24. Chapter 24
Jake
I stretched out on the gym floor, bracing my weight on my forearms as I rolled my quad slowly over the foam roller, the pressure catching in all the places that had taken a beating during training.
“Fuck,” I hissed as the knots tensed my leg.
“Mate, go careful. I don’t need you out on injury because you were dry-humping the floor.” Connor winked as he walked on the treadmill.
I lifted my head just enough to glare at him. “Only recovery, I swear.”
“You sure you’re not taking your sexual frustrations out on the gym equipment?” Bobby asked, with an eyebrow raised. “We all know you’ve scaled back on hookups.”
“What the fuck would you know about sexual frustrations? Both of you idiots have steady girls.”
Teddy and Micah were both firecrackers too.
Connor barked out a laugh at that as he slowed his pace. “Both of our women are stubborn and headstrong…” He looked over to Bobby and grinned. “But they’re horny as all fuck. You’re right, we have no idea.”
“Jesus,” I muttered, dropping my forehead briefly before dragging myself forward over the roller again. Apparently, humiliation wasn’t enough. I also needed physical pain layered on top of it.
Connor stepped off the treadmill, grabbing his towel and slinging it over his shoulder as he walked closer, looking far too entertained by all of this. “So,” he went on, “you gonna tell us what’s actually got you this wound up? Was it something to do with the chat we had Saturday night?”
“If I had to guess, it’d be a certain sister of your best friend…” Bobby was right on the money, and he knew it. The only reason Nate wasn’t here right now was because he was in physio getting his hamstring worked on.
“I’m not wound up,” I said flatly. I was a liar, though.
“I can tell in training, too. You need to find release before we play next week. You know I’m right.”
“You two ever shut up, or is this just what you do now?” I didn’t want to hear how good their sex lives were, and I definitely didn’t need advice from them.
Connor didn’t even hesitate. “This is leadership, actually.”
“Yeah,” Bobby added, nodding like that made it official. “We’re guiding you through a difficult time.”
“By talking absolute shit?” I pushed myself back onto my hands, lifting my leg off the roller for a second. If I stayed on it any longer, I might actually pass out. “Or telling me I need to get laid?”
“Oh god, I can come back.” Seren’s voice filtered into the room.
I froze for half a second, then dragged myself upright like I hadn’t just been laid out on the floor having my entire life dissected.
Connor didn’t miss a beat. “No, no, stay,” he called out, entirely too cheerful. “We were just discussing Jake’s—”
“Dude,” I cut in.
Bobby grinned. “Recovery stretching.”
“Right,” Connor said, far too innocent. “Very important topic.”
Seren hovered just inside the doorway. It was clear she was deciding whether to believe any of that, her gaze flicking between the three of us before settling on me.
And just like that, everything from the weekend came back—her in that oversized hoodie, Cai giggling over breakfast, the way she’d said nothing happened, like she needed me to know.
I did need to hear it, and it settled something deep inside me.
I slept like a baby that night. Being able to drive them home, as well as spending time together Sunday, was honestly the best part of my week.
I straightened a little more, grabbing my water bottle off the floor like I hadn’t just been accused of dry-humping gym equipment thirty seconds ago. “You’re good,” I said, my tone steadier than I felt. “They’re just being assholes.”
“Okay,” she said a flush working onto her cheeks. “I was just going to run until I have to leave. My quads are tight today.”
“We were just leaving too,” Connor said, looking at Bobby. “Right, man?”
“Enjoy your…stretching,” Bobby threw in as he followed, poking his tongue out and making a terrible licking motion, which was wildly unhelpful.
“Both of you can fuck off,” I muttered under my breath, but they were already halfway out of the gym, leaving me standing there with Seren.
“Well, I won’t interrupt whatever you were doing,” she said, starting a slow walk on the treadmill.
“You mean my very dignified recovery routine?” I stepped a little closer, still holding my water bottle.
She huffed out a quiet laugh, shaking her head as she tapped at the screen to adjust the incline. “I think I caught some of it.”
“Did you?” I winced slightly. “Because I’d really prefer if you didn’t.”
“Mm.” She hummed, like she was considering it, her lips pressing together to hide a smile. “Hard to ignore when your friends are that loud.”
“They’re not my friends,” I said immediately. “I’ve actually never met them before in my life.”
“Of course. Just two random men bullying you in a gym.”
“Exactly.” I nodded.
She shook her head, but the smile lingered as she focused back on the treadmill, adjusting the incline again, her posture controlled as the pace picked up.
I watched her a while, then stepped back toward the open space on the gym floor where I’d abandoned the foam roller.
If I stayed standing there watching her any longer, it was going to get obvious.
I lowered myself down again, bracing through my forearms as I dragged my quad back over the roller, slower this time, the pressure biting into muscle that hadn’t quite recovered from training.
My hips followed, shifting slightly to catch the front of them again, working through the tightness with a steady rhythm that forced my focus back into my body instead of… anywhere else.
It didn’t work.
Because I could feel her eyes on me.
I rolled forward again, roughly exhaling under my breath as the pressure hit the same spot, my grip tightening slightly against the floor. “Ahhh,” I groaned.
The treadmill kept moving behind me, the steady, rhythmic thud of her steps carrying across the space.
Shifting again, I pulled the roller back under my thigh, my shirt riding slightly at my waist as I moved, my core tightening instinctively to hold the position. My shirt hiked up, and I snuck a glance at her, and every muscle tensed when I caught her watching me with her lips parted.
Knowing I had her attention bolstered every ounce of my testosterone. Without breaking eye contact, I bit my bottom lip and thrusted forward with another groan.
Her steps faltered for half a beat before she adjusted, her hand brushing the controls frantically, her focus snapping back to the screen in front of her. I heard a muttered curse and smiled to myself.
I held there for a second longer, then dropped my gaze, pushing through another pass over the roller.
“Careful,” I said, not looking at her straight away.
The treadmill didn’t stop, but I heard the slight shift in her breath. “About what?”
“Staring like that,” I added, lifting my head just enough to catch her again. “You’re going to make me think it’s intentional.”
Her eyebrows pulled together slightly, but there was something in her expression that didn’t match the confusion she was trying to sell. “Maybe I was just watching your…recovery technique.”
I hummed, dragging the roller back again, letting my gaze drop briefly before lifting back to her. “And? Impressed?”
She tried to suppress a smile, but it slipped through anyway. “I wouldn’t go that far.” Her pace picked up a fraction.
I went still for a second, the roller forgotten beneath me as I looked at her watching me. The heat lighting up her eyes made them even brighter.
“You like watching me?” I asked, voice deepening.
Her throat moved on a rough swallow, and I tracked the movement. “You’re not terrible to look at.”
I huffed a laugh. “Don’t flirt with me, Seren, or I’ll start daydreaming about us…”
Image after image flashed through my head, her too close, her everywhere, every version of her I wanted so badly, and my body ignited.
“Wait,” I muttered, my voice rough as I thrust forward into the roller, wishing she was beneath me, my dick responding with a twitch. “Too fucking late.”
She placed her feet on either side of the treadmill, the swoosh of the machine between her legs still moving as she’d stopped, chest heaving, mouth open.
“That’s…” she started, then stopped, exhaling softly through her nose as she shook her head once.
“I’m pretty sure I have a headache just from all your pheromones today, Jake. ”
I made my way over to her, slower than I needed to, I was giving her the chance to step back, even though something told me she wouldn’t. I fucking hoped she wouldn’t.
“Then pop some ibuprofen, mama, because I don’t plan on going anywhere.”
Her smile widened as she shook her head slightly.
“I have an idea that I need to run by you.” I stopped just in front of her, the console between us, but we were close enough now that I could see the way her breath still hadn’t quite settled.
This tension was eating me alive and after the weekend, I knew there was something here, I just needed her to trust me.
“Is that so?”
I inhaled and held it there. “As much as I want to drag you over to the nearest closet and have my way with you, I’m a gentleman, remember?”
Her throat worked with a swallow, eyes dilating. “Gentleman, huh?”
“Exactly,” I purred, luring her in. “Which is why I want you to come on a date with me.”
“A date,” she repeated, trapping the side of her lower lip between her teeth.
“Yeah.” I nodded, eyes on hers. “One evening. No pressure, or expectations. Simply you not having to be everything for everyone else for a few hours.”
Her fingers tightened slightly on the bars.
“Jake…didn’t we set rules for being friends?”
“I know,” I said immediately, not backing off, or pretending I didn’t remember, but Sunday definitely changed something for us.
We’d been texting the last couple of days too.
I knew there was more here, and I was pretty confident she wanted it.
“But I don’t know if you know this about me”—I winked at her, giving her my best smile that I knew popped my dimples—“I fucking love breaking rules.”
Her lips folded into her mouth, hiding her smile from me, and I wanted nothing more than to see it burst free because of me. “Hypothetically, what happens on this date?”
She was testing me, this situation, and I couldn’t stop the joy spreading in my chest. “Well,” I began, letting my thoughts go wild because I wasn’t sure she’d actually agree, but also because I wanted to do something with her I hadn’t done with anyone else before.
“I’m not going to hide behind hypotheticals because there’s one thing I definitely want to do with you.
” Several, in fact, but I’d start with this.
“Oh?” she breathed.
“I’d like to take you roller skating.”
Her whole expression changed, like something lit up from the inside out before she could stop it, her mouth parting slightly with a quiet, surprised laugh.
“Roller skating?” Her voice lifted.
“Have you ever done it before?”
“I always wanted to when I was in college. There was this place near campus that everyone used to go to, and I kept saying I would, but I got pregnant.” She sighed. “And I just…didn’t. Then I forgot about it.”
“Then we’ll go.”
She held my gaze, and I was trapped in a sea of emeralds, something rare and impossible to look away from.
It was as though I’d stumbled across something I had no right to claim but couldn’t stop wanting anyway.
The longer I stayed there, the harder it got to remember anything else—what I was supposed to say, what this was supposed to be—because all I could see was her.
Her head tilted. “And what’s the catch?” she asked, but there was less resistance this time.
“No catch,” I said.
She gave me a look anyway. I almost said that maybe kissing would help us figure a lot of shit out, but I held it back.
“Okay,” I admitted, the corner of my mouth pulling slightly. “Maybe one. You have to actually enjoy yourself.”
A quiet breath left her, almost a laugh, eyes creasing as she looked at me.
“And if I don’t?”
“Then I take you home,” I said with a shrug. “No strings.”
It was my turn to hide my smile. I had a feeling that we’d have a great time together. Scratch that, I knew we’d have a great time together.
Her breath hitched. “Okay, I’m in,” she said with a smile.
The sweetest three words I’d heard in a long time.