My pulse pounded as those words spilled out of my mouth. Guilt swarmed me. Hazelwasa bit of a mess. It waspart of her charm. But saying the words out loud like that, to West who didn’t even know her, felt like an act of betrayal.
West frowned at my answer. “You’re never going to find someone who likes color coding as much as you do, Reid.”
“Did I even say that was high on my list of criteria?”
He sighed. “You didn’t have to. It’s written all over the way you refuse to bend for anyone.”
“I have a stranger living in my house right now. Is that not bending?”
The corner of his mouth tugged up. “Itisbending. Which is exactly why I know this girl is more than nothing to you.”
“Jesus…”
I let my words trail off as I snatched my glasses from where they rested on the floor. I wiped them off on my t-shirt and put them on. I could make out West well enough without them, but he somehow looked even smugger in twenty-twenty.
I gave the gym another cursory scan now that I could see more clearly. The bar benches had filled up since we’d arrived, but I didn’t see the person I was searching for. I watched absentmindedly as the guy next to me lifted nearly twice what I was doing. His biceps flexed as he struggled with the weight and a flash of irritation coursed through me as I noticed he didn’t have a spotter. Some people were so irresponsible, and…
“Shit,” I hissed, tearing my gaze away.
“What?” West looked up from his phone where he’d been typing a message.
I jerked my head backward, toward the guy. “That’s the guy,” I whispered.
West glanced at him and then back at me. “You’re going to have to give me more details than that.”
“Hazel’s ex,” I whispered. I’d already filled him in on the catfishing plan.
West looked again and snorted softly. “That guy? He’s a total meathead.”
“Shh.”
He scrunched his forehead. “Relax. He has no idea who we are.”
West was right. Even though I had examined every nook and cranny of his social media and online presence, Paul had no idea who the hell I was. He would likely be deeply disturbed if he knew I was the mind behind the girl who had slid into his DMs.
West’s eyes went wide. “Wait, is that why you wanted to try out this stupid gym? To run into him?”
“Shhh.” I gave him a warning glare before picking up my phone and sneaking a quick picture before shooting it to Hazel. I knew she was at work, so I wasn’t expecting her to answer right away, but a response came in immediately.
Hazel: Omg! That’s Paul.
Hazel: Feel free to not help him when that weight inevitably gets stuck on his chest. I’ve heard being crushed to death by your own ego is a brutal way to go.
Her words made me smile as I shot back a quick reply and stuffed my phone back into my pocket.
“You going to say something?” West asked, not bothering to be subtle in his stare at Paul.
“What? Why would I say something?” I asked, appalled at the idea.
“Isn’t that why you dragged us here in the first place? Investigate your top suspect?”
“No,” I said, although hadn’t I done that? Because if I wasn’t here to investigate Paul as a suspect, why the hell was I so curious about Hazel’s ex? The thought made me cringe.
“You should get a read on the guy,” West said.
“‘Cat thief’ isn’t exactly something easily readable.” I squinted at Paul, taking the chance to size him up while he was distracted. He looked…very into himself. His shirt was cut solow it was practically a vest, leaving half his chest and one entire arm on full display.
My chest heated. Iwantedto judge the hell out of him. Really, I did. But if I was being honest? What I actually felt was…jealousy, maybe? Was that what this was? A tiny, embarrassing flicker of envy? Maybe West was right. Maybe Ididneed to get out more if a girl showing me just an inkling of friendship was enough to trigger this kind of insecure, high-school-level spiral.
