14. Bree
After blowing Finley a kiss, I went upstairs to find something to eat. Frankie and Marissa were laughing about something outside the gym’s office.
Grabbing a nearby mop, I stalked over and shoved the handle in my sister’s face. “I’m so glad you’re still here to live up to your end of the deal.”
She gave the handle a look of disgust but accepted it long enough to lean it against the wall. “Fine. But I don’t have long.”
I caught Frankie’s eye and grinned. “Long enough for me to tell you our idea.”
Marissa glanced at us warily. “Why don’t I like the sound of that? Or that look on your faces?”
“The gym needs money to stay afloat,” I explained, slipping past them and into the office. The small fridge here was closer than my boss’s apartment and held the other half of my tuna sub from earlier. I was too hungry to trek upstairs for something else. “Frankie and I came up with a fantastic idea to bring in extra funds.”
The fae woman threw her hands up as she and Marissa followed me into the office. “Oh-ho no, kiddo, this was all your idea.” Her chair creaked as she sat behind her desk. “I couldn’t possibly take credit.”
I stuck out my tongue as I opened the fridge. “Coward.”
“Out with it, Gabrielle.” Marissa just about stomped her foot with each syllable.
Ha! She used my full name. I loved messing with her like this as payback. Her anger was enough to rival a dragon’s.
My heart twisted at the memory of a red dragon spirit swirling around me, but I banished that thought before it gained any traction. I grabbed the wrapped-up sub and closed the fridge. “We’re going to offer massages to the fighters and trainees. Right here at the club, and you, my beautiful, amazing sister, are going to be the masseuse.”
Buttering her up had always worked well in my favor in the past. Hopefully, it would today, too.
Leaning back in her chair, Frankie grinned. Give her a bowl of popcorn, and she’d be ready for the show.
Marissa’s jaw fell open as if her brain short-circuited. Because it probably did.
I rushed on before she could recover enough to argue. “You’ll get your hours in for school, and the gym will crush its debt. Good deeds all around.”
Snapping her mouth closed, she settled for glaring at me. “You are much sneakier than I give you credit for.”
I took a seat and unwrapped the sub, my mouth watering as the delicious scent wafted free. Saving this half had been a great idea. “Technically, you don’t give me credit for anything.”
“And if I say no?” she demanded right as I took a huge bite.
Hoping for backup while I chewed, I glanced at Frankie.
My boss shrugged. “Back to the drawin’ board, I guess.”
Except that board was blank. I frowned at Marissa as I finished chewing and swallowed. “After everything Frankie has done for us, you would say no to helping her out?”
Scowling, she dropped into the seat beside me. “You know I hate being forced into things.”
“Okay, look at it this way. Think of all the muscled, naked bodies you’ll get to touch. You know some good-looking guys train here.” My stomach growled, urging me to take another bite of the sub.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to share this half with Finley. He’d gotten more than enough earlier.
Marissa’s nose scrunched up. “Some, maybe, but it’ll be just my luck to get all the wrinkly old men.”
Hook, line, and sinker.
I’d won her over with that idea. Not about the old guys, but the hot ones outnumbered the old. Okay, maybe not hot-hot but dateable at the very least.
“You’re our only hope,” I said around a mouthful of bread and tuna.
My sister stared at me, her eyes narrowed in thought. I chewed slowly, waiting for her official decision. If she said no, I didn’t know what else we could do. We were out of time and options.
“Fine,” she said in a drawn-out huff. “We’re not talking about massages with happy endings though, right?”
What an odd question. Massages should always end with the customer happy.
Frankie caught my perplexed expression and snorted out a laugh. “It means with a hand job, kiddo. Or a blow job for the right tip. And the answer is no. Fuck no. Most of those horndogs don’t have the money for that kind of service, anyway.”
“Oh.”
My boss doubled over with laughter while Marissa just gave me a look of pity.
“You need to get out more.” She shook her head, then pointed at me. “Also, no more mopping. This plan of yours will take up all my free time.”
Cringing inside, I forced a nod. Getting out of cleaning was to be expected with Marissa, but it was a price I was glad to pay to make this plan work. She wasn’t wrong about me needing to get more, but first things first.
Our future here was looking bright again. We had a plan to save our home, and nothing could stand in our way.
Famous last words.
The next morning,Frankie tasked me with cleaning the extra equipment in the storage room before we rotated everything later that night. Besides the daily sanitizing, we deep-cleaned equipment once a week. Doing so also allowed us to check for any damage or pieces that needed replacing.
However, I wasn’t sure which was worse: cleaning toilets after a fight night or being stuck in a windowless room that had no air conditioning and reeked of a week’s worth of stale body odor.
Three hours later, I locked the door behind me and gulped in the only somewhat better-smelling gym air. Stuck in the supply room for so long was definitely worse than the toilets.
Then I noticed the crowd.
The whole gym was abuzz with excitement. With wide eyes, I wove my way past members and toward the office. Subliminal was one of a few places in D.C. where Gifted types could mingle and chat freely, which meant I’d known most of the shifters and witches who frequented the place for years.
But today, quite a few unfamiliar faces popped up throughout the gym and talked animatedly with one another while lifting weights or punching bags. New folks weren’t unheard of, but this many at once was uncommon.
Most were too involved in their conversations to notice me eavesdropping, or too used to my presence to begin with. When I finally heard enough to realize what they were discussing, my eyebrows shot toward my hairline.
Turns out, I didn’t need a week to generate enough interest.
Word about our new massage offering had spread far faster and with more interest than we expected. Frankie and I had worked long into the previous evening, planning out logistics and printing posters and flyers. Thank goodness we’d doubled our initial print estimate at the last minute because it looked like every person here had a flyer in hand or tucked into a pocket already.
Marissa flirted shamelessly with some of the younger, more attractive members loitering near the front door, winking and tossing her flaming red hair over her shoulder. Today, her make-up highlighted her blue eyes, and she’d put all her assets on display with a low-cut crop top and high-waisted yoga pants.
I rolled my eyes at her antics but couldn’t stop the smile tugging at my lips. At least she’d made time for this because clearly, it was working.
We’d hung a sign-up sheet on a clipboard outside the office, and as I neared the office door, my heart beat faster. A list of names covered the entire first page of open massage times.
Coconuts, this might actually work.
Not only to get the gym out of debt, but it could also help Marissa meet her school requirements faster and stay closer to where I could keep my eye on her. Plus, it might turn into a fantastic starting clientele for when she graduated. Marissa better be ready to grovel at Frankie’s feet for going along with this idea.
A quick scan of the names brought an ounce of disappointment. No Dominic Sato. But really, it was for the best. Out of sight, out of mind.
Eventually.
“Who’s crazy idea was this?” Calvin asked, coming up beside me and leaning on my shoulder.
Not many would lean on me that way considering I was usually dressed for scrubbing toilets and known for being a bit of a loner—compared to Marissa and Frankie, anyway—but I didn’t mind the invasion of my personal space when it came to Calvin. We’d been buddies for years.
“Oh, come on, Cal. Who else is this much of a genius?” I elbowed him playfully in the ribs.
Standing just shy of six feet tall, the wizard grinned down at me. “I knew it. Only your imagination is this wild.”
Although Calvin’s slimmer build wasn’t the typical type that frequented the gym, he was attractive in his own way. A scruffy brown beard hugged his chin, more from forgetting to shave than planned, and his dark hazel eyes almost always twinkled with merriment.
He was also one of the few wizards who’d ever joined Subliminal. Witches and wizards could be either male or female, with the main difference being how they used their magic. Whereas witches typically drew on the elements to harness their spells as needed, wizards performed complex rituals with runes and utilized wands.
Because they could store extra mana in their wands, they didn’t need to rely on elemental particles being nearby like witches did. Wizards were generally considered more powerful than witches and often worked for the Gifted Interests Government, our primary governing agency.
The GIG did more than just police us, however. They also offered various services, such as lawyers, doctors, and even budding cryptozoologists like Calvin.
While he was no exception to working for the GIG, he conveniently “never heard about” the illegal fights. I was sure his superiors would catch on eventually, but for almost three years now, I’d been wrong.
“Blame my imagination on the books,” I said with a shrug. “You’d be surprised how often a damsel in distress becomes her own knight in shining armor with a little creative thinking.”
He chuckled. “Don’t ever give up reading those fantasy books if it gives you awesome ideas like this.”
Like I would ever give up reading anything. I nodded at the list. “I see you signed up.”
“No way would I pass up an opportunity like this.” He rubbed one of his shoulders for emphasis. “You see how brutal it is in the ring.”
He didn’t mean the illegal fights, of which he “knew nothing.” Any gym member could reserve the ring during normal business hours to compete against another sans magic. Just fists and fury. They weren’t nearly as popular as the other fights but took far less preparation and secrecy.
But little did Calvin or anyone else know, I knew exactly how brutal the ring could be from personal experience. Frankie’s fae magic allowed her to conjure up ridiculously lifelike opponents for me to practice with whenever I felt the desire to punch something other than a bag. It was the only reason she knew so much about my magic.
I smiled. “I’m glad we can help you guys out this way while also helping the gym.”
He slung an arm around my shoulder. “Anything for family, right?”
Knowing others felt the same way about this place warmed my heart. “You bet.”
A commotion broke out near one of the punching bags close to where we stood. Mike, one of our regular gym members, and some guy I didn’t recognize were about to come to blows, their faces red and tight with anger.
Fights like this were few and far between but usually over the use of equipment. Before I had a chance to break it up, another man I didn’t recognize stepped in and said something too low to hear. He grasped the other stranger’s hand, passing a small plastic bag filled with something like red rocks between them.
Appeased but still glaring daggers, the man who’d almost fought Mike shoved whatever it was he now held into the pocket of his gym shorts and stormed away, pushing through the crowd.
I frowned. What had that been about?
“Hey, I gotta run,” Calvin said. His gaze was glued to the man’s retreating back, and he quickly followed after him.
Sighing, I was left to contemplate the massage list by myself. Feeling disappointed that Dominic hadn’t signed up yet was beyond absurd.
For one, he didn’t train at Subliminal, not even during his fighting days. None of the dragons did.
Two, I’d told the man to leave me alone. He was obviously respecting my wishes. I should be glad of that, not frustrated.
Besides, did I want Marissa touching him instead of me?
I pursed my lips. Nope.
The good news was that it was still fairly early in the day, and many gym members kept late hours, coming in after their day jobs. I was sure the list would double if not triple by closing time. We were off to a fin-flipping-tastic start.
Frankie popped her head out of the office, saw me, then nodded toward Marissa, who was still flirting the day away by the front door. “She’s gonna have those boys eatin’ outta the palm of her hand in no time.” A note of grudging approval marked her words. “At the rate she’s goin’, we’ll pay off the debt within the month.”
“If anyone can charm people into turning over their wallets, it’s Marissa,” I said wryly. “She’s determined when she sets her mind to something.”
If only that happened more often and with things that helped around here. You know, like cleaning.
Ah, well. Beggars couldn’t be choosers.
Frankie chuckled before disappearing back into her office.
Sighing, I headed for the supply closet. My neverending list of daily chores wouldn’t complete itself.
“Did you see the number of sign-ups?”
I jumped as Marissa’s voice came out of nowhere. The caddy of cleaning supplies I was pulling off a shelf nearly toppled to the ground before I caught it again. “Gee-sus, Riss.”
Her smirk was downright devious. “That never gets old.”
I set the caddy on a lower shelf and grabbed a pair of clean gloves. Startling and scaring me were among her favorite games, ones she unfortunately played with my boss. “Yes, I saw the list. We’re off to a great start.”
She examined her nails while I tugged each elbow-length yellow glove on. “I think I should negotiate a higher cut.”
I released a glove a little too hard, flinching when I almost punched myself in the face. “Don’t you dare. This is to help Frankie out. To save our home. You wanna live on the street?”
She trotted after me as I grabbed the caddy and headed for the locker room. “We wouldn’t have to worry about things like that if you just hooked up with Dominic.”
My heart did a little skip at the idea, but I shot her a disgusted look. “One hookup isn’t going to fix our money problems.”
“It would if you got pregnant.”
This time, I did drop the caddy. Cleaning supplies jostled together and bounced out, rolling across the ground. Down the short hallway in the main gym area, a few heads turned our way, but thankfully no one rushed to help.
“Marissa!” I hissed.
Her laugh echoed off the walls. “Don’t pretend you haven’t thought about it.”
Yeah, okay, I might have considered dating the guy. Or rather, imagined what his magnificently naked body would feel like pressed against mine, but I most certainly had not thought of anything past that. “We’re not all horny dogs like you. That’s a terrible idea for so many reasons.”
“The word is ‘horndogs.’”
“Whatever.”
“Well, if this massage idea doesn’t work, I’m letting Frankie know you volunteered to make babies with Dom?—”
“Shh!” I slapped my gloved hand over her mouth and glanced behind her. No one was anywhere near close enough to have heard that, but I wasn’t taking any chances. “Are you out of your mind?”
With a horrified grimace, she peeled my hand off her face. “I think I’m going to be sick. You clean toilets with those.”
I shook my yellow rubber finger in her face. “So don’t say crazy things like that where people could overhear and get their own ideas. And don’t be such a guppy. These are clean.”
She scrunched her freckled nose and backed away. “It’s still gross.”
I bent to pick up the few escaped cleaning bottles and tucked them back into the caddy. “Don’t say anything to Frankie.” I stood, hoisting the caddy. “This will work.”
“If you say so.” Marissa’s words carried after me as I entered the locker room, but she didn’t follow me this time.
As usual, the stench of musty body odor slammed into me, but I’d long since become accustomed. Since the majority of our members were shifters and therefore not especially self-conscious, we didn’t bother separating men from women or any other designation.
Plus, the gym just wasn’t big enough to offer more than one changing room. No one had complained yet, so we kept things as they were.
Ignoring several people in various states of undress, I got to work while thinking over my conversation with Marissa. Having babies wasn’t something I’d ever seen myself doing, but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t felt a thrill of excitement when Marissa mentioned having Dominic’s.
Yep. It was official.
I was certifiable.