Chad and Aiden arrived at the training facility about two hours before the scheduled start of class. As they made their way into the building Chad saw the two other alphas on Aiden’s team exiting a car a few spaces over and move out in different directions around the building.
He’d completely forgotten that there was more than one person guarding him. He wondered what they thought of him, though when he considered the fact that they were getting all their information from Aiden he decided he maybe didn’t want to know.
Walking into the building, Chad dropped by the locker room to put away his bag and then headed right for the weights. He did his warm-ups, trying to ignore Aiden standing a few feet away, and then moved over to the weights to start his standard routine.
Much to his surprise, Aiden stayed silent and kept out of the way as he worked out. They had the gym almost to themselves; except for a pair of alphas Chad didn’t know running next to each other on the treadmills. As he went through his routine Chad was almost able to forget that Aiden was there.
He was just finishing up his first set of squats when Aiden had to be a jackass.
“You need more weight,” Aiden said, circling Chad and examining the bar placed over the back of his shoulders. “Peter likes a meaty ass and yours is skinny as hell.”
Chad put the bar down and shot Aiden a glare, refusing to even comment on that ridiculous statement. He had a great ass, which he knew because Peter had told him so many, many times.
Aiden held up his hand defensively and smirked. “I’m just saying, you could use some development in that area. You’ve got to keep Peter interested, right?”
Chad snorted, looking Aiden right in the eye. “Sorry, but I don’t exactly think you’re the best guy to be talking about how to keep Peterinterested.”
Now that got a reaction. Aiden’s smirk slipped off his face and a red flush crept up his neck. For a split second Chad was worried he was going to attack him, but Aiden just sneered.
“I’m the one who broke things off with Peter,” he said, the words sharp and angry.
Chad grinned. “I know. Because you knew you couldn’t give him what he wanted.”
Aiden barked out a laugh. “Peter wants someone to be his cunt-ass little bitch. It’s why he likes you so much. He knows that you’re a total doormat.”
Chad bared his teeth in a snarl, but he didn’t say anything. If he escalated now he risked getting into a fight he stood no chance of winning. It was infuriating.
“Fuck off,” he muttered, turning back to the weights and ignoring Aiden. When he looked up, however, he caught the alpha grinning at him in the mirror like he’d won.
Chad fumed, but he held his tongue. Running his hand through his hair, pushing the sweaty locks away from his face, he decided to skip the rest of his weightlifting routine and head over to the elliptical machine instead. He wiped his face with the bottom of his shirt and held his head high as he made his way over to the other side of the room.
***
“You’re kind of a little shit, you know that, right?” Aiden said when Chad finally stepped off the elliptical. He’d been standing behind Chad for the past twenty minutes, creepy gaze fixed on Chad’s ass, and Chad was just about fed up with him.
He shrugged, determined not to give the older man a reaction. He made his way out of the gym and started walking toward the locker room. Aiden fell into step next to him, continuing as though Chad had asked for an explanation. “I mean. You’re clearly not qualified to work for Tank Security, and the only reason Peter hasn’t fired your ass is that he’s fucking it. I don’t get how you can stand it. It’s like you’ve got no shame.”
Chad bristled, his determination to stay silent cracking under the sheer force of Aiden’s obnoxiousness.
“Is there a point to this or are you just trying to show me how a professional bodyguard acts when they’re on the clock,” he snapped, wondering why Aiden was suddenly going off on him.
“I just don’t get why Peter keeps you around. I mean, you’re cute, sure, but when you open your mouth it makes me want to kill myself.”
Now there was an incentive to talk if Chad had ever heard one.
“You’re so unprofessional,” Chad commented, forcing his voice to be calm and bland. “It’s super weird.”
They’d reached the locker room, and rather than wait to hear Aiden’s reply Chad made his way over to his locker and pulled out his bag. He stripped down and wrapped a towel around his waist, heading to the shower and pointedly ignoring Aiden as he stepped under the spray.
There were several other guys also in the process of changing and showering, and apparently Aiden wasn’t willing to continue his belittlement with an audience.
“You decided to work out before class too, huh?”
Chad turned to his left, smiling at the sight of Mick taking the shower next to him.
“Good to get the blood pumping,” he said. “Where were you working out? I didn’t see you in the gym.”
“Newt and I booked one of the smaller rooms and sparred,” Mick said, lifting his arm and rubbing his pit with a bar of soap. “Mark had a few suggestions for what we should work on after yesterday’s class.”
