the one who tried to keep her and Darby out of trouble, not create messes that could blow up in my face. Or worse, hurt Kari… or my sister.
But Darby did ask me to check on Kari. Cheer her up. That’s the truth, and it’s the lifeline I grab onto before my thoughts can wander somewhere dangerous.
This is me doing what my sister asked. Making sure Kari’s okay.
Helping her feel better. Showing her a few workout basics so she doesn’t get hurt chasing some standard she thinks she has to meet.
There’s nothing wrong with that. Nothing inappropriate.
Just form, posture, and guidance… from a family friend.
Boyfriend ruse be damned.
I frame my mindset with all the chaste perimeters, then I look at her again. There isn’t a damn thing she needs to change about her body. She’s soft and curvy in all the places that cause my focus to blur. She’s fitter than she gives herself credit for. Strong, too.
I see it, even if she can’t.
And so what if having a workout buddy throws off my filming schedule? I can deal with that later. Film after she leaves. Pick a different night. The page, my dream gym…both can wait. What’s important is helping Kari see what I see. That beauty runs much deeper than what people see on the surface.
“No more sneaking into the gym without me,” I say. “When management’s around, we stick to our story.”
“You mean you’ll be my boyfriend?” She continues to smirk.
I can’t quite read the glint in her eye, but if there’s anything I know about Kari, it’s that she pushes boundaries just to see how far she can get. And I know what she’s capable of. Trouble.
“Just making sure you stay out of trouble,” I say. Which is a lie. I’d be more than her boyfriend in a heartbeat.
“I can handle myself.” She places her hands on her hips, as if that could convince me.
But it does make her boobs jut out, a little perkier. Which I have no business noticing.
“Sure you can,” I chuckle. “Like the time you played tag with a bull?”
Kari and Darby once dared each other to slap a local farmer’s bull one afternoon.
Neither of them took into account that the bull was bigger, meaner, and faster than them.
Darby reached the bull first, slapped it on the ass and took off like a bat out of hell.
Kari stopped dead in her tracks as the bull huffed and drew its hoove back, ready to charge.
I jumped the barbed wire fence, hollering and waving. Anything to distract it while Kari made a beeline to safety. As soon as she was safe, I cut through the fence as fast as I could. It wasn’t until the adrenaline evened out that we realized the barbed wire ripped a gash under my armpit.
“That was different.” She wrinkles her nose. “I could’ve made it, but nooooo… you had to be macho.”
“I saved your ass.” This time I chuckle. We could go round and round about the bull, but deep down, I know she could’ve made it. But I’d never forgive myself if she’d been hurt.
Still have the scar, but I’ll never forget the look of horror on her face when she saw my shirt soaked in blood. That was the first time I saw her so scared. I vowed I’d do everything I could to keep her safe and out of trouble.
And right now feels like a whole lot of trouble waiting to happen.