But as she stared at her reflection in the mirror above the sink, she told herself she was just being paranoid. Maybe the roses were from Free and Jodi, as a thank you token for being part of their wedding last week. Maybe they were from Kasey; a thank you for being his ‘wing-woman’ and helping him get the girl of his dreams.
She snorted and rolled her eyes. That one was farfetched.
But why would Neal return now? After almost a year and a half, why would he come backnow? Why would he go out of his way to deliver flowers to her doorstep? It made no sense.
Her phone buzzed where she’d set it on the counter next to her purse. Picking it up, she swiped to open the message.
Natalie: Duuuuude. He’s so hot it’s not even fair. How do you get anything done with him here at the same time as you? I can’t even concentrate on working out. I want to take a bite out of his ass like it’s a big ol red delicious apple.
Roxy rolled her eyes and typed a message back to Natalie.
Roxy: Screenshotting this to put up on the bulletin board in the gym entrance.
The text bubbles immediately appeared, and a moment later, she laughed out loud.
Natalie: Don’t you fucking dare! I would DIEEE!!
A moment later, another message popped through.
Natalie: Please sign up with me for his kickboxing class! Pleeeeease I will do anything! I CANNOT do this class alone Rox!
Sighing, she stared at the message for a long time. Setting her phone down on the counter, she stepped over to the refrigerator and opened the freezer door, pulling out a single serve Stouffer’s frozen lasagna. Tearing the cardboard open, she picked a fork out of the drawer and stabbed the plastic wrap over the top of the container, then popped it into the microwave.
Returning to her phone, she saw several PLEASE, ROX!! text messages and rolled her eyes again. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to brush up on some self-defense exercises.
Just in case.
That old, familiar chill of dread washed over her spine and made her shiver, and she glanced around the kitchen. Other than the remnants of the bouquet of flowers that were safely in the trash, everything was remarkably the same.
All except the clawing, chest seizing fear that tightened her throat…
Picking up her phone, she typed up a message back and hit send.
Roxy: Ok. Count me in.
She could almost hear the squeal of excitement from Nat’s end of the phone as her response came in, simply:
Natalie: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you!
Three
Keep it movin’, ladies.The last thing Travis wanted or needed was more attention. Unless you’re volunteering for a no-strings-attached, hot, raunchy roll in the bedsheets that has absolutely no potential for anything further… Yeah, nope.Not even the thought of a quick lay was worth the trouble.
Especially the blonde. Way too high maintenance, though her Redbull induced energy could come in handy…
He shook his head, tossing the long strands of hair away from his face as he turned away from the two women across the room.Nope. Still not worth it.
The redheaded bombshell paid him little to no attention, but then again, she rarely gave any single person—male or female—any attention other than the blonde that always seemed to tag along with her while actively avoiding doing any kind of workout. She was polite without inviting anyone into her personal space.
He could respect that. That was how he preferred things, too.
Not that it ever happened.
Travis ‘The Reaper’ Hayes was the closest thing this gym had to a celebrity. As a retired MMA fighter who had gotten several of his own Pay-Per-View specials, aired from Las Vegas,he had been a household name for a while. His mug was easily recognizable; with the long, sandy brown hair that was now streaked with silver throughout, the full beard that he kept trimmed, also sprinkled with grays now. From his throat all the way down to each fingertip and down to each toe he was covered in black and gray shaded tattoos.
He’d spent a small fortune and a lot of time covering every single inch of skin from curious eyes. Some things were better left unseen.
