12. Chapter 12
twelve
E ven with Della’s dare looming, Cassie had to nerve herself up to go back to Heavy Iron Fitness.
And it was not so much the dare that got her there. Dares were for high school kids. It was because she knew that she needed to find a way to be around Heavy, and be okay, despite how much it hurt to know he belonged to another woman.
At least, thanks to RaeAnn, she knew which eye-makeup would stand up to perspiration and even a shower. Also thanks to RaeAnn, Cassie had new workout wear to highlight the best of her figure, instead of trying to hide it.
But every time she pictured herself strutting into Heavy Iron Fitness, she immediately pictured Heavy’s skinny girlfriend at his side, giving Cassie a smirk that said ‘You’ll still never get near him’, and she crumbled inside.
All her mature self-talk was no match for that image. She couldn’t watch him with another woman. Not yet.
Thus, when her dad and step-mom came down the stairs the next morning, RaeAnn in trim workout wear and Cooler in faded sweats, their gym bags in his hand, she slouched deeper into her chair, gaze on the TV.
“Hey, sofa spud,” Cooler called. “You were all excited about Heavy’s gym when it opened, what happened? It’s your day off, come and workout with us.”
“You go ahead,” Cassie mumbled. “I’ll go for a walk, or something.”
RaeAnn gave her a soft look that said she got the real reason Cassie didn’t want to be at the gym.
Her dad snorted. “You ain’t goin’ for a walk, it’s thirty-five degrees and sleeting outside. Perfect weather for exercising inside, and we got a great new gym where you can do that, right here in town, and run by a brother. There some reason you don’t wanna be there?”
Cassie sighed heavily. “Yes, but that doesn’t mean I wanna share what it is.”
He narrowed his eyes at her, his silence louder than words.
“What?” she demanded, scowling. He knew darn well she hated those looks, which felt like he could see right inside her mind, and knew something about her he might or might not share.
The corner of his mouth quirked up. “Just checkin’ for little feathery wings, that’s all. And I ain’t talkin’ angels. Bawk-bawk-bawk.”
Cassie growled under her breath. “Oh, God, not you too. Fine! I’ll go, just to get you off my case. But I’ll drive myself.”
Cooler Carson smiled. “Knew I didn’t raise me a chicken for a daughter. Now hustle upstairs and get dressed, and we’ll see you there, yeah? Whoever it is you’re wantin’ to hide from ain’t worth you missin’ out on something you enjoy.”
Cassie stuck her tongue out at him, but then she hustled upstairs.
And it must be said, that by the time she’d fixed herself up with her new makeup, hair style, her new black tights with a sparkly design on the outside of the legs, turquoise sports bra and cropped, slouchy, turquoise-and-black top over it, and tossed her black trainers in her gym bag, she felt more determined than she had in… well, in days.
Armored in her new look and buoyed at least partially by her natural optimism, Cassie donned her warm coat and boots, and drove to the gym.
She parked in the nearly full lot—because it seemed most of Heavy’s other clients agreed that it was perfect weather to work out inside—and made her way across the parking lot to the front doors. The lot had been plowed and de-iced, but the sleet coming down made it slippery anyway.
Heavy, she saw through the glass doors, was not at the checkout desk. Good, then. She could relax and have fun and not worry about the big, muscle-bound biker. Ri-ight…she was so full of it. She’d have to see him sooner or later, this was his business, which meant he was here somewhere.
Her nerves jittering, she swiped her gym membership card across the reader, and moved toward the women’s locker room to stow her things, and don her workout shoes. She walked to the driving rhythm of some rock band, she neither knew nor cared who.
She waved at RaeAnn, already on one of the treadmills, at Rissa and her man Streak, also on treadmills—Streak running steadily and Rissa walking, and at her dad, who was spotting someone on a weight bench. He gave her a thumbs-up and turned his attention back to the lifter, smacking his hands together in a way that said ‘come on, keep going’.
As she emerged from the locker room, she saw Della waving with typical enthusiasm, both arms in the air, a big grin on her face. She wore black compression shorts with a snug, emerald top that showcased her fit arms and shoulders and her lush figure.
“Well, look who finally made it back to Heavy’s Iron,” Della said with a smirk. “Hear what I did there?’
Cassie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I got it.”
Della widened her eyes dramatically. "So? What’s our plan?”
“To work out,” Cassie said warily.
“Oh, no, no, no,” her friend said, shaking a chiding finger. “You need a plan of attack. Wait until the perfect moment, and then ‘Bam!’ You appear in his sight line, the new, hawt Cassie.”
“Della,” Cassie hissed, peering around to make sure no one was in earshot. “Stop. I said I’d come and work out, and I’m here. Now, I’m gonna work out, and then I’m gonna go home. That’s the plan.”
And Della better not have some stupid idea of throwing them together, either.
Della sighed, but nodded. “Okay, okay.”
Cassie eyed her suspiciously.
“What?” Della asked, doing her best to look innocent.
“Nothing,” Cassie waved at the nearest stair-climber. “I’m starting on this. How about you?”
Della was gazing toward the back of the gym, blinked. “Huh? Oh, great idea. By the way, love the new awn-sawm. Very sex-ay.”
“Uh, thanks,” Cassie said, but to her friend’s back. Della was already hurrying away.
An uneasy feeling in her gut, Cassie turned. And saw Heavy’s unmistakably massive frame disappearing into the hallway leading to the locker rooms, Della close behind.
Oh, no. As fast as she could without outright running—because the place was full of people they knew—Cassie hustled after them.
As she reached the back hallway, the song ended, leaving only the voices of a few people out in the big room and the clank of weight machines. Thus, Cassie could hear Della around the corner as she called out to Heavy to wait.
Cassie also heard his deep, infectious chuckle. His voice came nearer. "Hey girl. What's up?" Ooh, she loved his voice.
"Hey," Della said. "So…"
Cassie held her breath, hoping that Della would just make some casual remark and move on.
"So…?" Heavy repeated. "Della, what? I’m workin’ here."
Well," Della said in a rush. "I can't help noticing that we haven’t seen you around with any ladies lately. Sooo… are you seeing anyone?”
Cassie cringed. Oh, no, this felt like she was back in middle school waiting to hear if Joey What’s-his-name liked her as more than a science lab partner. In fact, this was a thousand times more painful because Joey Ingram had turned out to be a kid jerk, and she’d dropped him before they attended their first school dance in the gym.
But Heavy was all that and a bottle of top-shelf tequila blended into the world's smoothest, tangiest adult margarita. So she stood still, waiting for his reply, and hoping none of the Flyers decided they needed to use one of the bathrooms, or take a shower, and catch her eavesdropping.
“Della,” Heavy said, his deep voice low and patient. “You don't need to be trying to set me up with anybody."
"I'm not," Della said. "Well, I kind of am—but you seriously need to take another look. You and Cassie would be perfect together, I know it. You get along great and —"
Heavy replied again, this time more loudly. And his tone had changed in a way that made Cassie brace herself, her tummy tightening in a painful knot. Because whatever was coming, she knew, it was not going to be good.
"With Cassie? Della, look. We’re Flyer family. We look out for each other, we have a good time together. But you need to stop this shit right now. Cassie is a sweet kid, but that's what she is—she's a kid. She's not for me. You—and her, if she’s in on this—gotta get that through your heads."
His words echoed in Cassie’s ears like thunder. The kind that came after lightning had hit, and in one flash, burned out any life, or hope.
"Oh, my God," Della snapped. "Cassie is a kid? I thought you were wa-ay smarter than this.”
“I’m smart enough,” Heavy said, his tone saying he was riding the fine edge of losing his patience. “Now you be smart and butt the hell out of my business. I’m on the hunt for an old lady, yeah. But for a woman. And I don’t need your help doin’ it.”
Della muttered something in reply that Cassie couldn’t understand, but by then she’d finally unstuck her shoes from the carpet and made herself move.
She was such an idiot.
She kept setting herself up, and Heavy kept knocking her down.
Well, two strikes, she was out.
Done yearning for a man she couldn't have. Done trying to show him that she was no wide-eyed girl.
Because Della was right—he was a dumb-ass. They could’ve been awesome together. She knew it like she knew she looked better than she ever had in her life. And unlike that skanky bitch he’d been banging, she was a daughter of the club. She could be—no, could’ve been--the best old lady ever for him.
And because she was a daughter of the club, she was not running away and hiding like a butt-hurt little girl now. She was gonna stay and work out like she owned this freaking gym. She was gonna have the best workout ever.
And Heavy Hanks could suck it.
Her chin high, back straight, she sashayed back out into the gym, and hopped onto a treadmill. She set it to a fast speed, and started running, faster than she normally did, but fueled by her anger, it felt like nothing.
And if any of the many people she knew spoke to her in concern, she didn’t notice or respond.
After the treadmill, she hit the weight machines, reveling in the push and pull, the strain of her muscles, the necessity to think of nothing but what she was doing.
Heavy had been having a great day, until Della cornered him.
Now, he walked back into the main gym, shaking his head. Man, he liked Della a lot, but she was a handful when she got an idea in her head. Trying to set him up with Cassie… Jaysus.
Was he ‘seeing anyone’—he guessed that meant dating, or some shit like that. Hell, no. Because he sure as hell wouldn’t call his and Britt’s hookups dating. But then, he hadn’t been fucking around with the party girls at the club lately, either. Not like he’d had time since he opened the gym.
But that didn’t mean he needed anyone setting him up with a daughter of the club, and all the complications that involved. Especially a pint-size chick that was too damn young for him, anyway.
He got his ass back out onto the main floor of his gym, stopping to give a few pointers to two young guys on the weights, and to chat with Moke.
He smiled at RaeAnn but got a somewhat strained smile in return. He hoped she wasn’t hitting the treadmill too hard, but Cooler was here somewhere, he’d keep an eye on his old lady. Heavy made a mental note to check in with her later, and moved on, scanning the big room as he did so.
Cooler was there, all right, but standing by the weight machines, hands fisted in the sweat towel around his neck, talking to a little blonde in a bright top and sparkly black tights that showed off her bodacious bod, especially her ass and legs.
Whoa, now, who was this jewel?
Then she turned, and Heavy saw her face. His heart gave a hard thump, and beat on, faster.
The sexy little blonde was Cassie? At least… a new, more… everything version of Cassie.
He stopped in his tracks beside the water cooler and stared.
Fuck him, she looked… gorgeous.
Her blonde hair was real short. But on her, it somehow looked sexy as fuck. The feathery strands framed her cute little ears and showed off her eyes, huge and bright in her face, which was flushed from exertion.
And standing there with one hand on her hip, panting a little, with her see-through top hanging off one slender shoulder, she did not look like a kid anymore. As he watched, she took her water bottle and tipped it up to take a long drink, revealing the long, sexy line of her throat as she swallowed.
Which of course left Heavy imagining her in another position, like on her knees before him with something else in her pretty mouth… because she sure as fuck looked al-ll grownup. He winced as his jock strap tightened. Fuck him, good thing he was wearing a cup, or he’d be giving his clients an R–rated show.
A big elbow connected painfully with his ribs, and he grunted.
He jerked his head around to see Rav smirking at him as he held out his plastic water bottle to refill the water cooler. “Whatcha gawkin’ at there, bro?” the southern brother drawled. “See something you like?”
Heavy lifted a hand to scratch the back of his head, heat burning up his neck. “Just, uh, keeping an eye on things, that’s all.”
The sly twinkle in his friend’s eyes said they both knew he was lying. But unlike his old lady, Rav knew when to let a thing go. “Business is good, huh?”
“It is,” Heavy agreed. “Real good.”
Rav drank deeply from his water bottle, and turned to survey the busy gym with him as he screwed the top back on. “Della’s wanting to do some tanning, get ready for our trip to Vegas next month. Too bad she can’t do it here at your gym. Maybe it’s time to talk to Stick about that extra loan?”
Heavy blew out a breath. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Real soon.”
Damn good reminder to get his mind back on business. He shot a last look across the gym at Cassie Carson, and her father—one of the Flyer brothers who would have to vote to expand his loan, so his clients could tan here instead of going across town to Beachy’s.
Cooler Carson might be half Heavy’s size, but he could be a hard-ass. Heavy suspected that went double when it came to guys messing around with his daughter. Piss him off, and Heavy could probably kiss his loan expansion goodbye. Which meant that even if Cassie was looking newly grownup and hotter than hell, she was off limits for him.
Della chose this moment to strut up to them, a smirk on her face that matched her man’s. “Saw ya lookin’,” she said to Heavy in a sing-song voice. Then she turned to Rav, reaching for his water bottle. “Can I have a drink, Southern?”
“You bet, Chili.” The two stood close, hands on each other’s hips, grinning at each other as she tipped up his bottle.
“Yeah, you two are hilarious.” Heavy wanted to knock their heads together. He did not need this shit right now.
And so it was, when Cassie turned and met his gaze across the gym, he was scowling in her direction.
Her eyes widened, and she flinched visibly. Then she curled her lip, and glared back at him, her blue eyes shooting sparks clear across the gym, before turning on her sneaker-clad heel and giving him her back.
His eyes narrowed. A look like that from her made his palm itch to go over there and smack that ass of hers. She was a little spitfire, no doubt about it.
He was the one who had to contend with her chasing him in his own gym, and using her friends to do it. Hell, he’d always thought she hung around him ‘cause they were buddies, not because she had some fool crush on him.
Well, he hoped his words to Della put a hard stop to that shit. He rolled his shoulders, shrugging off his irritation, and got back to business. Although not without one last glance at that ass of hers. Because her new look sure as fuck made her look like a woman.
And he didn’t know quite what to do with that.